In history, some unfortunate cases seem a bit funny or even have a hidden lesson behind them. In Russia history, there were some of these cases as well, for instance, Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, and emperor of Russia's fate.
The Mikhailovsky Castle locates at the heart of the St. Petersburg city, between the Fontanka River and Moyka River, on the land that wooden castle of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna exist before, and at the foot of summer garden. The Castle was built by the orders of the Paul I, first son of Catherine the Great. It had a fascinating, yet, tragic story behind it.
Catherine the Great reign was until 1796, and her son, Paul I was her successor who was over 40 years old at the time he succeeded his mother. He never had a good relationship with the generals or other royals, and both sides couldn't stand each other. For this very reason, Paul lived his life in fear of assassination. At the time that Catherine the Great passed away, the royal family lived in the winter palace, but after her death, Paul I's who never felt safe in the winter palace, ordered to build a fortress for him and his family at the foot of the summer garden.
The construction began in 1797, by the hands of two of famous architects of that time, Vincenzo Brenna and Vasili Bazhenov. They've spent lots of creativity in the design of the new castle, and built a quadrilateral fortress with a different style on each side such as French Classical, Italian Renaissance, and Gothic technique. Since Emperor Paul never denied his fear of assassination, he ordered to build the castle on an artificial island surrounding by Fontanka River and Moyka River, and have access only by the castle's drawbridge.
The main facade of the castle has a formal and solemn look with two obelisks with military decoratives guarding the front. Another aspect of the main facade is the golden quotation of Paul I saying: "History noting down the glory of Russia in its records" which is written above the only entrance of the castle.
The east side facade which had a great view over the Fontanka River matched with some buildings on the other side of the river. There was a spired-tower with a flag hole to indicate that Emperor Paul is in the castle.
The south side which was faced the summer garden was completely different from the main facade. An enormous staircase to the entrance, ornamental sculptures, and a terrace with a magnificent view of the summer garden was its structure.
The west side of the castle which represented the church is where that Brenna's skill shows itself the most. A semicircular shape was at the center of the wall which decorated with religious items to propose the church occupation.
The interior was where the luxurious taste of the royal family came in. Since the castle was intended to be both the royal family residence and an art gallery for the emperor, you could find masterpieces of great artists of the time and before them at each corner of the castle. The interior was designed by Brenna and his famous student, Carlo Rossi.
At the time of construction, one of the castle's guard claimed that the archangel Michael watched over the castle all night with him, since then by the orders of Emperor Paul, the castle called Saint Michael's Castle or Mikhailovsky Castle.
The royal family was ready to move into the castle after it completed in 1801, and that's the time that tragedy happened. Only forty days after that Paul I settled in his brand new castle, he assassinated in his bedroom by his generals during the coup that led to Alexander, the emperor's son seizing power. After that, the royal family moved back to the winter palace.
The giant castle was abandoned until 1823, and only in that time, its management gave to the military engineer school. After the death of Emperor Nicholas I, the sponsor of the school, its name changed into the Nicholaevsky Academy of Engineering. Some of Russia great celebrities such as Dostoevsky, Grigorovich, Chekhov, and Yablochkov were graduated from this school. The castle administration gave to the museum in 1991, and since then, it's open for public view.
The architecture and the interior of the castle would be enough reason for anyone to visit the place, however, there are several permanent and temporary exhibition held in the castle that helps the matter. One of these permanent exhibitions is the Faces of Russia which had portraits, paintings, and sculptures of the former Russia emperors and empresses, and also the celebrities of the time for public display.
The sculptures hall which has works of artists from the 18th century to the 20th century is another permanent exhibition in Saint Michael's Castle. Visitants can easily notice the transition process in the Russia sculpting from the 18th century till now within the works of artists such as Lanceray, Ober, and Vatagin in the collection.
"Saint Petersburg Society During the Romanov Era" is another permanent exhibition in the Saint Michael's castle which displays the beginning of the new society of St. Petersburg at the start of the 19th century. The main course of this exhibition is the painting, the Parade on Tsaritsa Meadow by the artists, Grigory Chernetsov which displays the new society and social life of Saint Petersburg in the best way possible.
As you may know already, St.Petersburg has loads of historical places and tourist's spots which you might not have enough time to explore all of them in one trip to Russia. Still, a general visit of the Saint Michael's Castle would be amusing and delightful, because of its unique architecture, richness interior, and the art museum that held in there. However, the tour to this castle is not mainly in the main tour programs of Russia tour agencies, but, you can always find a couple of hours in your free time to visit this wondrous palace if you want.
Check out our blog pages on Russia attractions, to find more amazing tourist-favorite places of St. Petersburg or our mini-guides about traveling to Russia including Visit Russia and Travel To St. Petersburg.
