PETER THE GREAT'S HOUSE

Part of the "Summer Gardens and Peter I's Summer Palace" Museum
6 Petrovskaya naberezhnaya 191028 St. Petersburg
Open: 10am - 5pm
Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays
Tel. 232-4576
Nearest metro station: Gorkovskaya

Peter I's House, the first royal residence on the banks of the Neva, is the only structure to have survived from the early days of St. Petersburg. It was buik by military carpenters in three days of May 1703 (24-26). The construction, made up of pine logs, was modelled on the traditional Russian izba (hut). The house has an area of 60 sq.m and its height to the ridge of the shingle roof is 5.7 m. Originally, the walls were painted in oils to imitate brick and the building was consequently known as the krasnye khoromy (red chambers). As early as the eighteenth century, the house was enclosed by a stone awning to preserve this treasured monument for posterity. The existing brick basement was built in 1844 by Roman Kuzmin. In 1875 a bronze bust of Peter the Great was erected in front of the house by the sculptor Parmen Zabello.

The museum was opened in 1930, and in 1971-76 extensive restoration work was carried out. The study, the dining-room and the bedroom each contain displays of Peter's personal belongings, items from the domestic life of his period, and materials relating to the Northern War (1700-21), the founding of St. Petersburg and the construction and restoration of the house itself.