The Ropsha palace passed from hand to hand as a royal gift, but its owners were not happy.
The Ropsha Palace has been shrouded in an aura of mystery for many decades. The building passed from hand to hand as a royal gift, but its owners were not happy. Many, sometimes tragic, but fateful events for the Fatherland took place here. SPB. AIF. RU recalls important milestones in the fate of the royal residence.
Royal gift
The history of the Ropsha Palace begins in the era of Peter the Great. In 1712, the emperor granted the settlement of Ropsha to his associate, the first chancellor of the Russian Empire, Gabriel Golovkin, under whom construction began.
The neighboring estate on Knyazha Gorka belonged to Fyodor Romodanovsky, the head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, who was popularly called the "torturer". By the will of fate, the neighbors were to become related: Catherine, the granddaughter of Romodanovsky, and Mikhail, the son of Gabriel Golovkin, were married. The estates were united, and in 1734, after the death of his father, Mikhail became the sovereign owner of the entire land.
But the heir's joy was short-lived: in 1742 he was arrested and charged with treason. One of the most powerful people in the state during the reign of Anna Leopoldovna, Mikhail Golovkin was exiled to Siberia, and his property was confiscated.
The next owner of the estate was Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself, who came to Ropsha to hunt. She decided to transform the palace complex, which was small for balls worthy of a royal person, and entrusted the responsible work to Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The architect turned the building into a real imperial palace, adding long one-story galleries to it. A church built in the Baroque style appeared next to the mansion. To the east of the palace, the Lower Park was laid out, which smoothly turned into the forest. The alleys of the park were decorated with Spanish linden trees, some of which have survived to this day. In the same period, a small Upper Park appeared. According to historians, it was the 50s of the 18th century that were "golden" for the Ropsha palace and park complex. It was during this period that he reached his peak.
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Ropsha became a valuable gift for the royal people. Shortly before her death, Elizaveta Petrovna gave Ropsha to the heir to the throne, the future Peter III. His fate was very tragic. After a short reign, the emperor dies in Ropsha under unclear circumstances. According to one version, the cause of death was "hemorrhoidal colic", according to another - Peter's death was violent. In favor of the murder, the letters of Alexei Orlov to Catherine speak. However, the authenticity of all of his messages has not been confirmed.
shortly before her death, Elizaveta Petrovna gave Ropsha to the heir to the throne, the future Peter III. Photo: wikipedia.org/ Georg Christopher Groth (1716-1749).
After a loud palace coup, Catherine II appeared on the "stage" of the Russian Empire. During this period, the Ropsha Palace again changes its owners. The Empress hands over the estate to her favorite, Prince Grigory Orlov, who, unfortunately, is not interested in the state of the estate. Under him, the Ropsha Palace fell into real decay and oblivion.
The revival of the imperial residence begins with the appearance of Ivan Lazarev, one of the richest people of the Catherine's era, who acquired Ropsha in 1785. Thanks to his efforts, the park ensemble began to be restored. Greenhouses were set up, new trees were planted, a system of reservoirs was created. True, Lazarev was not the owner of Ropsha for long. In 1801 he sold it to Paul I.
In 1826, the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Feodorovna, became the mistress of Ropsha.
The imperial family for a walk. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
From a fish farm to a sanatorium
The Soviet era became a trial period for the palace. After the October Revolution, the communists turned the Ropsha Palace into a real fish farm, the Lenin collective farm, and the Oktyabrsky state farm. All the property of the royal palace was sold out.
During the Great Patriotic War, the former estate became a hospital for the German army, and the territory of Ropsha became a strategically important target for shelling Leningrad and its southern suburbs. As a result of the fascist occupation, the palace park was seriously damaged, which was dug up by trenches, and the Ropsha palace was partially destroyed by fire.
After the war, the headquarters of the Soviet army was located in the building of the estate. The palace ensemble was restored, and a small memorial cemetery was set up in the park.
In the 80s, the Ropsha Palace was "in the hands" of the Lomonosov poultry farm; they wanted to build a sanatorium for workers here. However, the restoration work was interrupted by a fire, due to which the 2nd floor completely burned out, the roof collapsed and the walls partially collapsed, and the stable and outbuildings were looted by looters.
Ropsha Palace at the beginning of the 20th century. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
New time
In 2012, the Ropsha palace and park ensemble was transferred to the Peterhof Museum-Reserve. All the monuments of the imperial residence were in disrepair, the most intact building survived by only 28%.
The once attractive Ropsha Palace has absolutely lost its former majestic appearance: for 25 years it stood without a roof, became a haven for homeless people and a place of frequent fires.
On the night of January 8, 2015, as a result of a sharp temperature drop and the absence of the necessary reconstruction, the colonnade of the Ropsha Palace collapsed. The Ministry of Culture has already allocated 15 million rubles for its restoration.
Maria Ignatova