Lecture series "Summer in the Imperial family" 03.08 - 24.08

August 3 - Summer Imperial Residences

August 10 - Hunting and fishing of the Russian Emperors

August 17 - Family visits to Europe

August 24 - Life on Imperial yachts

All events start at 19:00 in the Walnut Lounge of the Faberge Museum.

Igor Viktorovich Zimin

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History, PSPbSMU

By the beginning of the 20th century, a real constellation of architectural garden and park ensembles had developed around St. Petersburg, which we admire to this day. In these summer residences, originally intended for the summer, informal life of the monarchs, their personal taste preferences were most clearly manifested, which largely determined the artistic mainstream of the era. Everything has happened here — both joyful and dramatic, and therefore, along with a story about the architectural appearance of the residences, we will also talk about the life of the highest summer residents in them. In his lecture, Igor Viktorovich Zimin will talk about the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo, Crimean Livadia and other famous imperial residences.

Evgeny Alexandrovich Rodionov

Gatchina State Museum-Reserve, Senior Researcher

In the second half of the XIX - early XX century, hunting was considered one of the most popular types of recreation - an activity that allows you to escape from secular etiquette and the hustle and bustle of the city, to show strength, dexterity and courage, so it is not surprising that there were many passionate hunters among the Russian autocrats. The members of the royal family were no strangers to a quieter entertainment - fishing. About how the last representatives of the Romanov dynasty hunted in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Spala and other lands, where and what kind of fish were caught, how many and what animals were hunted, how the trophies were decorated and where they were stored, what curious and sometimes tragic incidents happened, how and where the servants of the imperial hunt lived - all this will be discussed in the upcoming lecture.

Igor Viktorovich Zimin

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History, PSPbSMU

The tradition of visits to relatives in Europe arose in the first half of the XVIII century, when Peter the Great, destroying the stereotypes of the Moscow Tsardom, not only began to give his nieces to European rulers, but also married his son to a European princess. As a result, by the end of the 19th century, the Romanovs had family ties with many European courts. Alexander III was happy to stay in Denmark with his wife's parents. Moreover, in the 1880s, he purchased a small cottage, called the "Kaiser Villa" by the Danes, located in the Fredenborg Park in Copenhagen. This house is depicted on the "secret" in one of Faberge's Easter eggs, presented to Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1890. Empress Maria Feodorovna herself spent annual vacations with her parents in Denmark and with her sister Alexandra in England. The sisters were so close that they could afford to appear in identical Charles Worth dresses at a social event.

Nicholas II and his wife often visited their German, English and Greek relatives. Abroad, they could go shopping incognito like ordinary people, see the sights, participate in archaeological excavations, fool around during family photo shoots.

Oleg Vasilyevich Filatov

Central Naval Museum, Senior Researcher

The history of Russian imperial yachts, like other European traditions, dates back to the reign of Peter I. In the XVIII - early XX century, the imperial yacht was both a means of transportation, a residence, a luxury item, and even a place of protocol meetings (for example, on board the Alexandria, Nicholas II hosted German Kaiser Wilhelm II, President of the French Republic Felix Faure and other rulers). The interiors of the yachts were furnished no less exquisitely than many palaces: ceremonial sets were made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory, and many household items on board were ordered from the best suppliers of the Imperial Court. Oleg Vasilyevich Filatov, senior researcher at the Central Naval Museum, will tell about life on imperial yachts during the reigns of Alexander III and Nicholas II.