Manezhnaya Square, St. Petersburg: history, description, interesting facts and location

Manezhnaya Square (St. Petersburg) - one of the squares in the heart of the city. Cross its streets Italian and Karavannaya. It is a beautiful, quiet square with an ancient fountain and a square located on the center, decorated with busts of Italian architects who participated in the construction of the city. Manezhnaya square is included in the World Heritage List of the city.

History of the square

Before the beginning of the construction of St. Petersburg in this place was located a swamp, from which flowed a stream and flowed into the river. Fontanka. Then Peter I presented his wife Catherine I with this piece of lowland, where she instructed to break the garden and erect the Berhgolz palace, which has not survived to the present day.

By 1740 an elephant court was built on this territory (where elephants, donated by the Persian shah) were walking, stables, barns and glaciers, warehouses and workshops were located nearby.

Formation of the ensemble of the Manege Square began during the reign of Paul I in the early 19th century. Then the hulls of the stables and the riding hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle were built. The square itself was also called until 1846 by Mikhailovskaya.

By 1840, near the building of the Manezh to hide the unsightly corps of stables, the Old Manege Garden was destroyed, in which now there is a monument to writer N. Turgenev.

The architectural ensemble "Manege Square (St. Petersburg)" was formed by the beginning of the 20th century in the following composition:

• Mikhailovsky Manege (early 19th century).
• The building of the eastern and western corps of stables belonging to the territory of the Mikhailovsky Castle.
• Old Manege garden.
• Several buildings of apartment houses (early 20th century).
• The building of the St. Petersburg Noble Assembly (now House of Radio) (the construction of the early 20th century).
• New Manege Square (in the center of the square).

The last reconstruction was done in 1999 (architect GL Sholokhov).

Mikhailovsky Manege

One of the central buildings at the address: Manezhnaya Ploshchad (St. Petersburg) is an exhibition complex (also called the "Winter Stadium"), which has a very interesting 200-year history.

The Mikhailovsky Manege was originally designed and built by 1800 (architect Venchentsa Brenna) as part of the Mikhailovsky Castle ensemble complex . Then it was reconstructed in 1824 in classical style (architect KI Rossi), the facade was decorated with five-arch openings for doors and an attic, bas-reliefs of military armor and oak branches were installed. At the same time, sculptures were erected (authors S. S. Pimenov and V. I. Demut-Malinovsky).

Before the revolution of 1917, the arena was at the disposal of the guard and the St. Petersburg military garrison.

Starting from the 19th century, the Mikhailovsky Manege began to be used as an exhibition hall, thanks to a good natural light penetrating through 54 tall windows. So, in 1905 there was the I-st exhibition of cars, which was organized by the Imperial Automobile Society. Then in 1909 - the international exhibition of inventions (with the participation of the All-Russian flying club), in 1913 - exhibitions dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov House. Already in the Soviet years in 1949 the building was turned into an indoor Winter Stadium, where sports classes and competitions were held.

Now the Mikhailovsky Manege is used as an exhibition complex, where prestigious events take place. Therefore, many visitors to the North Capital to participate in exhibitions are interested in where Manezhnaya Square is located in St. Petersburg, where this building is located.

There is a conference hall for 100 people and a restaurant (for 50 seats), where various presentations and press conferences take place. The hall is equipped with a new electronic scoreboard and modern sound reinforcement equipment for exhibition support. The total area of the Manege is more than 4 thousand square meters. M.

Address of the exhibition hall: Manezhnaya Square, 2 (St. Petersburg).

Stables of the Mikhailovsky Castle

When perestroika in the 20s of the 19 th century Mikhailovsky Castle, K. Rossi made a reconstruction of the adjacent buildings. The facades of the Mikhailovsky arena and stables that frame the square on both sides (the western and eastern stables of the stables) were linked into a single composition in the style of classicism.

According to this project, stone fences for their connection were built, then the facades of both buildings were decorated with sculptures, which were later altered in the beginning of the 20th century.

The building itself is located on the right side of the Manezh at the address: Manezhnaya Ploshchad, 2 (St. Petersburg).

Saint-Petersburg Noble Assembly

This monumental building was erected in 1912/14. In the Art Nouveau style, commissioned by the Noble Assembly (architects - Kosyakov brothers). In those days it served as a club for the petty nobility, officials and middle class merchants. Here balls, literary readings, theatrical performances were held.

During construction, marble, sculpture, and story murals were used in the interior. After the revolution, the building became the Palace of proletarian culture, and the auditorium became the cinema "Colossus".

Since 1932, the Leningrad Radio Center is located here, from where programs from studios are conducted. The radio center acquired the most important importance during the siege of Leningrad, when the radio was the only source of information for residents about military events and news from the fronts.

In 1948-1953 a large reconstruction of the building (architect A. I. Kubasov) was carried out, since then the entire building has been run by the Radio House, from which 10 hours are transmitted every day, music and theater groups and performers are recorded.

Profitable Houses, Cinema House, Military Department

From one side to Manezhnaya square there are several apartment houses built in the 19th century. At the corner of Karavannaya Street there is another remarkable building - the former House of the Petrograd Credit Society (now the House of Cinema). The facade of the building (the construction was completed by 1916) was stylized to the Italian architecture of the 16th century. Now here are held festivals and retrospective shows of movies, the Museum of Cinema is located.

The building of the Military Department was built in the style of neoclassicism and was intended for the placement of the Officer Corps of the Emperor of Russia (1902), located at: Manezhnaya Ploshchad (St. Petersburg), 4, and is now placed under offices.

Old Manege Garden

A small garden, fenced with iron bars, is located between the Manezh building and the western building of the stables, was defeated in 1838 as a landscape garden. Here in 2001 a monument to IS Turgenev (sculptors Ya. Ya. Neiman and VD Sveshnikov) was erected.

Square of four architects

In the center there is a square, which was inaugurated in 1879 (architect VA Kenel) and laid down by the gardener A. Wiese, now it is called Novo-Manezhny.

The whole history of architectural construction of St. Petersburg is inextricably linked with the architects of solar Italy. That is why the Italian government decided to make a significant gift to the 300th anniversary of the Northern Capital - four busts of famous architects of Italy (K. Rossi, A. Rinaldi, J. Quarenghi, F. Rastrelli). Manezhnaya Square in St. Petersburg was chosen the location of these sculptures.

They were made by sculptors from Petersburg VE Gorev and architect V. V. Popov. They were installed in 2003 in a semicircle next to a fountain near the corner of Italian street. The inauguration was held in the presence of members of the municipality of Milan.

Manezhnaya square (St. Petersburg): how to get to the hotel

A tourist who has arrived in the city will find it not so easy to find this small area, since no land transport here goes. The closest metro station is Gostiny Dvor. From it you need to go Nevsky Prospekt and go down to Malaya Sadovaya Street, on which to pass 200 m, and then you can see a small cozy square with a green garden and a fountain in the middle.