The Kleinmichel mansion, one of my favorite monuments of the Romantic era, is located in the northwestern part of Kamenny Island, on the banks of the Krestovka River. in 1893, the land and house (built for E. Genies, the head of the French theater troupe in 1836 by the architect A. Stackenschneider) “for a period of 90 years” were acquired by 47-year-old Countess Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel. for a long time we knew it in one form (previously its walls were Green colour), but by 2007 the house was restored to its original form. Today, Kamenny Island is being prepared for the residence of the President of Russia, which includes the mansion of M.E. Kleinmichel.
Maria Eduardovna was the wife of Colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment N.P. Kleinmichel, who died five years after the wedding. his father is Count, Adjutant General P. A. Kleinmichel for the heroism he showed during the fire imperial residence in 1837, by personal decree of Nicholas the First, he received the right to depict Winter on his coat of arms, engulfed in flames. This stone coat of arms can still be seen today above the entrance to the Kamennoostrovsky house.
In 1904, architect K. G. Preis rebuilt Verkhovtseva’s house, highlighting the main entrance with a spacious vestibule. The Kleinmichel mansion acquired its final appearance in 1904, when, according to the project of architect. I. Pretro was rebuilt using Gothic elements. Particularly interesting is the design of the high-spired roof of the main house, the corner turret and the pinnacle framing of the stucco cartouche above the entrance with the Kleinmichel coat of arms. Three years later, part of the plot was rented by L. Ciniselli, the daughter of the circus owner, for whom F. von Postels in 1909 built a two-story mansion in the Art Nouveau style from wood with a high attic topped with a turret. the entrance to it was through the front lobby of the Kleinmichel dacha. stylistic discord standing nearby the houses of Kleinmichel and Ciniselli became the reason for another reconstruction of the countess's dacha - in the neo-Gothic style.
An integral part of the composition of the dacha is an openwork forged lattice with salamanders, into the links of which are woven the graphically impeccably executed monograms “MK” - Maria Kleinmichel. The author of the grating, installed in 1904, was K. G. Preuss. in 1912, at the San Galli plant, according to the design of K. K. Meibom, neo-Gothic gates were made, the round pillars of which were crowned with forged lanterns. The interiors of the dacha, which have not survived to this day, are known from a series of photographs by K. K. Bulla for the magazine “Capital and Estate” (whose owner was the Countess herself), as well as thanks to research carried out by employees of the City Museum in the mid-1970s.
K.K. Bulla. Living room 1910s
Books on the topic
(to see the description of the book, click on the picture)
(to see the description of the book, click on the picture)
Maria Nashchokina "Moscow Modern"
V.A. Gilyarovsky "Moscow and Muscovites" ( best edition with photographs and reproductions of paintings)
The mansion of Countess M.E. Kleinmichel is another attraction, which is located on a stone island. Externally, this structure resembles some kind of fairytale castle, and yours appearance it owes to the work of many architects who were constantly changing and bringing something of their own.
History and visual features of the Kleinmichel mansion
The mansion began in 1824, and it was built according to unique project Stackenschneider. A little later (at the time of the 20th century) it came into the permanent possession of Countess Kleinmichel. It is known that the Countess had a slight limp on one leg, which is why she did not like to leave for long periods of time. own house. But after some time he became permanent place for meetings of high-ranking persons. Countess Kleinmichel's mansion St. Petersburg was known to almost all the top of the city, since ceremonial meetings and balls were held here.
The Kleinmichel mansion on Kamenny Island was originally conceived in the Art Nouveau style, but a little later neo-Gothic elements (turrets), gates equipped with forged lanterns, and beautiful bars on the windows were added. Otherwise, the house was called the Kleinmichel dacha, and its interiors have been preserved to this day exactly as they were in those days.
Location
Many will wonder how to get to the mansion of Countess Kleinmichel to admire these beauties. It's very easy to do. It is enough to find on the map a place with the same name, which is located on the embankment of the Kostovka River. The building is number 12. The nearest metro station is called Krestovsky Island. Getting here is quite easy, since the building is located within transport accessibility. Such places have a truly mysterious atmosphere that will impress everyone.
How to book a tour in Russian in any city in the world. Services overview
The mansion of Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel, one of the remarkable monuments of the Romantic era, is located in the northwestern part of Kamenny Island, on the banks of the Krestovka River.
Once on this place there was a house of rare beauty, built by the architect professor St. Petersburg Academy arts by Andrei Ivanovich Stackenschneider. In Taganrog there is a house designed by this outstanding architect, known as Alferaki Palace.
In 1893 the house and the right to rent land plot(for a period of 90 years) was acquired by Countess Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel. M.E. Kleinmichel is the hostess of a high society salon in St. Petersburg, a member of the editorial board of the magazine "Capital and Estate", a person of deep intelligence and independent thoughts. The house was rebuilt by her, but this is a case when in the place of one architectural masterpiece another masterpiece appeared, in no way inferior to the first. 
The appearance of the Kleinmichel estate was formed gradually. In 1904, architect. K. G. Preis rebuilt the house of Verkhovtseva (the former owner). Preuss separated the main entrance with a spacious vestibule into a separate volume and crowned it with a cartouche with the Kleinmichel coat of arms.
The Kleinmichel mansion acquired its final appearance in 1904, when architect. I. A. Pretro rebuilt the house in the Gothic style: a high-pitched roof over a central two-story volume.
The interiors of the Kleinmichel mansion are known thanks to a series of photographs by K. K. Bulla in the magazine "Capitals and Estates". The walls of the entrance hall were paneled with oak, and to the right of the entrance was a massive fireplace lined with patterned ceramic tiles. A staircase with carved railings led to the gallery. The carved pillars of the staircase were decorated with men's heads in wide-brimmed hats. The suite of ceremonial rooms was decorated with Corinthian pilasters and stucco friezes in the form of wreaths with garlands.
In the Great Living Room there was a marble fireplace with atlases; in front of it, on low pedestals, lay two sphinxes with female heads. A passage in the form of a gentle arch led to the Small Living Room, then to the living room, where a huge ceiling light illuminated tapestries, paintings, and inlaid parquet flooring.
Collectible porcelain was stored there, as well as paintings, tapestries and oriental rugs on the floor.
Monumental portcullis with two front gates. According to the design of K. G. Preuss (1904), a magnificent openwork forged lattice with floral patterns and salamanders, a gate and double gates with the monogram “MK” (Maria Kleinmichel) were forged. Installed in 1909
In 1912, at the San Galli factory, according to the design of K. K. Meibom, a neo-Gothic gate was produced, the round pillars of which were topped with forged lanterns.
Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel (née Keller), born in 1846. in Kyiv.
Her father is gr. Keller Eduard Fedorovich (1819-1903), Governor of Minsk, from 1863. senator, actual state councilor.
The Russian branch of the Kellers goes back to Count Ludwig-Christsphorus, the Prussian envoy in St. Petersburg. The Keller family was of the Lutheran faith.
Brother of Maria Eduardovna - gr. Keller Fedor Eduardovich (1850-1904), lieutenant general, hero of the Balkan and Russian-Turkish war, recipient of numerous military awards. He died a hero's death in the Russo-Japanese War.
In 1872 Maria Keller married N.P. Kleinmichel, colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Five years after the wedding, she was widowed.
By the time she bought the house on Kamenny Island, the countess was known in the capital as the hospitable hostess of a high-society salon. In addition, she was involved in collecting and was a member of the editorial board of the popular glossy magazine "Capital and Estate", which introduced readers to the most interesting monuments architecture, art collections, art news. Among Maria Eduardovna's friends were grand dukes, diplomats, politicians, bibliophiles and collectors. They were attracted by her persistent character, deep and versatile mind.
"Petersburgskaya Gazeta" wrote in June 1910: "...crowded meetings at the Kamennoostrovskaya dacha at Countess Kleinmichel's on Thursdays, when on the platform in front of the dacha all evening and after midnight numerous engines and autocars await the departure of guests. The salons of the kind and hospitable hostess in the summer at the dacha, just like in winter, in visiting days, are filled with numerous visitors. The entire high society of St. Petersburg gathers here, all foreign diplomats, noble persons coming from abroad, attracted both by the kind and friendly cordiality of the reception, and by the prospect interesting conversation with the mistress of the house and visitors to her salon."
COSTUME BALL 1914
On Maslenitsa at the end of January 1914. Countess Kleinmichel organized a grandiose masquerade ball for three hundred people in her mansion, which became an event in the great St. Petersburg society.
The ball was designed by Lev Bakst himself. The decoration of the ball was the luxurious oriental costumes of the participants and the procession from “A Thousand and One Nights”
Here are the lines from the Petersburg Newspaper: “The Most Serene Princess Natalya Pavlovna Gorchakova was in an original silver and white Indian costume, made according to a design by Bakst, with gold and silver inserts depicting high-relief Arabic ornaments, a wide-cut bodice trimmed with blue velvet bleu person with original shoulder pads made of white swan fluff, on the head an Indian turban, dazzlingly white and light, with white currents and esprits, pearls and diamonds, framing the face in an oriental manner. Emeralds, sapphires and
silver tassels and broth, also according to Bakst, complemented the fabulous impression of this original costume.”
A photograph of Grand Duchess Victoria and Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich in oriental costumes has been preserved
Countess Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel left us several beautiful houses in St. Petersburg and a book of memoirs “Souvenirs d” un Monde englouti” (“From a Drowned World”). Individual chapters this most interesting book published by the Petrograd publishing house in 1923.
Leon Trotsky in “The History of the Russian Revolution” spoke of the book as follows: “The cynical memoirs of the old intriguer Kleinmichel show with remarkable clarity what supernational character distinguished the top of the aristocracy of all European countries, bound by ties of kinship, inheritance, contempt for everything inferior and ... cosmopolitan adultery in old castles, in fashionable resorts and at the courts of Europe.”
During the “great and bloodless February revolution,” the countess, who was 71 years old, was arrested. She allegedly fired a machine gun from the roof of the house at the revolutionary detachments. She was taken to the Duma, but was soon released, convinced of the absurdity of the accusation.
And she saw the results of the “revolutionary creativity of the masses.” The wine cellar has been looted, there is chaos and ruin everywhere. The soldiers of the Volyn regiment, the one where non-commissioned officer Kirpichnikov killed his commander with a shot in the back, especially tried. In a mansion on Kamenny Island they held a shooting competition main staircase, decorated with portraits of Sovereigns from the House of Romanov. They poked burning cigarette butts into the eyes of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, cut out Catherine II's nose, and unimaginably mutilated the portrait of Alexander I.
At the end of 1918 Kleinmichel left Russia for France using a passport, which she received with difficulty through the Swedish embassy.
In 1918, the dacha was nationalized. Renovated by participants of communist subbotniks, it was transferred to the United Club of Holiday Homes for Workers on Kamenny Island. On July 19, 1920, V.I. Lenin visited here, and therefore, more than half a century later, the Kleinmichel dacha was included in the list of memorable Lenin places and placed under state protection as a historical monument. This is what saved her from inevitable destruction.
From 1986 to 1989, at the dacha, the Restorer association, according to the project of N.V. Morozova, carried out renovation work. At the same time, the Ciniselli house (adjacent) was destroyed, and the interiors of the countess’s mansion were not preserved. In 1990, the building was transferred to the Baltic River Shipping Company to organize a recreation center there.
An episode of the film “Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” - the menagerie mansion of the scarecrow Sherman (“Treasures of Agra”) was filmed in the mansion. Watson was sent here by a detective to pick up a dog named Tory.
Then it was privately owned, belonged to the Federal Migration Service...
In 2006-2007 was completed new reconstruction building. Main house, the service outbuilding and wrought-iron fence were restored. For a long time we knew it in one form (previously its walls were green), but by 2007 the house was restored to its original form. L. Ciniselli's dacha has been recreated. Stone Island is being prepared for the residence of the President of Russia, which includes the mansion of M.E. Kleinmichel.
Now this is the mansion of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, called the Reception House.
Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel, née von Keller, was born in 1846 in Kyiv. Her father was the governor of Minsk, since 1863 - a senator, an active state councilor. In 1872, she married Major General Count Nikolai Petrovich Kleinmichel, and six years later she was widowed.
Alexander Cabanel. Portrait of Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel (Keller). 1873. Musee d'Orsay
In 1893, the 47-year-old Countess rented a mansion on the Krestovka River, which under her became a real center of social life. “The most famous housewife of that time was Countess Kleinmichel, whose masquerade balls were the talk of the entire St. Petersburg world. Rich, eccentric, with a slight limp, the countess rarely left her mansion, and everyone who occupied at least some position in society considered it an honor to be invited to her house. “She was a grand lady down to the tips of her nails,” testified Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, “and at the same time unusually insightful and clever woman. Somehow she managed to find out hidden secrets almost the entire St. Petersburg society. Her mansion was known as a hotbed of gossip. On top of everything, she was keen occult sciences", - wrote in his book "The Last Grand Duchess» Ian Worres.
General view of the mansion. Photo: Karl Bulla
And here’s what “Petersburgskaya Gazeta” wrote in June 1910: “...crowded meetings at Countess Kleinmichel’s Kamennoostrovskaya dacha on Thursdays, when on the platform in front of the dacha all evening and after midnight numerous engines and autocars await the departure of guests. The salons of the kind and hospitable hostess in the summer at the dacha, as well as in the winter, on reception days, are filled with numerous visitors. The entire high society of St. Petersburg gathers here, all foreign diplomats, noble persons coming from abroad, attracted both by the kind and friendly cordiality of the reception, and by the prospect of an interesting conversation with the hostess of the house and visitors to her salon.” The Countess was related to many aristocratic families. They said that she was on friendly terms with Kaiser Wilhelm, which almost destroyed her during the First World War. But everything worked out - and in those years the Countess, using her own money, organized a hospital in the mansion.
The architectural appearance of the mansion developed gradually; more than one architect participated in its creation. It was originally built according to the design of the architect Stackenschneider in 1834-1835 for the director and actor of the French theater troupe Genies. Later the house belonged to the wife of silversmith Verkhovtseva. During her reign the mansion was rebuilt, with west side a spacious dining room made of wood appeared.
Living room. Photo: Karl Bulla
Countess Kleinmichel decided to give the house a neo-Gothic style: this was carried out by the architect Mabe in 1911-1912. According to his design, a tall spitz appeared - a pyramidal roof, a corner turret and molded details. An openwork forged lattice with a wicket and double-leaf gates with the monogram of the owner of the house “MK” was installed in 1904 according to the design of the architect Preis. In 1912, at the San Galli factory, according to Mabe's design, a neo-Gothic gate with round pillars topped with lanterns was manufactured.
Terrace. Photo: Karl Bulla
The interiors of the mansion have not been preserved, but the quality documentary evidence There are photographs of Karl Bulla taken for the magazine “Capital and Estate” - its owner was the Countess herself. The interior of the house was also very impressive. The walls of the mansion were decorated with oak panels, the large living room was decorated with a white marble fireplace with atlases, and in front of it were sphinxes on low pedestals.
One of the rooms of the mansion. Photo: Karl Bulla
For Maslenitsa in 1914, Countess Kleinmichel organized a grandiose costume ball in the mansion - three hundred guests were invited. Lev Bakst himself acted as the chief designer - he made sketches of some of the costumes. The guests performed in luxurious oriental attire, and a procession was organized in the spirit of the Arabian Nights. Photos of the ball have survived to this day. Among the guests were Grand Duchesses Olga Alexandrovna, Maria Pavlovna, Victoria Feodorovna, Grand Dukes Kirill Vladimirovich and Boris Vladimirovich, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, St. Petersburg beauties Princess Orlova and Olive and other social celebrities.
Ball participants in Bakst costumes
According to some evidence, in the days February revolution The 71-year-old countess was arrested. She was allegedly accused of shooting at revolutionary detachments, but was soon released. When she returned to the mansion on Kamenny Island, she saw a terrible picture: wine Vault plundered, revolutionary soldiers on the main staircase, decorated with portraits of representatives of the Romanov family, fired and barbarously mutilated the painting. And in October 1917, the countess resorted to a trick. Before the rioters arrived, she hung a sign on the fence: “No entry. The building belongs to the Petrograd Soviet of Deputies. Countess Kleinmichel is imprisoned Peter and Paul Fortress" This is how she saved her life.
In 1918, the Countess, having sold her house and collection, left Russia for France forever, having difficulty obtaining a passport through the Swedish Embassy. She died on November 19, 1931 in Paris and is buried in the Versailles cemetery.
After emigration, the housewives nationalized the mansion and handed it over to the United Club of Workers' Holiday Homes. In the 1980s, the interior of the mansion was restored, which finally destroyed it, and the mansion became the holiday club of the Baltic River Shipping Company. Today the building again belongs to private owners and it is impossible for outside visitors to enter it.