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In the Eastern part of the Upper Park on the picturesque bank of the twisting little river Karost the charming two-storey stone building is situated. This is the Palace of Peter III (1758-1762, architect Antonio Rinaldi) - the magnificent combination of the elegance and monumentalism. The Palace was built at the territory of the "amusing fortress" Peterstadt according all the demands of the fortification art of that time.
The construction was conducted
according the project of the architect A.Rinaldi, was watched
over by the "architect's" student Savely Sokolov and
engineer-first lieutenant Roman Kachalov since 1756 till 1762.The
fortress resembled the star with multiple ends, formed by the
ramparts. It was surrounded by the deep ditch with three lifting
bridges and there were cannons on its five bastions. There were
many constructions with the different functions: soldiers barracks,
Commandant's house, houses for the officers and generals, guardroom,
gunpowder cellar and the little Lutheran Church with an organ.
In the centre of the fortress the arsenal yard was situated. This
yard was pentagon-shaped and had the entrance gate (left). The
flotilla of the boats, frigates and galeras was standing in the
harbour of the "Little amusing sea" (the former name
of the Lower Pond).The fortress garrison was formed from the soldiers
from Germany.
Near the fortress, along the right bank of the river Karost the Italian garden with the terraces, stairs, little bridges, pavilions, fountains and cascades was laid. The Menagerie (Zverinets - Zoo), the Hermitage, Soloviev's pavilion and China little house were situated in the garden. All the wooden constructions of the Fortress and Garden were demolished in the start of the XIX century. Nowadays the initial planning of the garden is not preserved. There are only some constructions kept safe since that times: the Palace of Peter III, Entrance Gate, the remains of the ramparts and the ditch.
In 1952-1953 the reconstruction of this area was executed: three flowerbeds were made around the Palace of Peter III, the new roads were made and the marble sculptures were erected on the lawn near the Palace. The simplicity and elegance of the Palace of Peter III exterior win the hearts of the visitors. The distinctiveness of the composition, the clear proportions and the decoration refinement allow to consider it one of the most perfect masterpieces of the Russian architecture of the XVIII century.
The rooms on the first floor were used as auxiliary and had no decoration. Nowadays the exposition on the history of the palace-and park ensemble of Oranienbaunm is placed here. Six little rooms on the second floor - Entrance Hall, Buffet Hall, Picture Hall, Study, Bedroom, Boudoirs are decorated in the style of the true palace rooms: magnificent moulding, fine carving, pictures, lacquer design, fine fabrics, mosaic parquet. The Picture Hall is the central room of the palace. In this hall in the XVIII century 58 pictures, separated by the thin silver-plated frames, were placed on the hand-painted wallpaper hanging. This hanging was created according the project of A.Rinaldi by the architect Ya.Shtelin and the artist K.Pfantselt, but in 1784 the majority of these pictures were given to the Academy of Arts according the order of Catherine II. This hanging was destroyed and then restored only in the modern times, in 1961-1962 according the schemes from the archives. Sixty three pictures, hanging on the walls today, represent the art of the Western Europe of the XVII-XVIII centuries: Italian, Flamand, Dutch and German schools of painting. These pictures were selected so skilfully, that the hanging is perceived like the unified whole.
The lacquer design of the Picture
Hall (left), the Study and the Bedroom is unique decoration type.
These lacquer paintings were designed by the Russian serf - "lacquer
design master"- Fyodor Vlasov in Chinese decorative style.
Two hundred and eighteen compositions are placed on the doors,
panels, window and door edges. There are naive, touching fantasies
of the Russian artist, reflecting his own understanding of life
in the far, mysterious country.
The restoration of the lacquer design and the hanging were executed
by the artists-restaurateurs R.P.Sausen, A.B.Vassilieva, B.N.Kosenkov,
B.N.Pugovkin and others.
The modelling decoration of the Palace of Peter III attracts
the attention of almost all the visitors of the palace. The most
interesting is the modelling in the Boudoirs with the scenes of
the garrison life. The compositions with the different plots,
united by the fine ornament with the military attributes seem
to be the unified whole.
The fine samples of the furniture of the XVIII century, made by Russian and Western craftsmen, and porcelain articles are presented in the interiors of the palace. The Palace of Peter III is the first preserved construction designed by A.Rinaldi. The creative principles, developed in his subsequent works could be seen in this work. A.Rinaldi was the remarkable master of rococo and early classicism styles.
