St. Petersburg, Russia (picture taken from Neva.ru: Expo 96 )
One of St. Petersburg’s greatest buildings is the
Admiralty. It stretches over 400 meters in width, 160 in length,
and its spire reaches over 70 meters. The Admiralty’s heritage is
simple yet powerful. It was founded by Peter I (Peter the Great)
in 1704 for one reason: to build a naval power that would secure Peter’s
Russia and show off her might to the skeptical European Powers. To
put it simply, The Admiralty was the strength of a young Petersburg.
As Petersburg grew, many important industrial and commercial buildings
were situated on the south bank of the Neva River along with the Admiralty,
mostly because the economy on the south bank was directly related to the
Admiralty. By the time St. Petersburg was established, Charles the
XII had been defeated and Sweden repelled for good. The Admiralty
was the pride of Petersburg standing tall and strong in the heart of the
Neva and proclaiming its might. In 1711, a tower was added onto the
front of the Admiralty, and then a spire was built on top of that.
However, it wasn’t until the early eighteen hundreds that its architectural
heritage matched its historical heritage. Today the tower is covered
with statues and the attic level frieze portrays Neptune, the Roman god
of the sea, handing Peter the Great his trident of power. The residents
of St. Petersburg still regard the Admiralty as their symbol of power,
sitting mightily on the Neva.
The Admiralty in 1717. Picture taken from Russian
Architecture.
Before Peter the Great, there was no Russian Navy,
but as a young teenage boy, Peter had an obsession with the sea and the
power a good navy could have over it. He was impressed with the mechanics
of the British ships, which left Russian barges in the dust. When
he was Tsar, his passion for the sea was not diminished at all; in fact,
he had the power to build and manufacture as many ships as he wanted, he
lacked only the technology. As a result, Peter the Great made several
trips to Europe, traveling incognito. While in Denmark and Britain,
he learned first hand how to craft mighty sea vessels, and eventually this
led to the creation of Peter’s navy.
After successful naval campaigns against the
Turks, Peter battled King Charles XII of Sweden in the Northern War for
control of port land on the Baltic Sea. Peter boldly founded St.
Petersburg on the mouth of the Neva River shortly after dispersing the
last of Charles’ weak defense. However, Charles responded, and the
two engaged their armies at the battle of Poltava. Defeat for Peter
would surely have meant the loss of St. Petersburg, but a stunning victory
over Sweden secured his city for the time being. As the northern
war raged on, Peter began building a massive navy, setting up the main
shipyard on Lake Ladoga. However, he decided that this shipyard should
be moved to the mouth of the Neva as several ships were 
running
aground in the small waterway from Ladoga to the Baltic. In 1704,
the Admiralty was built to accommodate this desire. At first, it
was merely a collection of wooden shops in the shape of a rectangle, with
one side open to the water. The base of the ship was constructed on land
and then was pulled into the water, where the bridge and masts were constructed.
Ramparts and trenches were built around the Admiralty, to guard it from
(what Peter considered inevitable) attack from Sweden. Peter decided
that the size and strength of the Peter Paul fortress would be greatly
augmented if it had a brother fortress of equal magnitude across the river.
In 1711, the tower and the spire were added onto the Admiralty. A
symbol of the strength of the Russian Navy, the tip of the spire was garnished
with an apple and a caravel (frigate).
Working inside the Admiralty was much like
working in a factory, and it was by far the greatest industrial concern
of the early 18th Century St. Petersburg economy as it employed over 10,000
workers. Moreover, the buildings surrounding the Admiralty were comprised
of lumber storages, furnaces, rope manufacturers, butchers, coppersmiths,
even a hotel and, of course, a church. Petersburg life revolved around
the business of the Admiralty.
By 1730, the Admiralty was the adorned prize of
Petersburg, the anchor of the powerful Russian Navy; nevertheless, it was
in bad need of repair. Ivan Korobov remodeled the Admiralty, replaced
its wooden walls with stone, and raised the tower and spire so that it
reached over 60 meters. However, the original floor plans of Peter
the Great were kept intact. The projectstarted
in 1732 and was completed in 1738. In 1783, it was weakened by a
fire. At that time there was a discussion whether the shipyard should
remain in the center of the city. Plans were made to move it to the
fleet base at Kronstadt. Fortunately, those plans were never acted
upon.
Zakharov’s plans included several changes to the outer appearance, but
the original floor plans were kept intact except that the wings were increased
in length, thus extending the facade from 300 to 375 meters. Also,
another pi was added, that is, the Admiralty now consisted of two pi shaped
buildings, the small one was added just inside the yard of the other; these
sections were joined at the ends. The inner building was used as
a dockyard, and the outer building for administrative offices. Zakharov
was dissatisfied with the monotony of the original façade that stretched
300 meters. He remodeled it so that it hadthree
distinct sections. The middle section, which contained the tower,
was remodeled to look much like it did originally, while the two other
sections one on each side, were given a neoclassic look. The new
tower was actually built over the old one so as to preserve the spire.
However, the new tower was much more spectacular as it was garnished with
several statues, an arch, and a frieze, all symbols of power and majesty.
The statues were modern representations of famous Greek war heroes including
Alexander the Great, Ajax, Achilles, and Pyrrhus. The arch was placed
at the base of the tower giving the façade a majestic entrance similar
to the triumphant arch on the Palace Square. The attic level frieze
portrayed a history of the Russian Navy, starting with Neptune handing
Peter the Great his trident. Again, we see extravagant symbols of
power. Yet, the Admiralty also had a simplistic look in the middle
of the façade, which helped to retain its original feel. Even
though Zakharov is credited with drawing up the blue prints for the new
Admiralty he died in 1811 far before the Admiralty was finished in 1823.
The remodeling of the Admiralty was his greatest and most successful project.
Zakharov’s Admiralty is the same Admiralty we see
today in St. Petersburg, but not without serious renovations. During
World War II, the Admiralty was severely damaged when the Germans heartlessly
fired upon Leningrad (St. Petersburg). During the siege, the Admiralty
received 56 direct hits. And yet it was saved by the heroism of the
people; starving and freezing they set out to save their precious Petersburg
heritage. The spire of the Admiralty was camouflaged so that it would
not be such an easy target. The foundation was repaired in one place,
while in another spot it would crumble from new artillery fire.
Today, the Admiralty still stands strong as a symbol
of the might of St. Petersburg, adored by the residents of the city as
part of their rich architectural and historical heritage. Despite
several threats to the Admiralty: idleness, fire, and war, it still stretches
a whole city block, and during these threats, it was the people who rallied
to save it. The Admiralty is truly a great national symbol of St.
Petersburg and of Russia.
Picture from University Library
at Neva.ru
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Cracraft, James. Peter the Great Transforms Russia. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991.
Cracraft James. The Petrine Revolution in Russian Architecture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Doroshinskaya, Y. and Kruchina-Bogdanov, V. Leningrad and Its Environs: A Guide. Moscow: Progress Publications, 1979.
Knopf Guides: St. Petersburg. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1995.
Massie, Robert K. Peter the Great: His Life and World. New York: Ballantine Books, 1980.
Expo 96. Neva. 13 Apr. 2000. < http://www.neva.ru/EXPO96/spb/ >
Russiadom. Business Guide to Hamburg-St. Petersburg. 13 Apr. 2000. < http//www.russiadom.com/ >
University Library. Neva. 13 Apr. 2000. < http://www.unilib.neva.ru/city/ >
Voyce, Arthur. Russian Architecture. New York: Philosophical
Library, Inc., 1948.
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