Sverdlovskaya embankment 40 history of the building. Dacha Kushelev-Bezborodko

The Kushelev-Bezborodko estate is one of the oldest estates in St. Petersburg. Peter I himself could have been here soon after the founding of the city; in Peter's times there was a manor house with the garden of the Swedish commandant of the fortress Nyenskans.

At the time of Catherine II, the vast estate of the almighty Chancellor Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko was already spread out here, this was the heyday of the estate, an extensive landscape park with ponds, which could be put on a par with the park in Tsarskoe Selo.

The Empress herself took part in the feasts hosted by the Chancellor. Derzhavin took part in literary evenings, and Glinka himself played music. Alexander Dumas, the father, was received at the estate. This event caused a stir in St. Petersburg, many townspeople asked to take a walk in the park of Kusheleva Dacha to look at the celebrity.

And for the last time, the Kushelev-Bezborodko estate became famous all over, then the USSR. It was shot by Eldar Ryazanov himself in his comedy "The Adventures of Italians in Russia" (1974).

The plot of the film revolved around the search for treasures hidden under a lion in Leningrad, and there are many, many lion sculptures in Leningrad, living lions are much smaller. And as many as 29 lions sit along the fence of the Kushelev-Bezborodko estate.

The famous lions of the Kushelev-Bezborodko estate

Nowadays, the estate is already located in the industrial area of ​​the city, at 40 Sverdlovskaya embankment. Sometimes the estate is called the Kusheleva dacha or the Kushelev-Bezborodko dacha, and the area where the estate is located is called Polyustrovo, after the name of the village that was previously located here, and later the resort mineral waters.

Many residents of the Kalininsky and Krasnogvardeisky districts of St. Petersburg had the misfortune to visit the anti-tuberculosis dispensary No. 5, which is now located in this historic building. About the prevention of tuberculosis at the end of the post.

A bit of history

Even in pre-Petrine times, on the site of the Kushelev-Bezborodko estate, there was a house with a garden of the Swedish commandant of the Nyenskans fortress, now completely lost. The house was equipped with extensive dungeons and secret underground passages, along which the Swedish commandant of the fortress was supposed to flee in the event of a Russian attack.

But as usual, time flies forward uncontrollably, and after the end of the Northern War in 1721, Russian lands already stretched here.

The estate was named after the names of its former owners, and at first the estate was owned by the statesman and diplomat Prince Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko (1782 purchase of the estate), and after his death the estate was inherited by his grand-nephew A.G. Kushelev, who was no less a director Department of the State Treasury and the Chief State Comptroller. For services to the fatherland and in memory of his great ancestor, Alexander G. Kushelev, received the right to be called Kushelev-Bezborodko.

Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko was very famous in his time, he was called the almighty chancellor. He was honored to be depicted on the monument to Catherine II on Ostrovsky Square, which is next to Nevsky Prospect, you can almost say on it. His portraits now hang in, not one portrait, but portraits. He is depicted in the multifigured historical painting by EV Moshkov “Confirmation of the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alekseevna on May 9, 1795” next to Catherine II, and in the painting “Transfer of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on June 9, 1798” next to Paul I, although it is known for certain that that by the time depicted in the picture, the chancellor had already died.

Such famous architects as V. Bazhenov had a hand in the construction of the masterpiece, he is credited with the initial construction of the estate without side galleries in 1773, but it cannot be said with absolute certainty that it was he. V. Bazhenov also built the Pashkov house in Moscow and the Tsaritsyno palace complex, that is, at that time he was one of the leading architects in the Russian Empire.

A large-scale reconstruction of the estate was ordered by A.A. Bezborodko from the architect Quarenghi. Then the estate took on the form we were accustomed to with side galleries and side wings. Galleries were originally open in imitation of the Italian style, but in the climate of St. Petersburg, open galleries were not in demand for most of the year. During subsequent reconstructions, the galleries were turned into closed ones.

A chic landscape park with ponds, bridges and flowers was laid out around the estate. They say that Catherine the Great herself and many prominent statesmen of Catherine's era attended the feasts hosted by Bezborodko.

Opposite the estate, a large-scale granite pier with sphinxes was built; an underground passage led to the pier. The pier was recently repaired, but the underground passage was lost.

Now it could be very useful, since crossing the embankment next to the estate is impossible due to heavy car traffic and the absence of pedestrian crossings nearby.

In the 19th century, a resort appeared on the territory of the estate, here iron-bearing mineral water Polyustrovo. The resort thrived for 30 years, but a massive fire ended that prosperity.

Since 1896, the history of the estate ends, but begins new story- history of medical institutions, located in the previously very famous manor... It all started with the community of sisters of mercy, and ended with a tuberculosis dispensary in our time.

The best historical information about the estate is on the website of the tuberculosis dispensary.

State of the art

Now it is no longer a suburb, but an urban area, built up around the perimeter by large industrial enterprises, a beautiful view of the Neva and Smolny Cathedral opens from the porch of the estate. Hundreds of cars rush past the lattice of the once quiet country estate every second.

Car traffic on Sverdlovskaya embankment is very busy at the moment, six lanes in both directions. The state of the building itself, alas, evokes only negative emotions. The building is in need of major repairs and restoration.

For the tuberculosis dispensary, a new building has already been built near the Mechnikov hospital, this is much more comfortable spot in terms of transport accessibility for the population, than the Sverdlovskaya embankment, but due to bureaucratic delays, the move is delayed. I heard that the move was scheduled for 2011, but did not take place due to the bankruptcy of the construction contractor, now the move is promised in December 2015, but as they say, wait and see.

The interior is in as bad condition as the façade. From the estate with rich collection paintings and numerous objects of art, alas, nothing has survived in the interiors

This staircase, located in the tower, leads to the children's department, and therefore this green, unattractive, wooden lattice was erected there. To prevent small patients from crawling between the staircase railing and bending over it.

Restoration work is already underway behind the rear facade of the estate. there are houses for the staff of medical institutions and former park pavilions.

The park of the estate has been ennobled, now it houses a business center, inside the houses of the offices of various enterprises. Of course, this is no longer a gorgeous park rivaling the Tsarskoye Selo park, but a pitiful likeness of it, but it's better than a wasteland with ruins.

Modern buildings of business centers are located next to the old park pavilions. Several ponds have survived.

And on this pond I went skiing as a child. During my childhood, there were factories around this pond, now factories are being demolished, business centers and residential areas are being built. Fishermen are trying to catch fish in the pond, I would disdain to eat such fish. And the area next to the pond was then called Babarovka, and I still don't know why.

Squirrels live in the park, although the area cannot be called quiet. On the one hand, there is an embankment with heavy car traffic, on the other side, Polyustrovsky Prospekt, which is also very busy with transport.

The church in the name of St. Panteleimon was closed in 1923, later it housed a children's infectious diseases hospital. Attempts are now being made to recreate the building.

I hope that in a few years I will have the opportunity to write about the renovated Kushelev-Bezborodko estate. I plan to build a cultural and business center there.

Prevention of tuberculosis

And a little about the sad, I naturally visited this estate in the direction of examination at the tuberculosis dispensary. As it turned out, this year the Ministry of Health issued an order to examine all children whose Mantoux reaction exceeds 13 mm. At school or kindergarten, a formidable direction is issued that you must provide a certificate of examination from a tuberculosis dispensary within a month, otherwise the child will not be allowed to attend school.

I recommend making an appointment right away, the queue is 2-3 weeks. During this time, the child needs to be tested, and fluorography should be done for all adult family members, but this is only the beginning. In the dispensary, they will give a direction for a chest X-ray for the child and give him a Diaskintest, this is a type of Mantoux test, you need to check after 72 hours. It is imperative to check it in the dispensary, in the district clinic it is impossible. After that, once again make an appointment with a phthisiatrician, so that, based on the results of the examination, you will finally receive the coveted certificate, this can be done without a child.

In total, for all this examination, I had to take time off from work 3 times. The tuberculosis dispensary is open from 9 am to 6 pm only on weekdays, there are no options. The child missed a workout and two lessons. I went to the doctors instead of going to the fitness club in the morning. A fair question arises, is such an examination justified? Maybe our Ministry of Health should better direct the money allocated for this large-scale campaign to really sick children in need of treatment, and not drive healthy children to doctors.

On the other hand, tuberculosis is, of course, a dangerous infectious disease. And it is not so far from each of us as we would like to think about it. St. Petersburg is an unfavorable region for tuberculosis. The huge overcrowding of the population, poor ecology, the presence of a large number of migrants all this increases the risk of infection.

During my life I have heard about 4 cases of tuberculosis. My husband worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the 90s. There is a mandatory annual medical examination of all employees, an annual universal fluorographic examination, but two of their employees died of tuberculosis, when the diagnosis was made, nothing could be done.

In the kindergarten where my son went, one girl fell ill. It was a normal family, i.e. the girl ate normally, dressed normally, absolutely pleasant parents and such a misfortune. Nobody is immune from tuberculosis, alas. Only strong immunity can save the situation. In St. Petersburg, 90% of the population is infected, but not sick. The disease may never occur, as it happens in the vast majority of cases. It is necessary to strengthen immunity for any diagnosis. I heard a similar story about a sick child in the kindergarten where my nephew goes from my brother.

Naturally, all children in contact with the sick are subject to compulsory examination at the tuberculosis dispensary and observation throughout the year.

The incidence in St. Petersburg is about 50 people per 100 thousand of the population, in general, not so much. Mortality from tuberculosis is 12 people per 100 thousand of the population.

The territory on which the famous dacha of Kushelev-Bezborodko was later located was developed even before the "birth" of St. Petersburg. So, in those days, namely at the end of the 17th century, this territory was the estate of the commandant of the Swedish fortress Nyenskans. During the Northern War, it was taken by Peter I, who later presented it to his wife Catherine.

The future Kushelev-Bezborodko estate is located on the banks of the Neva. Opposite it is the unique ensemble of the Smolny Monastery.

Under Catherine II in 1773, the privy councilor, Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov, became the owner of this plot of land. A house was built for him, designed by the architect Vasily Bazhenov.

Description of the cottage

After Grigory Nikolaevich Teplov died, his son sold the estate for 22,500 rubles to a statesman and diplomat - Prince Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko. The date of sale is 1782. By his order, the building was redesigned, and the architect Giacomo Quarenghi became the head of the rebuilding of the estate. The main facade of the building, decorated with a columnar portico with a triangular pediment, faces the Neva. It is connected with the main building by side wings with curved colonnades, which over the years were rebuilt into closed galleries.

It is separated from the embankment by a fence consisting of 29 figures of seated lions. One gets the impression that proud animals with a majestic appearance are guarding the territory, holding powerful chains.

The amazingly beautiful stone pier-terrace allows you to admire a beautiful view of the Neva. A special charm is given to it by the figures of the sphinxes, watching over the rest of the vacationers.

The estate occupied a territory called "Polyustrovo" (from the Latin word "palustris" - swampy). Here, during the reign of Peter I, healing iron springs were discovered. Already in those days, their properties were known.

Count Bezborodko resettled some of his peasants to this area for the development and prosperity of the new village.

Hydrotherapy resort

At the beginning of the 19th century, after the bogs in Polyustrovo were drained, a spa resort was organized near the healing springs. Its territory also "captured" a part of the park of the Bezborodko estate.

A fire in 1868 destroyed both the resort and most of the park. The resort has never been restored.

When Alexander Alexandrovich Bezborodko died, his niece, Princess Cleopatra Ilyinichna Lobanova-Rostovskaya, settled in his house. Her son, Alexander Grigorievich Kushelev, in 1816 by a special decree was allowed to bear the name Kushelev-Bezborodko. He led a carefree and riotous lifestyle. His addiction to strong drinks and merry revels had an extremely negative effect on his health and at his 25 he was weak and sick

By and large, half of the literary intelligentsia of Russia in the second half of the 19th century rested and worked at this dacha. This estate was often visited by literary figures of that time - Alexey Feofilaktovich Pisemsky, Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich and others.

From the memoirs of Dmitry Vailievich Grigorovich about the "Kusheleva Dacha": “At that time this house, or, rather, the society that was in it, had a strange look. It gave it the character of a caravanserai, or rather, a large hotel for visitors. Here, according to old memory, were relatives and next to them a rabble of foreign and Russian newcomers, gamblers, petty journalists, their wives, friends, etc.

All this was housed in different departments of the vast, once lordly house, lived, ate, drank, played cards, took walks in the Count's carriages, not in the least embarrassed by the owner, who, due to the endless weakness of character and part of the pain, was not at all intervened, giving everyone the freedom to do whatever "

Grigory Alexandrovich went down in history as a publisher, philanthropist and prose writer. At his expense, books of poetry by Apollon Nikolaevich Maikov, the first collected works of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky, the works of Lev Aleksandrovich May and other publications were published.

Life of Dacha Bezborodko after the fire

Due to the fire in 1868, the resort ceased to exist, and the water was still being poured. The next one who began to use mineral springs was Sigismund Grigorievich Vislavo. He carbonated the water and sold it not only in St. Petersburg, but also in its surroundings. In 1887 he drilled a well that produced up to 20,000 buckets of water per day.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko, the last representative of the most famous and richest family, died in 1870, when he was 38 years old. At the end of the 19th century, the magnificent park located around the dacha was inexorably shrinking, as its territory began to be built up with various industrial enterprises.

The next, who settled at the "Kusheleva Dacha", were the sisters of mercy of the Elizabethan community of the Red Cross in 1896. The building was rebuilt specifically for their needs, and several hospital buildings were built. The community was founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who was the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Now there was a constant reception of workers and artisans from the immediate vicinity.

Later, since 1898, Prince Semyon Semyonovich Abamelek-Lazarev became the owner of the unique sources of mineral water. The sources were at his disposal until 1917. The new owner produced mineral water under the brand name "Natural Mineral Water of Polyustrovsky Springs".

In 1918, the Polestrovsky springs were transferred to the disposal of the economic department of the Vyborg district council. But the district council had neither the strength nor the capabilities to manage this production. Only in 1924-1925, a large-scale activity was launched to improve the urban outskirts, new wells were drilled here.

In 1932, the Kushelev-Bezborodko dacha was transferred to the balance of the Promet plant, and in 1940 - to the hospital. Karl Liebknecht. In room. In 1960-1962, the building of the dacha was restored. During the construction of the Sverdlovskaya embankment, the underground passage to the Neva was filled up, and the entrance to it was walled up. To date, the premises of the Kushelev-Bezborodko dacha are occupied by an anti-tuberculosis dispensary.

The embankment opposite the dacha and today is a pier-terrace, which is decorated with four majestic figures of sphinxes.

The entire sculptural ensemble is made of gray granite. Above the entrance to the grotto there is a lion's head carved in the castle stone. At the end of the 19th century, the sphinxes disappeared, and they were restored only in 1958.

The model was the sphinxes in the courtyard of the Stroganov palace.

Figures of twenty-nine mighty lions were restored in 1999.

Dacha Kuleshov-Bezborodko is the second building in St. Petersburg faced with marble. The first, as we know, was the Marble Palace. For this reason, the Dacha is sometimes called the Small Marble Palace.

Everyone knows the addiction of St. Petersburgers to the statues of lions, but it is difficult to even roughly name the number of these works of art. However, the largest concentration of these animals is at the Bezborodko dacha.

Russia is full of various architectural monuments that are of great value to our people. For example, the Kushelev Bezborodko estate is an outstanding representative of cultural heritage since this place has enough rich history development, which will be interesting to get acquainted with every person interested in the development of domestic architecture.

The fate of the Kushelev-Bezborodko dacha

It is known that the territory on which the dacha was built was inhabited even before its appearance. At the end of the 17th century on this place the estate of the commandant of the Swedish fortress called Nyenskans was located. After she was conquered during the Northern War, the place was donated to Catherine by her husband Peter the Great. There is a legend among people that medicinal waters that flow on the territory of the dacha were discovered by Peter the Great himself, who admitted that they are no worse than the Belgian ones. The water itself received the Latin name "polyustrovskaya", which means "swampy" in Russian.

Estate of Kushelev Bezborodko in St. Petersburg originated in 1770. The story of its appearance is quite interesting, since it began when a secret adviser named Georgy Teplov decided to go for treatment not abroad, but chose the very Polyustrovskaya water in order to save extra money. After the rest took place, Teplov submitted a petition to Catherine II for the presentation of these places as a gift, and at the time of 1773-1777 this petition was approved. After that, the construction of a summer house on the territory of the site with medicinal waters began.

In addition to the house itself, it was decided to build special greenhouses for growing flowers, ordinary plants and vegetables. The house itself turned out to be in the Gothic style, and existing communications were used during its construction. Interestingly, Teplov's health has truly improved, despite the fact that he told about the accident when the local water almost killed him.

Further development of the estate

After the death of Georgy, Kushelev Bezborodko's dacha was inherited by his lawful son Alexei, who sold the plot to a chancellor named Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko, whose surname influenced the creation of such an unusual, sonorous name. On the site of the previously standing house, it was decided to build a completely new housing, which was designed by Giacomo Quarenghi. The legendary architect did not completely destroy the estate, and decided to simply remake it, adding some elements. By the way, the price of the deal for the sale of the dacha was 22,500 rubles, which was an incredibly high amount for old money.

The building itself embodies the era of classicism with all its characteristic components. The most noticeable part of the cottage is the 29 lions, which are located around the perimeter of the entire fence. Presumably, the author of these sculptures is Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov.

Bezborodko possessed a rather refined taste in terms of art, so many different paintings were located across the area of ​​the whole house, each of which was also of value.

The modern history of the dacha Kushelev-Bezborodko

In 1799, the owner of the premises died, having previously bequeathed to use the dacha for good. Unfortunately, the Bezborodko brothers did not have time to fulfill the last wishes of their deceased relative. The estate has gone through a lot: fires, war, devastation and restoration. On this moment inside the dacha there is a tuberculosis dispensary number 5, being ubiquitous historical monuments Russian architecture, which still inspires many creative people.

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