The "princely huts" of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov ("half-timbered house") became. The sources of the hut have been mentioned since 1714 and there is no consensus on the exact date of their construction. It is assumed that the site could be occupied by Menshikov on his own, could have been borrowed from Major General Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev, and could have been built after the decree of Peter I on the beginning of the development of the Lower (Angliyskaya) Embankment.

If you believe the first two options, then it is worth taking into account the information that mentions the presence of a building here already in 1710. If this was the case, then Menshikov was made an exception to the rule, since Peter I was going to use the straight coastline west of the Admiralty for official purposes for the shipyard. And only in 1714 he issued a decree on the beginning of the development of this territory. According to eyewitnesses, Menshikov's huts were also the first apartment building in St. Petersburg. M.I. Pylyaev, based on the recollections of eyewitnesses, describes it as follows:

Thus, we have another version of the date of construction of the first house on the site of the Senate building - 1716.

The historian K.V. Malinovsky in the book "St. Petersburg of the 18th century" cites a link to a document according to which from August to November 1716 " as directed by architect Leblond“In the courtyard of Menshikov, another hut house was erected to accommodate French craftsmen. It was the first school of modeling and artistic carving in St. Petersburg, in which the same architect Jean-Baptiste Leblond taught. On the same site there was a tavern for workers.

Near the Menshikov site, where the Presidential Library (the building of the Synod) now operates, since 1720 there has been a smolny hut. Resin was cooked here to grind the ropes used in the construction of ships in the neighboring Admiralty. This enterprise was not fire safe, therefore a canal was dug from the Admiralty Canal along the Smol'nya. In case of fire, it was possible to take water from it. There were fire pumps on the bank of the canal.

The plot of the Senate building belonged to Menshikov until 1727. After his exile, the house was run by the office of confiscations, and on October 10, 1732, it was granted to the vice-chancellor, Count Heinrich-Johann Friedrich (Andrei Ivanovich) Osterman. In 1741, the vice-chancellor was exiled by Elizaveta Petrovna to Siberia, and not long before that he managed to arrange a church here.

On December 17, 1744, the site was donated to Count Chancellor Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. For him, in 1744-1747, the house was rebuilt into a real baroque palace. From the side of Staro-Isaakievskaya (Galernaya) street, the building was decorated with a three-tiered tower with a clock brought by the chancellor from abroad. For a long time, this tower clock was the only one in St. Petersburg, as the chimes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral burned down from a lightning strike and their replacement took a long time. On February 25, 1747, Bestuzhev-Ryumin celebrated the wedding of his son with Countess Razumovskaya in this palace.

On September 8, 1749, volunteers were called " instead of the pitches available at the Rope Yard, in which it is dangerous to pitch the ropes required by the Navy and the Admiralty, to complete the existing newly built stone workshops of the chambers for cooking resin"[Quoted from: 3, p. 92]. Thus, the smolnaya smolnaya was replaced by a stone smolnaya. By the end of the 18th century, a house of merchants Ustevs was built on the site of smolnaya, which was later acquired by the St. Petersburg merchant Kusovnikov.

Bestuzhev-Ryumin's participation in palace intrigues served him in disservice. In 1758 he was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to death, commuted to exile. April 17, 1761 " In the house of the former Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, a public sale of various things will begin, silver and flames, shandals, tea, coffee dishes, Haiduk and Jaeger liveries, silver sets, mirror boards for dessert in copper frames with different trees and trees with a crystal cutter for dessert. , thin marble fireplaces, large and small blinders, saddles, beaver and leopard horse tires with silver trims, illuminated lamps, wall and dining room clocks, including some English ones, play different minuets"[Quoted from: 3, pp. 107, 108]. The sale of the tower clock was scheduled for May 22 of the same year. Bestuzhev-Ryumin sold all this property himself, even though the empress exiled him to Siberia, she did not dare to confiscate the property With the sale of wealth, the owner of the palace showed his plight.

After the accession to the throne of Catherine II, the chancellor was pardoned, but he no longer counted on government positions. On June 30, 1763, the Bestuzhev-Ryumin house was valued, and on December 24 it was accepted into the treasury for 92,107 rubles 60 kopecks. The Senate moved to the palace from the building of the Twelve Collegia. In addition to monetary compensation, the former owner was given new housing - the house of Prince Kantemir on the Palace Embankment.

Despite the rebuilding and renovation, the old building was rapidly deteriorating. In 1808, its walls were reinforced with "iron ties", and pillars were installed in the large hall. At the same time, work was carried out to replace beams and rafters under the leadership of A. N. Voronikhin.

In the 1810s, from the side of Galernaya Street, according to the project of L. I. Charlemagne, a new three-storey building for the printing house was attached to the Senate building.

By the beginning of the 19th century, after the construction of the Admiralty building that still exists today, all these houses no longer corresponded to the appearance of the square. After the victory of Russia in the war with France, the Senate demanded premises corresponding to its status. At the same time, the number of its employees has increased. On August 10, 1827, Nicholas I visited the Senate and decided to rebuild this building.

To carry out all the relevant work, a committee was organized under the leadership of the Minister of Justice, Prince DI Lobanov-Rostovsky.

At the same time, it was decided to transfer the Synod here, thus freeing the entire building of the Twelve Collegia for the needs of St. Petersburg University. For the Synod, they decided to purchase the neighboring house of the merchant Kusovnikova.

Architect A. E. Shtaubert, who examined the old building of the Senate, suggested that the possibility of using the old premises after their modernization. However, the committee insisted on a complete overhaul of the house. The emperor ordered to build a new Senate house in the image and likeness of the General Staff building.

On September 13, 1827, a competition was announced for the reconstruction of buildings. It was attended by K. Rossi, V. Stasov, P. Jaco, S. Shustov, V. Glinka. Rossi did not want to participate in the competition. He was the last to submit his drawings for consideration, only after several persistent reminders.

Paul Jacot proposed to build one common building, reminiscent of the Louvre gallery. Stasov planned to rebuild only the Senate building. These options contradicted the requirement of Nicholas I to make the building of the Senate and Siinoda look like the General Staff Building. Karl Rossi also drew up a project for two new buildings, in the style and forms desired by the tsar. Several times this project was revised by the architect, as a result, the final design of two buildings, connected by an arch, arose.

The manager of the Ministry of Justice, Prince AA Dolgorukov, tried to challenge Rossi's plan. He reported to the emperor:

And without bringing the entire western side of the square under one facade, it will not lose its majestic appearance, as long as it has the same height and in the same style ... When both buildings are connected by arches, then the costs will increase significantly [Cit. by 1, p. 515].

The architect responded to these arguments by saying that he was going to use the walls of old buildings, which would reduce costs. And the new arch will resemble the arch of the General Staff building, which was what Nicholas I intended.

Rossi's project was approved on February 18, 1829. In July, the old building was broken, and on August 24, the ceremonial laying of the new Senate building took place. A memorial plaque was placed in the foundation with the inscription: "The drawing of the façade, the highest approved, was drawn up by the architect Carl Rossi. The builder of the building was the architect Alexander Staubert." In 1830 (August 26), when Kusovnikova's house was redeemed into the state treasury for 600,000 rubles, the building of the Synod was laid.

The amount of 600,000 could be surprising, so in 1796 the site was estimated at 7,500 rubles. But having learned about the decision to build a new building of the Synod here, the merchant's wife Kusovnikova decided to get the maximum income from the treasury. In addition, this amount probably included bribes to officials who recognized the price as correct.

After the laying of the building of the Synod of Russia, he visited this construction site only occasionally, since at the same time he was engaged in construction around Alexandrinskaya Square. Together with the architect A. E. Shtaubert, his assistant T. A. Ugryumov worked. Up to 800 people worked on the construction site every day.

The three-storey building on Galernaya Street, built in the 1810s by the architect Charlemagne, was left intact by Carl Rossi, only by adding to it.

The sculptural decoration project was approved by Nicholas I on July 15, 1831. At the same time, the emperor gave instructions to depict the figures not "in height", but seated, to remove trophies, to make books of laws in the hands of geniuses without inscriptions, to dress the figures in antique ones or turn them into allegorical ones.

By the beginning of October 1832, the construction of the buildings was completed, and the interior decoration of the buildings began. The plastering works were supervised by contractors P. Zaitsev, F. Sidorov, I. Dylev, M. Zinoviev, A. Andreev. The work on marble was headed by K. Triscorni. The furniture was made by P. Gambs, A. Tour, K. Goode and other craftsmen according to the drawings of A. E. Staubert. The most complex elements of the stucco decoration of the interiors were made by Toricelli. The halls were painted by B. Medici, F. Richter, V. Solovyov and other artists.

In February 1833 the emperor examined the object. After the completion of the internal work, the Senate was already working here. Its first meeting was held here on April 25, 1834, in the presence of Nicholas I. In November 1835, the construction of the Senate building was completed, in the same year all work at the Synod was completed.

In the corner room of the Senate building, a church was created in the name of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. It was consecrated on May 27, 1835. This is the only Orthodox church, the dome of which is equipped with a glass lantern. The carved oak iconostasis was made by the master of carpentry A. Tarasov according to the drawings of A. E. Staubert.

The triumphal arch over Galernaya Street began to symbolize the unity of church and state. In its design, Rossi used one of the unrealized projects of the arch on Palace Square. The height of the arch together with the sculpture is 26 meters, the height of the vault is 12 meters, and the width of the arch is 20 meters. Its scope includes the transition between the Senate and the Synod. Above the arch there is a sculptural group "Piety and Justice", symbolizing faith in the law.

The sculptural decoration of the building was created by sculptors V.I.Demut-Malinovsky, S. S. Pimenov, N. A. Tokarev, P. P. Sokolov, P. V. Svintsov, N. A. Ustinov, I. I. Leppe. Ustinov created the statue "Faith" (first niche on the left), Sokolov - "Piety" (second niche from the left). S. S. Pimenov made statues "Law" and "Justice". While working on them, he died. On July 30, 1833, the model was completed by his son N. S. Pimenov. Capitals, lion masks and other decorative details were made by F. Toricelli. Sculptures by Demut-Malinovsky (sculptural composition on the attic, figures of Geniuses with books of laws) were cast from copper at the plant of Ch. Byrd, installed in August 1835.

The bas-reliefs and high-reliefs decorating the arch allegorically reveal the history of Russian legislation and glorify state power. The largest bas-relief "Civil Law" - above the arch, was made by P.V. Svintsov and I.I. Leppe. It depicts, among other things, the busts of Peter I and Catherine II. The same sculptors created a bas-relief on the left side of the arch - "God's Law" (dedicated to the Synod), on the right side - "Natural Law" (dedicated to the Senate).

The entrances to the buildings are decorated with granite staircases on the sides of which it was planned to place cast-iron lions. However, the Synod spoke out against the appearance of such sculptures. This building was the last major project of Carl Rossi.

The inhabitants of the city had their own associations with the institutions located here. Local officials were famous for their venality, corruption flourished. Thanks to the arch between the houses, a pun was born: "The Senate and Synod live on GIFTs."

The construction of the Senate and Synod building completed the architectural formation of the western border of the Senate Square.

In 1909, the number of employees of the Senate increased to such a size that it became necessary to increase the number of premises they occupied. For these purposes, a mansion, located on the embankment with the Senate building, was bought - the house of Lavals.

After 1917, the Senate building and the Laval house were transferred to the General Archives Office. All property and papers of the Senate were transferred to museums and archives. In 1924, the iconostasis of the Senate Church was dismantled, and the premises of the church were adapted for a book depository. In 1929 and 1936, the restoration of the facades and sculptural decoration was carried out. During the Leningrad blockade, the building of the Senate and Synod was badly damaged by artillery shelling. In 1941-1942, eight heavy shells hit him. The renovation of the Senate and Synod building began already in 1944. Restoration was carried out until 1952.

In 2006, the archive moved to a new building on Zanevsky Prospect, which made it possible to restore the building of the Senate and Synod. In 2008, the Constitutional Court was housed in the Senate building. In 2009, the building of the Synod was occupied by the library. Boris N. Yeltsin.

The buildings of the Senate and Synod with a triumphal arch uniting them were the last major works of the genius K.I. Russia. The buildings are decorated in the late classicism style. They were built in the years 1829-1834. Creativity Rossi is the basis of St. Petersburg classicism. An architectural formula was in use: "Classicism entered St. Petersburg through the Arch of the General Staff and left it through the Arch of the Senate and Synod."

The first building on the site of the current buildings of the Senate and Synod was the half-timbered house of His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov. After his disgrace, the house on the embankment of the Neva passed into the ownership of Vice-Chancellor A.I. In 1763, after the accession to the throne of Catherine II, the house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin was transferred to the treasury, and the Senate moved to this building, rebuilt by the architect A. F. Vist. Prior to this, the Senate and Synod were located in the building of the Twelve Collegia. In the 1780s and 1790s, the Baroque house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin was rebuilt again, and its facades received a new architectural treatment typical of Russian classicism. The name of the author of the project of the new Senate building remains unknown. Judging by the drawing of the western facade of the building preserved in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of Arts, the project was developed by the architect I. Ye. Starov. On the site of the current building of the Synod in the 18th century, there was the house of the merchant Kusovnikova. With the construction of the Admiralty in 1806-1823, the previous buildings no longer corresponded to the new appearance of the Senate Square. There was a need for reconstruction, and a competition was announced for the development of a project for the new buildings of the Senate and Synod.

At the announced competition of reconstruction projects, the project of K.I.Rossi was recognized as the best, which began to be implemented in 1829. On August 24, 1829, the ceremonial laying of the Senate building took place. At the same time, the Bestuzhev-Ryumin house was not completely demolished - part of the walls of the former building was included by Rossi in the volume of the new building. A year later, when the neighboring house of the merchant Kusovnikova was bought out, the building of the Synod was laid. The architect Alexander Shtaubert was responsible for the construction work according to the project of K. I. Rossi, as well as the planning of the premises of the building.

The buildings of the Senate and Synod are united by a triumphal arch, which ends with the sculptural composition "Justice and Piety" standing on a multi-stage attic, symbolizing the unity of church and secular power. The composition was created by the sculptors S. Pimenov, V. Demut-Malinovsky and P. Sokolov.
Above the arch at the level of the attic are the figures of "Geniuses who keep the law". On the attic itself there are three bas-reliefs - "God's Law", "Natural Law" and "Civil Law". The location of the bas-reliefs is interesting. In the center above the arch there is a bas-relief "Civil Law", which is larger than the other two. Among other images, there are busts of Peter I and Catherine II. On the left side of the arch is the "Law of God" bas-relief dedicated to the Synod. On the right is the "Natural Law" bas-relief dedicated to the Senate.
On both sides, the arch is decorated with pairs of columns. When erecting the arch, Rossi used one of the unrealized design options for the arch of the General Staff building, which he reworked for a new architectural composition.

The three-storey rectangular buildings have large courtyards. The facades of the buildings are decorated with eight-column Corinthian porticoes and a stepped attic. The wide granite staircases with ramps, which form the entrance to the buildings, are unusually beautiful. The alternation of protruding parts of the facades of buildings and niches, moldings create a rich light and shadow effect. The facade of the Synod building faces both the Senate Square and the Promenade des Anglais. In the corner room of the building, a two-story church of the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky was arranged. The architectural design of this part of the building is very interesting. The corner of the building is rounded and decorated with a colonnade of eight Corinthian columns raised above the first floor. The smooth curvature of the monumental colonnade, completed with a stepped attic, greatly enriches the line of the embankment, giving it a festive look. The interior of the church, which is cruciform in plan, is decorated with six composite columns.
The former Senate Assembly Hall is also interesting in its design. Its walls are decorated with pilasters and caryatids made of stucco (artificial marble) and a plafond painted by the artist B. Medici. In the middle of the hall was a throne. The throne and furniture were upholstered in crimson velvet. The main staircase leading to the Senate Assembly Hall is decorated with a plafond by F. Richter.

The erection of the buildings of the Senate and Synod, together with the triumphal arch that unites them, completed the design of the city center; they became a magnificent decoration of St. Petersburg.

After the revolution, the Senate and Synod were abolished. In 1925, the buildings housed the Central State Historical Archives, which were based on the archives of the Senate and Synod.
The facades of the buildings and the sculptural decoration were restored in 1929 and 1936. In 1937, the painting of the main staircases was restored. The buildings were badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War. Eight heavy artillery shells inflicted heavy damage on them. The Synodal Church was almost completely destroyed. Restoration work began even before the end of the war - in the summer of 1944. During the comprehensive restoration of 1951-1953, the decor and sculptural decoration of the facades, the interiors of the grand staircases and the Senate Session Hall were restored. In 1979, the painting of the Senate Church was restored. All this time, until 2006, the buildings housed the Russian State Historical Archives. In 2006, after the Archive moved to a new building on Zanevsky Prospect, a complex of restoration work was carried out in the buildings of the Senate and Synod. Since May 2008, one wing has hosted the main subdivisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, while the other has hosted the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library since May 2009.

The building of the Senate and Synod in St. Petersburg. A historic building in the Empire style, originally built to house the two main state governing bodies of the Russian Empire - the Governing Senate and the Most Holy Governing Synod - in 1829-1834, designed by Karl Rossi and AE Staubert.

Before the construction of the current building of the Senate and Synod, this place was occupied by the houses of Prince A. D. Menshikov, Vice-Chancellor A. I. Osterman and Chancellor A. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, and from the side of the Synod - the house of the merchant Kusovnikova. In 1763, the house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin became the property of the treasury, and the Senate moved to it. These buildings were repeatedly rebuilt and renovated, but after the completion of the construction of the new Admiralty building, they began to fall out of the architectural ensemble of the Senate Square. Therefore, a competition was announced for the design and construction of new buildings for the Senate and Synod in the image and likeness of the General Staff building.

The Senate and Synod are, in fact, two separate buildings, united by a common compositional solution in the form of a triumphal arch, behind which begins the Galernaya street separating them. Moreover, the arch symbolized the unity of church and state, it was decorated with the sculptural group "Justice and Piety".

The bas-reliefs and high-reliefs around the triumphal arch show the history of Russian legislation, these are the “Civil Law” bas-relief, the busts of Peter I and Catherine II, the “Law of God” bas-relief, and the “Natural Law” bas-relief.

On the facade of a single complex of buildings there are 4 loggias with a colonnade and a stepped attic, porticoes of the Corinthian order, granite stairs and ramps. The wing of the Senate is also decorated with a curved monumental colonnade at the turn of the building towards the Neva.

In the wing of the Synod there is the Church of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.

After the revolution, in 1925-2006, these buildings housed the Russian State Historical Archives. Since May 2008, the wing of the former Senate has hosted the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and since 2009, the wing of the Synod has hosted the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, in which the chambers of the patriarch and the apartments of the head of state are highlighted.

The building of the Senate and Synod is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects (Historical and Cultural Monuments) of Russia.

Tourist notes:

A visit to the building of the Senate and Synod will be interesting for tourists interested in the architecture of the first half of the 19th century, and can also become one of the points of the excursion program while exploring the neighboring sights -

Senate and Synod

Administrative building
Senate and Synod building
Country	Russia
Center of St. Petersburg	Senate square
Coordinates	59.935278 , 30.301389 59 ° 56'07 ″ s. NS. 30 ° 18′05 ″ in. etc. /  59.935278 ° N NS. 30.301389 ° E etc.(G)
Building type	Building complex
Architectural style	Neoclassicism
The author of the project	Carl Rossi
Builder	Carl Rossi
Construction	- years
Key dates:
Building: Library named after Yeltsin courtyard
Status	Architectural monument
Senate and Synod building at Wikimedia Commons

Senate and Synod building- an architectural monument of St. Petersburg. It was originally built for two government bodies of the Russian Empire: the Senate and the Most Holy Governing Synod. The author of the building is the architect Carl Rossi (-; his last major work).

Construction history

The building of the Senate was laid on August 24, 1829; in 1830 - the building of the Synod. Completed construction in 1834. The construction was carried out under the direction of the architect Alexander Staubert and designed by Carl Rossi.

Previously, there were two buildings of the 18th century on this site: the house of the disgraced chancellor A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, in which the Senate was located since 1763, and the house of the merchant Kusovnikova. At the end of the 18th century, the baroque house of Bestuzhev-Ryumin was rebuilt by the architect I. Starov in the spirit of classicism, but this was not enough: with the construction of the Admiralty, the previous buildings no longer corresponded to the new look of the square. There was a need for reconstruction, and a competition was announced for the development of a project for the new buildings of the Senate and Synod. The competition was attended by Karl Rossi, Vasily Stasov, S. Shustov, A. Mikhailov 2nd, P. Jaco and V. Glinka. Rossi won the design competition and managed to convincingly solve the main objective of the competition - "to give the building a character corresponding to the enormous size of the area."

Parts of the walls of the previous building - the Bestuzhev-Ryumin house - were organically included in the volume of the Senate building. The construction of the Synod building was started after the neighboring house of the merchant Kusovnikova was bought into the state treasury.

On the western side, the square is bordered by a long façade with a high triumphal arch, richly decorated with sculptures. The entrances to the buildings are decorated with granite staircases with ramps and eight-column loggias. Cast-iron lions were supposed to be placed on the sides of the stairs, but the Synod opposed their installation. Columns of the Corinthian order give the whole structure an emphatically ceremonial appearance.

Despite their length, the buildings of the Senate and Synod do not look monotonous at all. On the facades, loggias with a colonnade and a stepped attic are repeated four times. Both the facades and the central arch are decorated with protruding pairs of columns. The rounded corner of the Senate, facing the Neva, is also decorated with a loggia with eight columns. Sculptures on the facades of the building - statues of geniuses and the group "Justice and Piety", crowning the arch, were created by sculptors Stepan Pimenv, Nikolai Pimenov, Vasily Demut-Malinovsky, and S. Sokolov.

With the considerable length of the buildings of the Senate and Synod of Russia, he brought their height to seventeen meters. In the design of the triumphal arch, he used one of the unrealized versions of the arch of the General Staff, reworking it in accordance with the dimensions of the arch of the Senate and Synod. Stucco decorations, statues, a sculptural group on the attic gave the arch a solemn, almost baroque splendor.

During the Great Patriotic War, the buildings of the Senate and Synod suffered from shelling. The interiors have survived only in part - mainly painting and stucco molding. Of interest are the two-story hall with a semicircular vault covered with paintings and the premises of the former church, decorated with six columns.

100 great sights of St. Petersburg Myasnikov senior Alexander Leonidovich

Senate and Synod buildings

Senate and Synod buildings

Anyone who has already managed to get acquainted with the architectural masterpieces of the 19th century in St. Petersburg, these two buildings at the Senate Square, connected by an arch, will seem familiar. And this is no coincidence. After all, many masterpieces of architecture of the Empire era were created in St. Petersburg by Karl Ivanovich Rossi, including the buildings of the Senate and Synod - the last major work of the master.

Both institutions, the Senate and the Synod, emerged as a result of Peter's administrative reforms. The Senate, formed in 1711, by the beginning of the 19th century was the highest judicial body, and the Synod, founded in 1722, replaced the institution of the patriarchate in the administration of the church.

Initially, both the Senate and the Synod were housed in the building of the Twelve Collegia on Vasilievsky Island.

The first building on the site of the current buildings of the Senate and Synod was the second palace of Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov ("half-timbered house"). It has been mentioned since 1714. It is assumed that the site could be occupied by Menshikov on his own, or was borrowed from Major General Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev, and could have been built after the decree of Peter I on the beginning of the development of the Lower (English) embankment.

Nearby there was a tavern for workers and the first school of sculpture and art carving in St. Petersburg. The architect Jean-Baptiste Leblond taught here.

Senate square

After Menshikov's exile, the "half-timbered house" was run by the office of confiscations. In 1732, it became the property of the Vice-Chancellor, Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman. But the new owner also fell out of favor in 1741 and, by order of Elizaveta Petrovna, went to Siberia. And soon the site was donated to Count Chancellor Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

In 1744-1747, the house was rebuilt into a real baroque palace. From the side of Staro-Isaakievskaya (now Galernaya) street, the building was decorated with a three-tiered tower with a clock brought by the chancellor from abroad. But Bestuzhev-Ryumin had to leave the palace against his will: in 1758 he was accused of conspiracy and sentenced to death, replaced by exile. After the accession to the throne of Catherine II, the chancellor was pardoned. But he did not return to the palace, since the Senate moved there from the building of the Twelve Collegia. True, the former owner was paid monetary compensation for the palace.

In the 1780s, the building of the Senate was rebuilt by the architect I.E. Starov in the style of classicism. But, despite the reconstruction and renovation, the old building was rapidly dilapidated. In 1808, its walls were reinforced with "iron ties", and pillars were installed in the large hall. At the same time, work was underway to replace beams and rafters.

In the 1810s, from the side of Galernaya Street, according to the project of L.I. Charlemagne, a new three-story building for the printing house was added to the Senate building. And just beyond Galernaya Street was the house of the merchant Kusovnikova.

After the victory over France, the status of Russia demanded a new architectural style, which became the Empire style. In addition, the Senate wanted to be accommodated in a room corresponding to its status. In addition, the number of its employees has increased. On August 10, 1827, Emperor Nicholas I visited the Senate and decided to rebuild this building.

At the same time, it was decided to transfer the Synod here, thus freeing the entire building of the Twelve Collegia for the needs of St. Petersburg University.

The Emperor ordered to build a new Senate house in the image and likeness of the General Staff building on Palace Square.

On September 13, 1827, a competition was announced for the reconstruction of buildings. Several famous architects took part in it. For example, Paul Jacot proposed to build one common building, reminiscent of the Louvre gallery. Stasov planned to rebuild only the Senate building. Karl Rossi also drew up a project for two new buildings. Several times this project was revised by the architect, as a result, a project of two buildings, connected by an arch, arose, which was what Nicholas I intended.

Rossi's project was approved on February 18, 1829. On August 24, the solemn laying of the Senate building took place. A commemorative plaque was placed in the foundation with the inscription: “The drawing of the façade, which was approved by the highest, was drawn up by the architect Carl Rossi. The builder of the building was the architect Alexander Shtaubert. " In 1830, when the Kusovnikova house was bought into the state treasury, the building of the Synod was laid.

In July 1831, Nicholas I approved the project of the sculptural decoration. The emperor gave instructions to depict the figures not "in height", but seated, to remove trophies, to make books of laws in the hands of geniuses without inscriptions, to dress the figures in antique togas or to make them more allegorical.

By the beginning of October 1832, the construction of the buildings was completed, and the interior decoration of the buildings began. The Senate building was completed by November 1835. In 1834, after the completion of the internal work, the Senate was already working here. And a year later, the construction of the Synod building and the Arc de Triomphe was completed. The height of the arch together with the sculpture is 26 meters, the height of the vault is 12 meters, and the width of the arch is 20 meters. The sculptural group "Piety and Justice" is located above the arch. It symbolizes faith in the law.

And the Triumphal Arch itself over Galernaya Street began to symbolize the unity of church and state. In its design, Rossi used one of the unrealized projects of the General Staff Arch.

The sculptural decoration of the building was created by sculptors V.I. Demut-Malinovsky, S.S. Pimenov, N.A. Tokarev, P.P. Sokolov, P.V. Svintsov, N.A. Ustinov, I.I. Leppe. Ustinov created the statue "Faith" (first niche on the left), Sokolov - "Piety" (second niche from the left). S.S. Pimenov made statues "Law" and "Justice". While working on them, he died. On July 30, 1833, the model was completed by his son N.S. Pimenov.

The capitals, lion masks and other decorative details were made by F. Torricelli. Sculptures by Demut-Malinovsky (a sculptural composition on the attic, figures of geniuses with books of laws) were cast from copper at Ch. Byrd's factory and installed in August 1835.

The bas-reliefs and high-reliefs decorating the arch allegorically reveal the history of Russian legislation and glorify state power. The largest bas-relief is “Civil Law”. It depicts, among other things, the busts of Peter I and Catherine II.

Interestingly, it was planned to place cast-iron lions near the granite stairs in the buildings. However, the Synod spoke out against the appearance of such sculptures.

After 1917, the Senate building and the Lavaley house, where part of the Senate moved in 1909, was transferred to the General Archives Directorate.

In 2006, the archive moved to a new building on Zanevsky Prospect, which made it possible to restore the building of the Senate and Synod. In 2008, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation was located in the Senate building. In 2009, the building of the Synod was occupied by the library. B.N. Yeltsin.

But the townspeople continue to call these buildings in the old fashioned way - Senate and Synod. As they like to remember that "Russian classicism entered St. Petersburg through the arch of New Holland and left it through the arch of the Senate and Synod."

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