December 17, 1837

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Martin Antonenko

A Fixture
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Jul 11, 2008
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8,995
The Winter Palace Is On Fire!


On December 17, 1837 (our calendar), a damaged chimney, which ignited the wooden wall coverings and the waxed parquet floors, broke in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg due to flying sparks ...



... a devastating fire!



The fire rages for three days, the huge building, built by Rastrelli for Tsarina Elisabeth I from 1754 to 1762, which houses over 3,000 people, burns out completely - the flames can still be seen from 50 kilometers away ...:





Tsar Nikolaj I ...



... personally takes command of the extinguishing work ...:



First of all, he ordered the immediate demolition of the gallery connecting the Winter Palace with the Hermitage next to it (at that time a private collection of the Tsars and not yet a public museum!).

This prevents the fire from spreading to the Hermitage - saving priceless works of art. In addition, the tsar has the windows broken so that the people inside the palace can save themselves.

At the same time, the fire fighting teams and the rescue of irreplaceable objects from the palace itself begin. Among other things, the Tsar's throne ...





... the flags of the Preobrazhensky Guard regiment ...



... the Semjonowskij regiment...



... and of the Chavalier Guards...



... valuable art objects and all important portraits saved ....:



... and preserve for posterity ...:



During the rescue and rescue work, 30 soldiers from the Preobrashenksi Guard Regiment perished in the flames. The soldiers were under the command of Major General Baranowitsch, who, actually already retired, happened to be on the spot and had spontaneously taken over command ...:



After the fire, everyone involved in the extinguishing work received a gift of 300 gold rubles from the tsar - a considerable sum at the time.

Tsar Nicholas I immediately orders the reconstruction of the palace, which will be completed by Easter 1839.

The palace gets the look it still has today.



 
Quick reaction by the Tsar leading to save as much as physically possible , amazing treasures and history and a amazing rebuild as well

Fire pumps were facing a unenviable task from the start

Great to see the flags

Cheers

Nap
 
It is very impressive. The long gallery was packed with tourists the day we visited, but it didn't detract from the grandeur of it.

Phil
 
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