Ropsha
Encyclopedia
Ropsha is a settlement in Leningrad Oblast
, Russia
, situated about 20 km south of Peterhof and 49 km south-west of central Saint Petersburg
, at an elevation of 80 metres to 130 metres above sea level.
in the 15th century, when its name was spelled as "Khrapsha". It passed to Sweden
following the Treaty of Stolbovo
but was recaptured by Peter the Great
during the Great Northern War
. Upon hearing about the curative properties of Ropsha's mineral springs, the tsar planned to make it his summer retreat; a timber palace and small church were built there. Subsequently, when he discovered a more favourable location of Strelna
and contrived a system of pipes to bring water from the Ropsha heights to the fountain cascades projected in Peterhof, he abandoned his previous plans for Ropsha and made a present of it to his senior associate, Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky
, or the "Caesar-Pope" as he was wont to style him.
Prince Romodanovsky was an old man of harsh disposition, who kept tame bears in his palace to scare infrequent visitors. Being in charge of Peter's secret police, he would bring political prisoners to a torture chamber arranged in Ropsha Palace and their screams would spook the neighbourhood. Despite macabre stories of his cruelty and misdeeds, a neighbour, Chancellor Golovkin, found it prudent to arrange the marriage of his son to Romodanovsky's daughter. After the 1722 wedding, Ropsha Palace was overhauled and expanded under the supervision of Golovkin's friend, Ivan Yeropkin.
In connection with the Lopukhina Conspiracy, the Golovkins fell into disgrace and their possessions were seized by Empress Elizabeth, who asked a court architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli
, to prepare plans for a new palace at Ropsha . As Rastrelli was busy with other projects, his designs for Ropsha were never executed. Towards the end of her reign, Empress granted the estate to her nephew and heir, the future Peter III of Russia
. It was there that he was brought under guard after the coup d'état of 1762, and it was there that Peter III was allegedly murdered under shady circumstances.
Later the same year, Catherine the Great resolved that "Ropsha is not to be mentioned again" and presented the ill-famed place to her lover, Count Orlov. The reputation of the manor was too sinister for any improvement on the grounds to be effected and Orlov soon ceded the palace to Admiral Ivan Chernyshev, who sold it for 12,000 roubles to Ivan Lazarev
, an Armenian jeweller. It is widely believed that Lazarev was just a figurehead who acted at the behest of Catherine's son Paul. The latter, unable to overtly acquire the grounds for fear of his mother's ire, was still drawn to the place where his official father had been murdered.
style to a design by Georg von Veldten. A large paper factory was built nearby and the English gardener Thomas Gray laid out an English park
with a mosaic of ponds full of fish. Paul apparently planned to rename Ropsha, in commemoration of the dramatic events of 1762, but was assassinated himself before this came to pass.
Although the ponds of Ropsha remained an imperial fishing ground under his sons, they rarely visited the place. It was more popular with noble anglers who even named a special breed of scaly carp
after Ropsha. When Alexandre Dumas, père
visited the estate in 1858, the palace belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
. In the ensuing decades, it was seldom inhabited, though Grand Duchess Xenia
, the last tsar's sister, chose to spend her wedding night there.
Nicholas II
turned Ropsha Palace and parks into his favorite hunting and fishing retreat. The Tsar was seen here surrounded by aristocratic milieu coming from all over Europe for hunting, fishing, and dining in Russian style. Ropsha also had a military garrison. Imperial cavalry division was stationed here until 1918.
During the Russian Civil War
Ropsha saw some heavy fighting, as General Yudenich
wrested it from the Bolsheviks on two occasions.
, Ropsha was occupied by the troops of the Nazi Germany. During World War II
, from 1941 to 1944, Ropsha was mentioned in the Nazi military reports to Adolf Hitler
's office as an important commanding hill with a strategic artillery post having unobstructed direct view on central St. Petersburg. From the artillery positions in Ropsha the Nazi Germans continued artillery bombardments of St. Petersburg and its southern suburbs for two years. During that time, the Nazi Germans robbed and vandalized the imperial estate; a special unit looted the palace and moved its valuable art collection to the Nazi Germany. Then the palace was destroyed by the Nazis using explosive devices.
On January 19, 1944, Ropsha was liberated
from the Nazi German occupation as part of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
ending the siege. However, the palace remained in ruins and was in disrepair due to the magnitude of German damage in World War II.
Inscribed with other imperial estates into the World Heritage List, the edifice may still be viewed in its half-ruined state. Re-building the Ropsha Palace and park to its original grandeur remains a difficult task due to severe damages and losses that require a costly reconstruction, and also because of risks related to remaining land-mines and other explosives left after the Nazi siege of Leningrad.
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated about 20 km south of Peterhof and 49 km south-west of central Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, at an elevation of 80 metres to 130 metres above sea level.
History
The settlement was first mentioned in the documents of the Novgorod RepublicNovgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...
in the 15th century, when its name was spelled as "Khrapsha". It passed to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
following the Treaty of Stolbovo
Treaty of Stolbovo
The Treaty of Stolbovo is a peace treaty of 1617 that ended the Ingrian War, fought between Sweden and Russia.After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Sweden and Russia met at the village of Stolbova, south of Lake Ladoga, on 27 February 1617.From the outset, Sweden had gone...
but was recaptured by Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
. Upon hearing about the curative properties of Ropsha's mineral springs, the tsar planned to make it his summer retreat; a timber palace and small church were built there. Subsequently, when he discovered a more favourable location of Strelna
Strelna
Strelna is a municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, situated about halfway between St. Petersburg proper and Petergof and overlooking the shore of the Gulf of Finland...
and contrived a system of pipes to bring water from the Ropsha heights to the fountain cascades projected in Peterhof, he abandoned his previous plans for Ropsha and made a present of it to his senior associate, Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky
Fyodor Romodanovsky
Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was one of Peter the Great's foremost assistants in the task of modernizing Russia. He was the country's first head of secret police....
, or the "Caesar-Pope" as he was wont to style him.
Nest of Gentry
In connection with the Lopukhina Conspiracy, the Golovkins fell into disgrace and their possessions were seized by Empress Elizabeth, who asked a court architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was an Italian architect naturalized Russian. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic...
, to prepare plans for a new palace at Ropsha . As Rastrelli was busy with other projects, his designs for Ropsha were never executed. Towards the end of her reign, Empress granted the estate to her nephew and heir, the future Peter III of Russia
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
. It was there that he was brought under guard after the coup d'état of 1762, and it was there that Peter III was allegedly murdered under shady circumstances.
Later the same year, Catherine the Great resolved that "Ropsha is not to be mentioned again" and presented the ill-famed place to her lover, Count Orlov. The reputation of the manor was too sinister for any improvement on the grounds to be effected and Orlov soon ceded the palace to Admiral Ivan Chernyshev, who sold it for 12,000 roubles to Ivan Lazarev
Ivan Lazarev
Ivan Davidovich Lazarev was an Imperial Russian Army general of Armenian origin.-Biography:Hovhnanes Lazarian was born in 1820 in Shusha, Russian Empire and studied at a school there...
, an Armenian jeweller. It is widely believed that Lazarev was just a figurehead who acted at the behest of Catherine's son Paul. The latter, unable to overtly acquire the grounds for fear of his mother's ire, was still drawn to the place where his official father had been murdered.
Imperial estate
It was only after Catherine's death that Tsar Paul took over Ropsha from Lazarev. During the Paul's reign, the Ropsha palace was rebuilt in a NeoclassicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style to a design by Georg von Veldten. A large paper factory was built nearby and the English gardener Thomas Gray laid out an English park
English Park
English Park is a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Canterbury United. The stadium has a capacity of 9,000 people....
with a mosaic of ponds full of fish. Paul apparently planned to rename Ropsha, in commemoration of the dramatic events of 1762, but was assassinated himself before this came to pass.
Although the ponds of Ropsha remained an imperial fishing ground under his sons, they rarely visited the place. It was more popular with noble anglers who even named a special breed of scaly carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
after Ropsha. When Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
visited the estate in 1858, the palace belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
Alexandra Fyodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)
Alexandra Feodorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia , was Empress consort of Russia. She was the wife of Tsar Nicholas I, and mother of Tsar Alexander II.-Princess of Prussia:...
. In the ensuing decades, it was seldom inhabited, though Grand Duchess Xenia
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was a daughter of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the elder of Tsar Nicholas II two sisters. She married her cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikailovich of Russia, with whom she had seven children....
, the last tsar's sister, chose to spend her wedding night there.
Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
turned Ropsha Palace and parks into his favorite hunting and fishing retreat. The Tsar was seen here surrounded by aristocratic milieu coming from all over Europe for hunting, fishing, and dining in Russian style. Ropsha also had a military garrison. Imperial cavalry division was stationed here until 1918.
During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
Ropsha saw some heavy fighting, as General Yudenich
Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich
Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich , was a commander of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in Northwestern Russia during the Civil War.-Early life:...
wrested it from the Bolsheviks on two occasions.
Siege of Leningrad
From September 1941 to January 1944, during the Siege of LeningradSiege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
, Ropsha was occupied by the troops of the Nazi Germany. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, from 1941 to 1944, Ropsha was mentioned in the Nazi military reports to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's office as an important commanding hill with a strategic artillery post having unobstructed direct view on central St. Petersburg. From the artillery positions in Ropsha the Nazi Germans continued artillery bombardments of St. Petersburg and its southern suburbs for two years. During that time, the Nazi Germans robbed and vandalized the imperial estate; a special unit looted the palace and moved its valuable art collection to the Nazi Germany. Then the palace was destroyed by the Nazis using explosive devices.
On January 19, 1944, Ropsha was liberated
Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive
The Krasnoye Selo – Ropsha Offensive, also known as Operation January Thunder and Neva-2 was a campaign between the Soviet Leningrad Front and the German 18th Army fought for the western approaches of Leningrad in 14–30 January 1944....
from the Nazi German occupation as part of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
The Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive, also known as the Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive during World War II was launched by the Red Army on with an attack on the German Army Group North by the Soviet 2nd Pribaltiysky, Volkhov and Leningrad army fronts...
ending the siege. However, the palace remained in ruins and was in disrepair due to the magnitude of German damage in World War II.
Inscribed with other imperial estates into the World Heritage List, the edifice may still be viewed in its half-ruined state. Re-building the Ropsha Palace and park to its original grandeur remains a difficult task due to severe damages and losses that require a costly reconstruction, and also because of risks related to remaining land-mines and other explosives left after the Nazi siege of Leningrad.