St Petersburg University launches virtual tours of the Bobrinsky Palace
St Petersburg University is presenting virtual panoramas of the Bobrinsky Palace. The virtual excursion shows the study and the library of Count Bobrinsky, the small and large courtyards of the estate, as well as the grand dining hall and the billiard room.
The current appearance of the building dates from the late 18th century, when it was purchased by Senator Pyotr Myatlev, chamberlain and chief director of the Assignation Bank. In 1798, the ownership of the palace passed to Count Aleksey Bobrinsky. His descendants continued to live there until the October Revolution. In 1918, the building was nationalised, and the family collection of paintings, artefacts and furniture from the palace were confiscated. Some of the objects were sold, and the rest were transferred to the State Hermitage Museum.
In 1921, the palace housed a department of the Russian Museum, and since 1927 educational institutions and offices. In 2001, the architectural monument was handed over to St Petersburg University and it was used for the educational programme ‘Arts and Humanities’.
Crimson drawing room
Despite the palace’s turbulent history, the experts in preservation and restoration of heritage buildings managed to restore its appearance and preserve the interior wall and ceiling paintings. The Bobrinsky palace rebirth was marked by the completion of the restoration works in the summer of 2011.
In August 2012, representatives of the Bobrinsky family held an annual family reunion there. In 2016, Countess Tatyana Bobrinskaya donated to St Petersburg University the painting ‘After the Storm’ by Count Nikolai Bobrinsky, a direct descendant of Empress Catherine the Great.
Since 2016, the palace has organised public tours as part of the Open City project. And now, virtual panoramas will make it possible to see the restored interiors of the palace from anywhere in the world. Welcome!