Russia is one of the top tourist destinations in Europe, attracting tourists from all over the world every year with its facilities that can entertain millions of tourists. When planning a trip to Russia, travel agencies also include various programs, including entertainment programs, historical visits, acquaintance with culture and art, and many other things in their Russia tour plans. One of Russia's top tourist attractions is its architecture, which has undergone many changes throughout history and sometimes has created new art using previous architectural styles. Of course, most of the architecture used in Russia has been architectural styles common throughout Europe before Russia. Throughout Russian history, various architectural styles have pervaded Russia, an essential part of its art history. Although different styles of architecture were used in Russia before Peter the Great, if you want to take a closer look at several examples of different styles of Russian architecture and examine their commonalities and differences, you should look back at the history of Russian architecture, during and after Peter the Great's reign. Even then, there are still many architectural styles used in Russia, which can form a complete program of travel to Russia. Each of the different parts of the history of Russian architecture has its charms, and each has become an integral part of the tour to Russia program. Although the number of architectural styles used in Russian history is much greater than what we have examined, these seven different architectural styles have more surviving examples in Russian tourist destinations that make them easier to study. Since we are looking at the history of Russian architecture after Peter the Great's reign, the first architectural style used in this period should be the Petrine Baroque style of architecture, without a doubt.
Petrine Baroque
The Petrine Baroque style is one of the subsets of Baroque architecture that has been used in St. Petersburg and other parts of the Russian Empire during the reign of Peter the Great and even many years after. This style of architecture was in harmony with Peter the Great's taste, which was one of the reasons it became widespread in Russia. As the Petrine Baroque style put an end to the dominance of classical Byzantine architecture that had pervaded Russia for more than a thousand years, foreign architects also showed interest in working in St. Petersburg. Many of the various buildings in St. Petersburg that use the Petrine Baroque style have also been designed by foreign and European architects. One of the most prominent Petrine Baroque style architects was Domenico Trezzini, who had a close relationship with Peter the Great. One of the most notable surviving examples of the Petrine Baroque architectural style in St. Petersburg is the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral designed by him. You can visit our blog for more information on this style of architecture.
Elizabethan Baroque
Petrine Baroque was used in St. Petersburg for several years after Peter the Great and during his successors' reign until Empress Elizabeth introduced a new style of architecture, Elizabethan Baroque. Elizabethan Baroque architecture is also known by other names, such as Rocco or Rastrelli Baroque. The reason for naming this architectural style as Rastrelli Baroque was this famous architect's active presence in this architectural style. The main goal of Elizabethan Baroque architecture is to show the glory of the Russian Empire. In its design, traditional Russian elements have been used more than the Petrine Baroque style. One of the most prominent examples of Elizabethan Baroque architecture in the St. Petersburg tour is the Smolny Cathedral, one of the masterpieces of Francesco Rastrelli.
Neoclassical Architecture
With the accession of Empress Catherine the Great, St. Petersburg took even stronger steps towards becoming one of Europe's modern cities. One of the prerequisites for that matter was a change in the style of traditional architecture in St. Petersburg, which Empress Catherine the Great did by introducing the Neoclassical Architecture style. Neoclassical architecture was an art movement from the mid-eighteenth century that began in France and Italy, so French and Italian architects have been named the most prominent architects of this style. One of the most famous architects of Neoclassical Architecture was the Italian Carlo Rossi, who left many of his works in St. Petersburg. Of course, during the reign of Catherine the Great, Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe is mentioned as the founder of this style of architecture in St. Petersburg. Other works of this style of architecture in St. Petersburg that tourists can see during their Russia tour program.
Russian Revival
In the mid-nineteenth century, several different architectural art movements took place in Russia, named the Russian Revival style of architecture. Many mistakenly refer to this style of art as Russian architecture or Old Russian architecture. Still, this style of architecture is not a reproduction of the old styles of Russian architecture and is formed by combining elements of Byzantine and pre-Petrine architecture. Many architects have done a lot of design in the style of Russian Revival architecture. However, we can name Ivan Ropet as one of the most prominent architects of the Russian Revival style. Tourists can also visit structures, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior or the Grand Kremlin Palace, during their tour to Moscow as examples of this architectural style.
Empire Style
Empire Style was originally the second wave of Neoclassic Architecture, prevalent in St. Petersburg during Alexander I's reign. This architectural style became very popular after the victory of the Russian Imperial Army in Napoleon's wars, and its main purpose was to show the glory of the Russian Empire. The Kazan Cathedral is one of the finest surviving buildings in St. Petersburg in this style of architecture that tourists can visit during their travel to St. Petersburg.
Art Nouveau
Undoubtedly, the most prominent architectural style in the history of St. Petersburg architecture has been the Art Nouveau style, which has revolutionized the architecture of St. Petersburg. This architectural style was common in Europe from 1890 to 1910 and was used in Russia until World War II. There are many examples of this architectural style in St. Petersburg that tourists can visit during their tour to Russia. One of the tourist attractions and cultural and entertainment programs of the St. Petersburg tour is the discovery of Art Nouveau buildings in St. Petersburg. One of the most famous surviving buildings of this art style in St. Petersburg is the Singer House, located on Nevsky Prospect.
Stalinist Architecture
After the October Revolution, The Bolsheviks moved the Soviet capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Although many architects still used art Nouveau architecture throughout Russia before World War II, Joseph Stalin introduced a new architectural style in the Soviet Union called the Stalinist Architecture. In this style of architecture, the aim was to promote Soviet propaganda as well as to show the glory of the Soviet Union, and many different buildings were built in this style in Moscow during Stalin's rule, the most famous of which is perhaps the Moscow Metro and later the headquarter of Moscow State University. Tourists can see other works of this art style, such as the Seven Sisters skyscrapers, during their Russia tour programs. As it is known, different architectural styles in Russia in different historical periods have left many tourist attractions for tourists on tour to Russia, each of which can become an integral part of Russian tour programs. You can visit our blog to learn more about each of these architectural styles and Russian architecture history in general.
