Hospice. Interesting facts about the hospice house of Count Sheremetev The hospice house of Count Sheremetev

The building, which with its facade faces 3, is an architectural monument - the Hospice House of Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev.

The construction of the almshouse was conceived back in 1792, when the count’s wife, Praskovya Zhemchugova, was still alive and well. Later, after her death, this charitable institution was dedicated to her memory and became a kind of monument building.

A complex was built, designed for free treatment of 50 people and maintenance of 100 poor people, of both sexes, on the site of the Tsar's Foundry Palace and the Cherkasy vegetable gardens that once stood here, which belonged to Sheremetev's mother, Varvara Alekseevna. At that time, there was already an almshouse for 48 people and, next door, a church in the name of St. Xenia, built in 1649.

The initial project was created by the architect Elizva Semenovich Nazarov, and the construction was carried out by the serf Sheremetev architects Argunov, Dikushin and Mironov.

During the construction process, the brilliant master Giacomo Quarenghi was involved in the work. It was thanks to this architect that the modest portico of the central part was replaced by a Tuscan colonnade, which was a semi-rotunda, which gave the whole composition some lightness and airiness.

According to Quarenghi's drawings, porticos were also built on the end facades and in the middle part of the side wings of the building, a bypass gallery, and work was also carried out to create the decoration of the built-in church in the name of the Holy Trinity, the impressive dome of which crowns the composition of the building of Sheremetev's Hospice House.

All these transformations came down to the fact that the building received a horseshoe shape, framing the front yard of the establishment.

The decoration of the Trinity Church and the White Hall was the main accent of the richly decorated interiors, which were created by the then famous painter Domenico Scotti and sculptor Gavriil Tikhonovich Zamaraev. Graceful chandeliers, white marble stairs and floors, and pale green luxurious columns made of Ural stone have been preserved here to this day.

Looking at this splendor, you cannot believe that the institution was built as an almshouse and a free medical institution. However, this is so and, as mentioned above, it was created and dedicated by the Sheremetevs to the memory of their beautiful wife - the serf actress Praskovya Zhemchugova.

The count and his faithful companion together selected a place for construction, and together they also placed coins “for good luck” in its foundation. Unfortunately, the wife did not live to see the opening and the count directed all his love for her towards the fulfillment of their plans - the creation of a Hospice House on Bolshaya Sukharevskaya Square, 3.

Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev also did not live to see the opening. Having outlived his wife by six years, he died in 1809, a month and a half before the completion of construction and design work. It was because of this that the grand opening of the establishment and the illumination of the church were postponed to 1810, which took place with a huge gathering of nobles and ordinary people.

The fire of 1812 spared the building. The Moscow cholera epidemic of 1830 did not touch the local inhabitants either. The Sheremetev family remained trustees of the hospital until the October Revolution of 1917.

Museums

Behind the Garden Ring, not far from the Moscow Compound of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, in a quiet, shady lane, there is the house of the outstanding Russian artist V. M. Vasnetsov, built in 1894 according to the design of the artist himself in the neo-Russian style. V. M. Vasnetsov lived here for the last 32 years of his life (1894–1926). On August 25, 1953, a museum was opened in the house; in 1954, 3rd Troitsky Lane, in which the house stands, was renamed Vasnetsov Lane. Immediately after the artist’s death, the relatives had the idea of ​​“preserving everything as it was, setting up something like a house-museum.” Having turned to the Tretyakov Gallery for help, they received consent to work together to organize a posthumous exhibition of works by V. M. Vasnetsov with the further prospect of creating a museum. On January 27, 1927, the artist’s son Alexei Viktorovich Vasnetsov submitted a statement to the gallery’s Board stating that the family was ready to accept all obligations related to the organization of the exhibition. He was also approved as a commissioner for the conduct of affairs. Alexey Viktorovich was helped by his sister Tatyana Viktorovna and his wife Zinaida Konstantinovna. M. V. Nesterov, P. Korin, Ap. were directly involved in the design of the exposition. M. and Vl. V. Vasnetsov and scientific secretary of the Tretyakov Gallery N. S. Morgunov. The necessary repair work was carried out, several hundred posters with information about the exhibition were printed and posted, tickets were prepared and a catalog was published. The exhibition opened on March 13, 1927. On the first day, about 600 people visited it. In the following days, many interested visitors and school groups came to the exhibition, and there were excursions. The exhibition was kept on display until 1933. The preface to the catalog stated that the works exhibited at the exhibition, in particular the fairy tale cycle, were presented to the public for the first time and that in the future landscapes, studies and sketches would be shown, “which, combined with what is being shown now, should form the Victor Vasnetsov Museum.” . The exhibition featured 212 exhibits: paintings, graphics and objects of decorative and applied art. The exhibits were housed in the living room, former classroom and workshop. The authors of the catalog provided the fairy-tale-epic paintings with brief texts from the literary source. During the Great Patriotic War, the artist’s relatives continued to live in the house. The large paintings were rolled up, the rest of the works were placed in boxes. The house itself was not damaged, but the fence and terrace were not preserved. In September 1946, the heirs expressed their desire to mark the centenary of the birth of V. M. Vasnetsov organized a museum in the house in 1948 and negotiated with the Tretyakov Gallery about this. The exhibition of the master’s paintings, which opened in May 1948 in the exhibition hall of the Union of Soviet Artists, aroused great interest among visitors and contributed to the decision to organize the museum. On June 29, 1950, a decree was issued by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the organization of the V. M. Vasnetsov House-Museum. The Committee for Arts Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued an order to begin organizing the museum, for which it would accept the house, as well as art collections and property donated by the artist’s heirs to the state. A month later, on July 29, 1950, the heirs signed a statement to the Committee for Arts under the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the free transfer of property and valuables to the state for the organization of the V. M. Vasnetsov House-Museum. On July 18, 1951, by order of the Committee, the “Regulations on the House-Museum of V. M. Vasnetsov” were approved. On August 28, 1951, the commission signed an act of acceptance of the house, artistic works - paintings, graphics, works of decorative and applied art, household items and property of V. M. Vasnetsov from his heirs. The first director of the museum (from 1951 to 1957) was the artist’s nephew Dmitry Arkadyevich Vasnetsov, a participant in the First World War and the Great Patriotic War, an actor in the Musical Theater of K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, director of the Children’s Music School. Z. K. Vasnetsova was appointed chief custodian. Together with Tatyana Viktorovna, D. A. Vasnetsov was engaged in renovating the house, restoring its layout and recreating the environment that was during the life of V. M. Vasnetsov. The architecture of the house was completely preserved, the furnishings of the house were restored to the beginning of the twentieth century. The decoration of the dining room, living room and workshop has been almost completely preserved. All other rooms, including the exhibition rooms, contained original objects donated to the museum by the artist’s family. The part of the collection that remained in the ownership of the heirs was transferred to the museum according to the will of T.V. Vasnetsova in 1959 and on the basis of her deed of gift in 1961. Thus, all collections: paintings, graphics, objects of decorative and applied art and everyday life, the artist’s personal archive and library, photographs and reproductions became part of the museum’s collection, which was replenished through gifts from various individuals, purchases, and currently has about 25 thousands of museum objects. In 1978–80, the house was restored, the appearance of the outbuildings was restored, where the janitor's, laundry and carriage house were located under a common roof, and the cobblestone pavement and brick path were restored in the courtyard. On the eastern side, a firewall (brick wall) erected in the 80s of the 19th century has been preserved, onto which the mosaic “The Savior on the Throne”, made at the beginning of the 20th century according to a sketch by V. M. Vasnetsov in the St. Petersburg mosaic workshop, was moved in the 1970s under the leadership of V. A. Frolov. On the north and west side of the house there is a garden with centuries-old oak and elm trees. At the time of its organization, the museum was under the jurisdiction of the Committee for Arts under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Practical management of the museum's work was carried out by the Main Directorate of Fine Arts Institutions. In 1954, the museum was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, and in January 1955 - to the jurisdiction of the Moscow City Council Department of Culture. In 1963, it was decided to join the Museum of History and Reconstruction of Moscow, and in 1986, the V. M. Vasnetsov House Museum became part of the All-Union Museum Association “State Tretyakov Gallery” as a scientific department.

  • Hospice house is an outdated designation for an almshouse, a hospital-shelter for the poor and crippled. The best known by this name is the Sheremetevskaya Hospital on Bolshaya Sukharevskaya Square in Moscow, on the basis of which the Sklifosovsky Institute of Emergency Care was organized in 1923.

    Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, one of the richest men in Russia, conceived the idea of ​​establishing an almshouse in Moscow for 100 people of both sexes and a free hospital with 50 beds in the early 1790s. For the construction of a charitable institution, a plot was allocated “in the Cherkassy vegetable gardens” near the Church of St. Xenia (1649), inherited by the count from his mother, the last princess of the Cherkassy senior line.

    The design of the Hospice House was commissioned from the Moscow architect Elizvoy Nazarov, who “assisted” with his relative Vasily Bazhenov and learned many of his architectural techniques. From the side, the building looks like a monumental noble estate with the main building recessed towards the park - the Trinity Church, above which a semicircular belvedere rises. The front yard is formed by two semicircular wings, extended far towards the Garden Ring and forming a horseshoe in plan.

    Although private charitable institutions existed in Moscow for a long time (for example, the Kurakinsky almshouse), the monumental architecture and urban planning scope of Count Sheremetev’s project had no precedents. Construction was carried out from 1792 to 1807 by serf architects P. I. Argunov, A. F. Mironov, G. E. Dikushin. For the maintenance of the establishment, the count deposited 500 thousand rubles along with income from his estates in the Tver province. The Sheremetevs continued to finance the hospital until the nationalization of their estates in 1917.

    The “ceremonial half-arc of an open double colonnade” in front of the Trinity Church was designed in 1803, when the count’s beloved wife, the former serf actress Praskovya Zhemchugova, passed away. The memorial character of the project of the Hospice House was given by the master of classicism - Giacomo Quarenghi, who, as usual, finalized the drawings “remotely”, without leaving St. Petersburg.

    In its final form, the project acquired sculptural accents from both facades (front and garden), as well as a figured lattice with a central gate and corner belvederes. Marble and light green Ural stone were used to decorate the interiors. The dome of the church was painted by the artist D. Scotti. A sculptural allegory of Mercy was installed in the front colonnade.

    The statutory documents of the hospital, prepared by A.F. Malinovsky, were approved by the Highest on April 21 (May 3), 1803. The grand opening of the Hospice House took place seven years later, on June 28 (July 10), 1810. The first residents of the shelter were retired officers and elderly poor townspeople - former merchants, priests, and officials. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the building housed a hospital, first for the Russian and then for the French army.

    The main caretaker until 1826 was Alexey Fedorovich Malinovsky. Then the Moscow noble assembly elected him as his successor, Sergei Vasilyevich Sheremetev, who was not demanding and was rarely in the house. After him, the main caretakers were: Prince Valentin Mikhailovich Shakhovskoy (in 1835-1839), Count Nikolai Alekseevich Sheremetev (in 1839-1847), Platon Stepanovich Nakhimov (in 1848-1850), Major General Lev Nikolaevich Vereshchagin (in 1851-1860).

    In Soviet times, the historical panorama was distorted by the construction directly behind the ensemble of the Hospice House of a multi-storey building of the Sklifosovsky Institute of architecture typical of the Brezhnev era. The interiors of the main building were changed, the church did not function. Despite the losses, in 1996 the Russian authorities proposed to UNESCO to include the architectural ensemble of the Sheremetev Hospital on the World Heritage List.

    Currently, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Hospice House of N.P. Sheremetev (N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute) has been restored and operates in the building.

Shelter for the poor and crippled. Best known by this name Sheremetevskaya Hospital on Bolshaya Sukharevskaya Square in Moscow, on the basis of which it was organized in 1923.

The statutory documents of the hospital, prepared by A.F. Malinovsky, were approved by the Highest on April 21 (May 3) of the year. The grand opening of the Hospice House took place seven years later, on June 28 (July 10) of the year. The first residents of the shelter were retired officers and elderly poor townspeople - former merchants, priests, and officials. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the building housed a hospital, first for the Russian and then for the French army.

The main caretaker until 1826 was Alexey Fedorovich Malinovsky. Then the Moscow noble assembly elected him to succeed Sergei Vasilyevich Sheremetev, who was not demanding and was rarely in the house. After him, the main caretakers were: Prince Valentin Mikhailovich Shakhovskoy (in 1835-1839), Count Nikolai Alekseevich Sheremetev (in 1839-1847), Platon Stepanovich Nakhimov (in 1848-1850), Major General Lev Nikolaevich Vereshchagin (in 1851-1860).

In Soviet times, the historical panorama was distorted by the construction directly behind the ensemble of the Hospice House of a multi-storey building of the Sklifosovsky Institute of architecture typical of the Brezhnev era. The interiors of the main building were changed, the church did not function. Despite the losses, in 1996 the Russian authorities proposed

I had the most tender, most passionate feelings for her... I observed a mind adorned with virtue, sincerity, philanthropy, constancy, fidelity. These qualities... forced me to trample on secular prejudice in the discussion of the nobility of the family and choose her as my wife... Shameful love was driven out of my heart by constant, sincere, tender love, which I am forever indebted to my late wife

Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev - a representative of a rich old family was born on June 28
1751 in St. Petersburg.


Parents: Sheremetevs Pyotr Borisovich and Varvara Alekseevna.

Young Nicholas grew up and was brought up together with the future Emperor Paul I and was with him
in great friendship. He is one of the few who was invited to the Grand Duke's palace for
participation in games, masquerades and amateur performances at court.


Nikolai Sheremetev in childhood.

The Count received an excellent education, played the piano and violin professionally,
cellos. He graduated from Leiden University - one of the most prestigious educational institutions of that time. He was presented to the courts of Prussia, France, and England.


Nikolai Petrovich studied theater, decorative, stage and ballet art for four years. He went down in the history of Russian culture as an outstanding theatrical
activist
In Moscow, Count Vorontsov and Prince Yusupov were famous for their home theaters, but the most
The Sheremetev Counts Theater was significant: the city theater on Nikolskaya Street and the estate theater
in Kuskovo.
Kuskovo estate. Walk through the autumn park

Meanwhile, as the younger Count Nikolai Sheremetev gained wisdom abroad,
An eight-year-old girl, Parasha Kovaleva, was taken into care on the Kuskovo estate.
She was born in 1768 in the Yaroslavl province into the family of a serf peasant blacksmith.
Ivan Gorbunov, the possessions of the Cherkasy princes, then the Sheremetevs.
The girl showed great talent for music and singing, so they decided to take her into
students to train as performers of the serf theater. Princess Marfa Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya
gave her an excellent upbringing, she was taught noble manners, singing, playing the piano,
harpsichord, harp, as well as dramatic and performing arts, foreign languages.


In 1779, at the age of 11, Parasha made her debut in the performances of the serf theater troupe.
Here on the stage of the Kuskovo theater the young count saw a thin girl with big
black eyes and a voice of extraordinary depth, which caused him surprise and delight.
He began to pay more attention to her, developed her talent and, pleased with her debut, gave her
leading roles in new performances.
Sheremetev himself replaced the actresses' simple surnames with more euphonious ones, and this is how the Yakhontovs, Izumrudovs and Praskovya Zhemchugova appeared on the Russian stage.

The count was proud of his theater and soon decided to build a new building, the opening of which was timed to coincide with the visit of Empress Catherine II to Kuskovo on June 30, 1787.
The count's fascination with Melpomene grew into a real passion; he taught his serfs from the best musicians of the capital and Moscow.
Praskovya Zhemchugova had a beautiful lyric soprano, roles in opera performances
brought her triumphant success. At the age of 19, the Empress heard her and was amazed
with the splendor of the performance, the velvety voice of the theater prima, gave her a diamond ring
from your own hand.

In the new theater building it was planned to stage “grand” operas with the participation of dancers and a large choir, as well as ballets. “All of Moscow flocked to his performances,” and the owners of private theaters even complained to the city authorities that he was taking spectators away from them.

The Count doted on his “pearl”, did not leave her one step, and rumors had already spread about
strange affection of the count for the serf actress. The most brilliant brides were ready
to marry Count Sheremetev, but he loved only her - Praskovya Zhemchugova.


It is not only her stage talent and enchanting voice that attracts the count’s attention to her.
He writes about this best himself: For a long time I observed her properties and qualities and found a mind adorned with virtue,
sincerity, the most zealous reverence for God and love of mankind, constancy and fidelity, found in her an attachment to the holy faith.
These qualities captivated me more than her beauty, for they are stronger than all charms and are extremely rare.

In October 1788, the old Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev died. All his countless
wealth and more than two hundred thousand serfs passed to his son.
Out of grief, for several months, Nikolai Petrovich fell into continuous drunkenness and bacchanalia, everyone froze, and only one person was able to influence him to bring him to his senses -
- This is Praskovya Zhemchugova.


After this, Sheremetev moved Praskovya to a manor house, where they lived together. Bachelor habits were a thing of the past, now only she and the theater occupied his thoughts.

The whole high society was gossiping about their romance. But only behind the count’s back did everyone remember his hot temper and the fact that he never forgave insults to anyone.
When visiting the Sheremetev Theater, secular guests had to face the fact that the mistress of this house was Praskovya. The count himself took this whispering behind his back calmly, unlike his beloved.


The world realized that Sheremetev made his choice deliberately and seriously. This fact especially excited the count’s numerous relatives, who were concerned about the fate of Sheremetev’s huge inheritance. As a result, over time, the count alienated almost all of his relatives.

In the spring of 1795, the lovers move from Kuskovo, where Praskovye is very restless,
to a cozy nest, an estate near Moscow - Ostankino.
The palace was created by serf architects Count A. Mironov and P. Argunov according to the designs of Camporesi, Brenna, Starov.
On the estate, a luxurious theater was built especially for her, the entire staff of actors and musicians is moving to the new estate.


The original layout of the hall of this theater, opened in July 1795, made it possible to easily (literally within an hour) transform it into a ballroom. The Ostankino Theater is the only theater in Russia that has preserved the stage technology of the 18th century - the stage, auditorium, dressing rooms and part of the engine room mechanisms. In terms of its acoustic qualities, it is the best hall in Moscow.

photo from the internet

However, happiness never lasts long.
Praskovya became seriously ill and developed tuberculosis, as they used to say - consumption.
She lost her voice and the ability to sing, and only the count’s care helped her get back on her feet.

In 1797, Emperor Paul I granted his childhood friend, Count Sheremetev
the title of chief marshal and they had to move to St. Petersburg to the court. They settled
in the Fountain House.


The count was among those closest courtiers who dined with the emperor on the fateful last evening of his life - March 11, 1801 in the Mikhailovsky Castle.

The Count painfully searched for ways to turn his connection into a legal one, and there was a lawyer who, for a lot of money, selected the necessary facts from the archives, as if his family
Praskovya Kovaleva comes from the ancient noble Polish family of Kovalevsky.
In 1798, the serf actress received her freedom, like the entire family of the blacksmith Kovalev.
The count violated the unshakable class barrier - he chose a serf as his wife,
and on November 6, 1801, a secret wedding took place in the Church of Simeon the Stylite in Moscow.
Praskovya Ivanovna becomes Countess Sheremeteva.
The emperor himself gave the count permission for such a scandalous marriage.
Only the closest and most trusted people were invited to the wedding.

Despite the desired marriage and seemingly fulfilled life, the count was not truly
happy. His serious illness, after which he draws up a will in the name of his wife in the event
his death, a secret wedding, the poor health of Praskovya Ivanovna, who was already preparing
become a mother and still did not leave the vicious circle created by secular
and courtly living conditions, it developed into a kind of tragic premonition.

In the damp climate of the capital, Praskovya’s old illness began again; she no longer thought about
than, but only dreamed of forgiveness of their sin, so that the Almighty would give them a healthy child.

Parasha gave birth to her son when she was already terminally ill.
In February 1803, when a boy was born, he was immediately taken away from his mother,
They were afraid that the baby would become infected. In painful delirium, she asked to be shown her son.
His friends brought him to the bedroom door.

The count immediately turned to Emperor Alexander with a request to recognize the legality of the heir's rights. Twenty days later Praskovya Ivanovna died...
She was buried in the Sheremetev family tomb in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Fate. Nikolai Petrovich is grieving the loss. The death of my wife, Countess Praskovya Ivanovna, struck me so much,
that I do not hope for anything else to calm my suffering spirit,
as only one benefit for the needy, and therefore, wanting to finish what was started long ago
the structure of the Hospice House, I made an assumption about the structure of it,
separating a significant part of my dependency


photo from a book about the Sukharev Tower.

The spouses were united by a common goal that overshadowed everything else - the creation of the Hospice House, a shelter for the disadvantaged, the elderly and the disabled, which had already begun to be built.
Only their marriage was short-lived; on February 23, 1803, the countess passed away, leaving the count
three-week-old baby Dmitry and “a covenant of regret for neighbors.” Her generous hand always extended to poverty and misery... everything was distributed, everything
addressed to help humanity

In memory of his wife, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetyev wanted to create a completely unique memorial institution, against the colorful background of Russian charitable institutions and societies.
This grandiose plan is being implemented by Nikolai Petrovich’s friend - the architect, sculptor, artist Giacomo Quarenghi, an ardent admirer of Kovaleva-Zhemchugova’s acting talent.
The count spent a colossal amount of money for those times - two and a half million rubles. The building of the Hospice House is considered a masterpiece of Russian architecture, an excellent example of Russian classicism of the late 18th - 19th centuries.


Nikolai Petrovich survived his wife by only six years. He spent his last years in St. Petersburg, in the Fountain House. On January 1, 1809, Nikolai Petrovich died of pneumonia,
he did not live to see the opening of the Hospice House for only a year.
I had everything in life. Fame, wealth, luxury. But I did not find peace in any of this. Remember that life is fleeting, and only good deeds can we take with us beyond the doors of the coffin- it is said in his will.

Philanthropist and philanthropist Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev received a gold medal from the Senate for his generous and selfless assistance.
Count Nikolai Sheremetev left behind two important documents: “The Testamentary Letter” and “The Life and Burial of Countess Praskovya Ivanovna Sheremeteva” - a story for Dmitry about his mother.

The interiors of the Hospice House were brought to perfection.
The magnificent temple in the center of the building is designed in Italian style. There are three thrones in the temple:
central in honor of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, southern - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker,
northern - St. Dmitry of Rostov (Patron Saint of the count's son).


In the dome is the main fresco by Domenico Scotti "God in Glory". The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove surrounds
angels, one angel looks like Nikolai Petrovich’s son, Dmitry. There is a picture of an angel
with a tambourine - Praskovya Ivanovna Kovaleva-Zhemchugova, his mother, Countess Sheremeteva.
The high reliefs on both sides are stunningly realistic - “King Herod Beating the Babies” and “The Resurrection of St. Lazarus.” Sculptor G. Zamaraev.

Classic simplicity of lines, elegance of finishing with sparkling gilding in combination
with a soft color scheme of walls imitating artificial marble, two-tone hall,
chandeliers and sconces sparkling with crystal pendants created a feeling of joy and celebration.


The dining room of the almshouse was striking in its beauty and elegance of decoration - white, richly decorated with gilding and stucco, with waxed floors, it had a solemn
ceremonial view.

At the liturgy, the words of the first rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity of the Hospice House, Father A.I., turned out to be prophetic. Otradinsky:
“And as long as the sun is darkened, as long as the world endures, the blessings of this house will remain unchangeable.”
Sheremetev's descendants did not stand aside from the holy work of mercy and strictly carried out the count's order To have vigilant supervision and guardianship of the Hospice House established by me.

In 1919, in a horseshoe-shaped building (for luck) on Sukharevskaya Square of the Hospice
The house housed the Moscow City Ambulance Station, and since 1923
one of the buildings of the Research Institute of Emergency Aid named after. Sklifosovsky.

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