Troitskaya square in St. Petersburg: history and sights

Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg (photo can be seen below) - the oldest in the city. She appeared on the City Island in 1703. Over time, the City Island got another name - Petersburg, or Petrograd side, and the area remained an administrative center for a long time. Here were located government buildings, port and customs, food market, Gostiny Dvor, a tavern. Since then, the appearance of the square and its layout have changed a lot.

The history of the appearance of Troitskaya Square

The appearance of the square is connected with the construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The church was built from 1703 to 1710 to commemorate the victory over the Swedes and was named after the Holy Trinity, and the Trinity Square in St. Petersburg was named after the cathedral.

For more than 20 years, festivities were held here, royal decrees were announced, parades, executions and other events were held. By order of Peter I on the square were erected buildings in which the Synod and the Senate are located, in the southern part of the island a port and customs were built. Next to them was the Glutton market. In the northern part, the Gostiny Dvor and the inn were built.

In 1710, on the grocery market, there was a big fire that spread to ships in the port. Many buildings were damaged by fire, later the market and customs were moved to another location. The second fire broke out in 1718, it damaged the Senate building and the room in which Peter I received the Polish ambassadors. And although the place in which the government institutions were located was Trinity Square in St. Petersburg, history shows that it began to lose its significance, because the city center was moved to Vasilievsky Island.

Trinity Bridge

In 1803, a need arose to build a floating bridge between the Petersburg side and the left bank of the Neva. He was named Petersburg in honor of the centenary of the city. When it came into disrepair, during 1824-1827 a scaffold crossing was erected. The new bridge was named Suvorovsky. However, as the Troitskaya Square was built up in St. Petersburg, the crossing ceased to correspond to the architectural style of the buildings. Therefore, by the end of the XIX century, it was decided to transform it. In 1897 the construction of the Trinity Bridge was started according to a project developed by the French architect Eiffel. The course of work was controlled by Russian city planners.

At the solemn opening of the bridge, held in May 1903 and timed to the 200th anniversary of the city, was the Emperor Nicholas II. The Trinity Bridge became one of the first divorce structures across the Neva. Its length is 582 meters, and the width between the figured rails is 23.4 meters, weight exceeds 11 tons. The bridge is decorated in the Art Nouveau style and is a five-arched structure. The adornment of the passages was an openwork railing, and elegant lanterns installed along the bridge emphasized its proportionality.

Chapel of the Trinity Life-giving

Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg was known for its monuments, one of which was the Holy Trinity Cathedral. It became the first church in the city, built by the decree of Peter I. Until the Peter and Paul Cathedral was built, the church was one of the main symbols of the capital and was a place of worship for the royal court.

The cathedral suffered many times from the flames of fires, but it was always restored. After the October Revolution Troitskaya Square became known as the Revolution Square. According to the new ideology, there was no place on the square with this name, so in 1933 it was demolished, and instead of it two houses were built and the square was demolished.

By the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the cathedral was decided to be restored. But the project was not implemented due to the fact that the demolition of residential buildings for the construction of the church was impossible. Therefore, instead of the destroyed church, they decided to build a chapel in the name of the Trinity of the Life-Giving. Her consecration took place in May 2003. Now the chapel is active.

Polikatorzhan House and Solovki Stone

Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg is of interest to tourists. In addition to other monuments, attention is attracted to the House of Politkotorzhans. It was built in 1933 as a commune house for former victims of tsarist repressions from various political parties. The project was developed on the initiative of the Politkoterzhan Society by Leningrad architects and is considered a monument to constructivism. The six-story building has a monumental appearance and overlooks the Petrovskaya embankment. The facade is decorated with balconies, which turn into terraces, and ribbon glazing.

The house had 144 apartments with a bathroom and hot water, but without a kitchen. Instead, they opened a common dining room. On the first two floors there were a shop, a kindergarten, a medical center, a laundry, a library. The politkotorzhan society was liquidated in 1935, its representatives were again in the camps, and in the house they made a redevelopment and gave it up for settlement to ordinary citizens.

Despite the attractions that the Troitskaya Square in St. Petersburg is rich in, its description will be incomplete without mentioning the Solovetsky stone. This is a monument to the victims of Stalin's repression. Stone in 1990 was brought from Solovetsky camp and installed near the House of political prisoners. The historical name of the Trinity Square was returned in 1991.