Excursion to the kelch mansion. Seven mansions that can only be visited with a guided tour

In the 18th century, the merchant Ivan Broter bought a plot of land on Tchaikovsky Street for his beloved daughter, but never built anything on it. For a whole century, this land has changed hands: when the Greek consul Kondoyanaki acquired it in 1858, there was an unremarkable two-story house. Within a year, the architect A. K. Kolman turned it into a mansion built in the best traditions of the Baroque. In 1896, Varvara Petrovna Kelkh, the heiress of wealthy Siberian gold miners, bought this house. She invites architects V. I. Shenet and V. I. Chagin to create a new estate project: the old mansion was demolished and in a couple of years a house was erected on the ruins in the spirit of the French Renaissance.

Barbara Kelch was not completely satisfied with the result and turned to the architect Karl Schmidt. And by 1903, he built a Gothic outbuilding in the courtyard of the mansion. Eventually Kelch's mansion acquired a very original look and became a model of late eclecticism.

If you look inside, you can find an interior with a more complex structure, combining different styles. Gothic and Renaissance are diluted with an elegant rococo style. The property of the Kelch family was the Faberge collection: jewelry, cutlery and, of course, the world-famous Easter eggs. In imperial times, only Alexander Kelch and the oil tycoon Ludwig Nobel could afford the Faberge Easter collection.

In 1905, the Kelchs separated, and their magnificent mansion was sold. After the revolution, it housed the School of Screen Art. At that time, there was not a single educational institution in the world that would specialize in teaching the art of cinematography. The creator of the film "Chapaev" S. D. Vasiliev is the most famous graduate of this school. In subsequent years, the Kelkh mansion was a nursing home, a meeting place for the RK CPSU of the Dzerzhinsky district and a branch of UNESCO. Here sat the first mayor of St. Petersburg - Anatoly Sobchak.

During the Great Patriotic War, part of the building was destroyed by a high-explosive bomb. The building was restored, but some elements of architecture and interior details have sunk into oblivion.

In the late 90s, the mansion became the Lawyer's House - it was transferred to St. Petersburg State University for the Faculty of Law. Four years ago, the house was closed for restoration, and since 2011 it has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. At one time, a restaurant was even opened on the basement floor of the mansion, including for the sake of being able to raise the necessary amount for the restoration, which has not yet been completed. The Kelch Mansion is still undergoing restoration, but some rooms are already open for various events.

This unique building on Tchaikovsky Street is a heritage of St. Petersburg culture. You will not meet here a crazy crowd of tourists, this is one of the few houses with rich history, which remains in the shadows and catches the astonished glances of bystanders.

The architectural heritage of St. Petersburg: the house of Baron Kelkh

The house was built for the heiress of Siberian millions by her husband, the baron. And sovereign Petersburg was blinded by the brilliance of the reference interiors. There, the Gothic side by side with Art Nouveau, and classicism is framed in Rococo. And on a white night in the twilight, dreams easily penetrate reality. The history of the owners is forgotten - there are no traces of meetings or partings, but the famous mansion shines, not noticing the overweight course of centuries.
Lika Janic

In the development of streets that took shape during the 18th-19th centuries, on the streets closest to the left bank of the Neva, (mansions) facades stand out, pleasing the eye with exquisite decoration. The architect's desire to express one or another style that has gone and has become historical, often having local features - the Florentine Renaissance or the French Rococo - revived and enriched the appearance of St. Petersburg. Historicism and romanticism in architecture are replacing the already bored order monotony of classicism and empire. Freedom, complexity and variety of architectural forms are combined with the stylistic accuracy of reproduced historical styles.

The Kelch Mansion is a prominent representative of this romantic trend in architecture.

Mansion A.F. Kelkha, located on the street. Tchaikovsky (formerly Sergievskaya) house 28, is located in that part of the city center, where many buildings are concentrated, built for the aristocratic and business circles of the St. Petersburg elite.

The house, which belonged in the middle of the 18th century to the daughter of the merchant Ivan Broter, who served as burgomaster. In the 18th century, the merchant Ivan Broter buys a plot on Tchaikovsky Street for his beloved daughter, but does not build anything ... For a whole century, this land passes from hand to hand : when the Greek consul Kondoyanaki bought it in 1858, there was an unremarkable two-story house. Within a year, the architect A. K. Kolman turned it into a mansion built in the best traditions of the Baroque.

The facade of the building facing the street is designed in the style of the French Renaissance. The cladding is made of natural stone - pinkish in the basement, and yellow sandstone in the upper floors. The first floor is decorated with rustication, the second - with Ionic pilasters between arched windows. The second floor is distinguished by a central bay window, which is symmetrically complemented by the side right and left bay windows. The right bay window was destroyed during the Second World War and was not subsequently restored. The richly decorated central bay window has unfolded side faces

The pediment above the bay window of a developed complex shape forms a compositional unity with the attic, on both sides of which a balustrade is built, and which, in turn, is crowned with a kind of portico with a sculpture in a niche. A high hipped pyramidal roof with a small scaly pattern completes the composition of the front facade.

The property has changed owners several times. In the 1790s, it was divided, before that it was a single household between Sergievskaya (Tchaikovsky) and Zakharyevskaya streets. Until the middle of the 19th century, a two-story house with a stone first floor and a wooden second was preserved here.

The three-story courtyard facades are already made in the Neo-Gothic style. The service wing closes the perspective of the courtyard. It houses a Gothic pavilion, decorated with sculptures. The construction of the new building was also carried out with the participation of the architect K.K. Schmidt, and was completely completed in 1903. Mansion A.F. Kelkha is an outstanding architectural monument of late eclecticism.

And now - to the Kelhams.
Papa Sashenka Kelkh was engaged in public education. And he received the baronial title not just like that, by birth, but solely due to the efforts made. The cavalier of many orders - both Vladimir and Anna, with bows and garters - in the prime of his career was granted the title of baron and the title of "Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg." So Alexander Kelch was a nobleman not so long ago - only in the second generation.

The three brothers received an excellent education. Nikolai (senior) and Alexander became industrialists, Vladimir became an artist. And they received their education at Moscow University, of which they were full students. This is what left a noticeable imprint on the family life of Nicholas and Alexander. Students, I mean.

Let's crawl back to Siberia for a while. Namely - to Irkutsk. The family of the richest gold miners Bazanov lived there. After the death of the head of the family, Ivan Bazanov, and later his son-in-law, the chamberlain of the court, Peter Sievers, the entire fortune, which included not only the gold mines, but also the Lena-Vitim shipping company, went to Yulia Bazanova and her daughter Varvara.

Yulia Bazanova - "the mother of students", a lady famous for her charitable work. Having been widowed at an early age, she was engaged in the construction of hospitals, libraries, supervised educational institutions in Irkutsk, and also followed the fate of Siberian students in Moscow. During her life, she, the owner of a huge fortune, spent about 2,000,000 rubles on charity. Just think - more than 2 million - this is comparable to the state budget!

Daughter Varenka followed in her mother's footsteps. And, once going on business to Moscow University, she met Nikolai Kelkh. Well, it's a young affair, passionate love, an almost instant wedding. Everything too beautiful ends quickly - Nikolai dies two years later. Moreover, no one knows until now what caused such a sudden death.

Immediately after the death of Nikolai, Varvara is proposed to by his younger brother, Alexander. And she agrees. And Alexander becomes the manager of his wife's huge fortune. By the way, they say that Varvara Kelkh (Bazanova) was a lovely creature. But at the same time, not a muslin young lady, but, on the contrary, a likeness of the well-known type - Vassa Zheleznova.

So, so - married Nikolai in 1892. Widowed in 1894. And immediately jumped out to marry a second time.

And she decided that the young family would live in the most original house in St. Petersburg. For these purposes, from the Greek consul - Ivan Kondoyanaki - they buy in 1896 a house on Sergievskaya Street (a two-story neo-Baroque mansion) and begin its reconstruction. For these purposes, they hire two architects - Vladimir Chagin and Vasily Shenet and give them carte blanche, including financial. Considering that both architects were simply indecently young - up to thirty, then they frolic to their heart's content. The interiors of the mansion amaze not only with the richness of decoration, but also, most importantly, with the unexpectedness of the interiors. Not only by eclecticism, especially since each room produces a very holistic feeling in terms of style, but precisely by surprise.

All the materials that were used for the work were only of the highest quality - Alexander Ferdinandovich did not look at the invoices - he signed them. And, it should be noted, the result was amazing.

For two years, the front building was built by the architects. To do this, the Kondoyanaki mansion was demolished, and a new building in the French Renaissance style was built on its foundation. The work of Schene and Chagin did not satisfy Varvara Petrovna Kelkh.

At her request, further work on the site was carried out by another architect, K. K. Schmidt. By 1903, they built a courtyard building and stables. The architect gave strictly Gothic features to the courtyard wing. The stables are made in the Art Nouveau style, which may mean the involvement of another architect in the work.

Not only the facade of the house, but also its interiors were decorated extremely richly. The Kelch family was a client of the Faberge firm, ordering Easter eggs, cutlery, precious jewelry. It was in their Yellow Room that the famous Easter eggs made by Faberge were exhibited.

By 1905, Varvara Petrovna and Alexander Fedorovich Kelkh divorced. The mansion had to be mortgaged and then sold. Varvara Petrovna left for Paris forever, Alexander Fedorovich tried to start new life. After 1917, his ex-wife sent him money. From such assistance, despite the second marriage, he did not refuse. Apparently, this affected the fate of Alexander Fedorovich Kelkh. In 1930, he was arrested, exiled to camps, and then his fate is unknown.

On March 17, 1919, the School of Screen Art was opened in the mansion - the world's first cinematic educational institution. They taught acting and directing. Since 1922, the educational institution received the status of an institute. In 1924, one of the graduates of the institute was Sergei Dmitrievich Vasiliev, the creator of the popular Soviet film"Chapaev". The students called the Kelch mansion "Ice House". The heating in the building did not work, because of which it was necessary to use fireplaces.

In 1936, the Dzerzhinsky district appeared in Leningrad. Its main governing institution (VKP(b) CPSU) is located in the Kelch mansion. Here the heads of most enterprises were approved, and new members of the party were accepted.

In 1941, a high-explosive bomb destroyed part of the building with the left bay window. The building was restored in 1944-1945, but the bay window was not recreated. The interiors, located on the left side of the mansion, also turned out to be lost.

In December 1991, the building was handed over to two organizations - the St. Petersburg Center in support of UNESCO and the Organizing Committee for the preparation of the 1992 Banking Congress. Subsequently, these two organizations argued among themselves for ownership of the mansion. Until 1998, the Kelch mansion was empty. In 1998, the building was transferred to the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University for free use. Since then, the building has received the name of the Lawyer's House.

There is a restaurant on the ground floor. It was opened to raise funds needed for the restoration of the Kelch mansion. But later the restaurant management did not find a common language with the law faculty of the university and the institution began to work independently.

Front staircase and vestibule.

Ceiling front staircase decorated with picturesque arabesques and plaster moldings in the Renaissance style. On the graceful marble staircase with griffins, the visitor enters the luxurious lobby, decorated with sculptures - copies of Canova's works - "Awakening" and "Italian Venus". Turning his gaze upward, he will see a light lantern made in the form of a stained-glass window in the same Renaissance manner. The transition from the vestibule to the state rooms is made in the form of a Renaissance arcade with arabesques.

In 2010, the Kelch House was closed for restoration. In 2011, it was decided to transfer it to the Ministry of Justice.

Dining room.

Reminiscence in the Gothic style. Wall panels, furniture, framing of openings and ceiling are made of walnut wood. Gothic alcoves of the walls, a large fireplace are decorated with the finest carvings with sculptures characteristic of this style. Narrow windows are decorated with stained glass windows, passing through which the light fills the room with a fabulous atmosphere. One can imagine what a wonderful impression this room had on visitors when the organ hidden behind the mezzanines began to sound within its walls.

A ladder leads upstairs, where the organ used to stand.

From the Gothic dining room to the oak smoking room. And again - the carving on the ceiling will jump! There is a sickle, and a shovel, and a rake. And something else very similar to a plunger. In the smoking room, of course, there is also a fireplace, as without it - copied by order. Alexander Ferdinandych saw such a fireplace somewhere in Italy in a castle - and ordered it, because he liked it. And they did it to him.

Yes, this aunt on the stained-glass window is Varenka.

White Hall.

The interior design of this luxurious hall is designed in the Baroque style. Pilasters, door frames, and the entire lower part of the wall are made of marble. The wall panels are decorated with plaster moldings in the form of compositions typical of the French Baroque.
A magnificent fireplace of light gray Italian marble, made according to the sketch of Maria Lvovna Dillon (1858-1932) in 1899 in Italian stone-cutting workshops, gives a special uniqueness to the interior. Maria Dillon is the first woman in Russia to graduate from the Academy of Arts in sculpture. The monument to V. F. Komissarzhevskaya (located in the Necropolis of the Masters of Arts of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra), created in 1915 and recognized as one of the most notable phenomena in the artistic life of Russia of that period, brought her the greatest fame and glory. The Fireplace of the White Hall is an earlier work by M. L. Dillon, but no less interesting. The complex multi-figure bas-relief of the fireplace "Spring Awakening" embodies tender feelings and happy moments of love... Evidence of the outstanding talent of the female sculptor.

The office of Alexander Ferdinandovich. Everything is strict there. The owner of the house was very fond of the Karelian birch, so the Karelian birch on the ceiling is adjacent to the walls with peach silk wallpaper, a bookcase and a fireplace frame are made of it.

In the next room - an alcove - a rest room - the wallpaper is dark green and even those that were originally stretched have been preserved. A mahogany ceiling with gilded bronze inserts, a fireplace (by the way, as a rule, the window sills in the room are made of exactly the same stone as the fireplace. Preferably, from one monolith). The bookcases are also mahogany.

The guide makes a slight movement with his hand - and the cabinet opens not only the doors, but also the door spaces. Caches, which in the palace of Kelch are immeasurable. And behind these second doors there are not only safes, not only cavities for storing large things, but also a secret passage. And in general they say that now it was walled up, and earlier it led to the 2nd metro line.
By the way, there is also something behind that bookcase in the office!

The mansion is generally crammed with hiding places - there is also a tricky locker in the bedroom. Entering it, you can go up the spiral staircase to the second floor, go down the other to the first floor again, turn the desired detail of the decor - and here it is, the armored room - huge, about thirty meters, meter-thick walls, safe locks (I’ll say right away, we’ll go there they didn’t take it, because the archive of the law school, which owns the building, lives there now, they just told), but I believe.

And what did the Kelkhs keep there? That's right, gold gems. One necklace by Varvara Petrovna cost 35,000 rubles. And the diamond in it was thirty carats, for those who understand. And there was kept something that aroused the envy of all high-society St. Petersburg. Faberge Easter eggs. Despite the fact that Karl sculpted his gifts only for members of the royal family, there were, there were exceptions. These were the Duchess of Marlborough, Rothschild, Felix Yusupov and Alfred Nobel. And Varvara Kelkh, for whom the jeweler made as many as seven eggs. Why the sovereign allowed such embarrassment is unknown, but remembering the amounts spent by the Bazanovs on charity, we are no longer so tormented by this issue.

Address: Tchaikovsky st., 28
Nearest metro stations: Chernyshevskaya

CURRENTLY THERE IS NO EXCURSION

Address: Tchaikovsky, 28

The Kelkh Mansion is part of the unique architectural heritage of St. Petersburg. This building seems to breathe opulence and luxury that will take the breath away from absolutely every visitor.

The Leningrad Symphony invites you to join an excursion to the Kelch mansion and see its magnificent interiors with your own eyes.

EXCURSION TO THE MANSION OF BARON KELCH: IN THE MAJESTIC WORLD OF LUXURY AND WEALTH

Excursion to the Kelch mansion- a great opportunity to have fun and learn. Experienced guides will tell you about the difficult fate of the owners of the building, about the history of the creation of the mansion and its further existence.

Having crossed the threshold of the Kelch house, you immediately find yourself in a different world - the world of exquisite front interior. Is it any wonder, because the owner of such a luxurious mansion was a real rich woman: Varvara Petrovna Kelkh inherited gold mines, the annual income from which was 32,000 kg of gold.

You will see Italian marble, exquisite stucco, carved wood, picturesque arabesques, unique sculptures, bronze candelabra, unusual stained glass windows. Real aesthetes of architecture will appreciate the organic and subtle interweaving of different styles in the mansion of Baron Kelch: baroque, modern, gothic, rococo, romanticism.

Through the tour you will learn amazing facts from the life of the owners of this mansion: what did Varvara Petrovna and Alexander Fedorovich spend cosmic sums on; why Varvara Petrovna emigrated to Paris, and Alexander Fedorovich went bankrupt and was arrested.

You can make sure that the Kelkh mansion rightfully bears the name of the "pearl of St. Petersburg" only by seeing it in reality. "Leningrad Symphony" guarantees: you will spend an unforgettable day!

Guests are waiting for the state rooms of one of the pearls of Old Petersburg - the Mansion of the Minister of War Count Milyutin. During a walk through the rooms and halls of the mansion, the guide will tell the story of the building and its owner - a reformer, the last Field Marshal of the Russian Empire Dmitry Milyutin, who, in particular, influenced the decree on the abolition of cruel criminal penalties - lashes, rods, branding, chaining to a cart and others.

Metro station Gostiny Dvor, Mansion of the Minister of War, Sadovaya st., 4

The mansion of the philanthropist Polovtsev has preserved its historical interiors, which were designed by architects Messmacher, Brullo and Bosse in the 19th century. The house has unique state rooms - the White and Bronze Halls, a boudoir with a bay window, a Library and a dining room trimmed with leather and walnut. During the tour, guests will learn Interesting Facts from the history of the mansion, which is whimsically mixed with the life story of the South American revolutionary Francisco Miranda, Count d "Artois (French King Charles X), Ekaterina Dashkova and the life of the mistress of the house Nadezhda Polovtsova, the adopted daughter of the court banker Stieglitz.

You can find out more about upcoming excursions.

metro station Admiralteyskaya, Bolshaya Morskaya st., 52

The first owner of this mansion in the Foundry part was Alexander Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Gannibal, and then his sons. At the beginning of the 19th century, they sold the building to Senator Ivan Neplyuev, and already in 1855 it was acquired by Prince Pyotr Trubetskoy, for whom the architect Bosse designed the mansion in different historical styles, they can be seen to this day. In the spring of 2012, during the restoration of the building, a cache with cutlery, decorations and awards of the 19th-20th centuries was found between the ceilings. Most of the items had the coat of arms of the Naryshkin family - evidence that the treasure was a family collection, which the owners decided to hide after the 1917 revolution, believing that soon everything would return to normal in Russia and then it would be possible to return for the treasure. Registration is required to participate in the tour.

m. Chernyshevskaya, Tchaikovsky st., 29

House Kelkh, according to many citizens, is the pearl of St. Petersburg. At the very end of the 19th century, Varvara Petrovna Kelkh acquired the site on Sergievskaya Street (now Tchaikovsky Street). The mansion for Varvara Petrovna and her husband was built with luxury corresponding to the position of the hostess. The front facade was designed in the spirit of the French Renaissance and lined with pink and light yellow sandstone. The interior interiors amazed contemporaries with their richness and variety of styles: Renaissance, Gothic, Rococo - no room is like another. In early June, the mansion began to be restored. The only Gothic house in the city will be renovated this year. They promise to conduct excursions on an ongoing basis, but for now they offer enroll not to miss the first opportunity.

m. Chernyshevskaya, st. Tchaikovsky, 28

This is an inconspicuous building in an industrial area. Vasilyevsky Island keeps many secrets and mysteries of the past. It is here, according to numerous traditions and legends, that the mystical mirror of Count Dracula is hidden. Shabby walls, surviving stucco patterns, fireplaces and huge hanging chandeliers still reflect all the former grandeur of the old mansion to this day. This house is one of the addresses that St. Petersburg may soon lose forever, so you just need to have time to get acquainted with it. To the mansion lead excursions, and they also arrange photo shoots for the suffering by prior arrangement.

m. Vasileostrovskaya, Kozhevennaya line, 27

In April 2016, for the first time, the Day of open excursions to inaccessible places was held. memorable places where no one is allowed in on a normal day. The Eliseevs' house became one of the addresses on the map of this event. This four-storey house was built in the middle of the 19th century according to the project of the architect Nikolai Pavlovich Grebenka, who erected in the city an unthinkable number of tenement houses and mansions for St. Petersburg snobs and prominent figures. The architectural solutions of the master have survived to this day without noticeable changes. Then there was a shop of the Eliseev Brothers trading house, which is reminiscent of the massive display windows on the first floor. Now ITMO University is based here and they show an exhibition of light installations and holograms Magic of Light. So, in addition to an interesting exposition, you can also get acquainted with chic interiors at

For several years, passing by house number 28 on Tchaikovsky Street, I admired the interesting solutions for decorating the facades.

But all my attempts to get inside were doomed to failure.

I already knew whose house it was, who the architects were, when it was built, and I was picking information fields on the Internet. On some site I saw that, it turns out, there are people who offer excursions for a certain amount in certain time. Even once tried to get through by the specified phones. Contact did not work, and I calmed down. And just before the holiday “Day of KGIOP”, I see information about the opportunity to freely get on an excursion to the house that I liked “the mansion of Baron A.F. Kelkha. To do this, you need to come to the KGIOP on Friday from 10:00 to 16:00 and sign up so that on Saturday, and the holiday is on Saturday, come up at the appointed time and enter the very chosen, desired premises with a tour.

By chance, on the instructions of my management, I had to get to a conversation with KGIOP specialists and the meeting was scheduled for Friday at 9:30. Thinking about the possibility of being late and the possible long "Soviet" lines (and the people who came there were mostly very old), I decided to arrive early. At 8:40 I turned the corner from Rossi Street and saw a small queue at the front door. I took a queue and found that these 30 people were only a part of the queue. The main part (grandmothers), having pressed the buttons of pity for the guards, penetrated inside the building. The weather was very windy and cold. The line gradually grew and widened, complaining about warm sweaters and blouses forgotten at home. There were people entering the door bypassing the queue. Grandmothers were alert and put their checkpoint at the door. KGIOP employees had to prove their involvement in the monument protection apparatus, and only after that the door was released to enter the workplace. I decided to shift the time of visiting a specialist until I received an appointment for an excursion. At 10:00, the crowd gradually moved to the third floor, to a huge office, where there were 5 tables with KGIOP employees. Each table made an appointment for a specific tour. Where they were recorded is unknown. Those who first got to the tables began to make noise that he didn’t want to go here, but it was VERY difficult to get out ... Gradually everything calmed down and I got to the very table where they recorded “on Kelch”. Having gone outside to smoke at 10:20, I heard the loud voice of an employee behind me, informing the crowd on the street that the recording was over on “Kelch”. There are no seats! The noise of the crowd. I smoked and went to the reception under the withering eyes of the chilled architecture lovers standing on the street.

Those who know this object and its history well, I think, will not be offended if I borrow some suggestions from Internet narratives. I will not tell the story of the building site itself, although it is also interesting, but I will immediately start talking about the fact that the young Kelch family in 1896 decided to order the construction of a new house from the popular architects of St. Petersburg - V.I. Shene and V.I. Chagin. In two years, they built the front building in the style of the French Renaissance. It is lined with pink and light yellow sandstone. The façade is punctuated by an attic crowned with a tall tent.

Probably, it is necessary to say about the family itself ... Varvara Petrovna Bazanova came from a very wealthy family of Moscow merchants. Her grandfather, Ivan Bazanov, founded several enterprises in Siberia, including gold mines, a construction company railways and the shipping company, in which he was the main shareholder, together with partners Yakov Nemchinov and Mikhail Sibiryakov. After the death of their father, Varvara and her mother Yulia inherited the family wealth and founded a new company together with Konstantin Sibiryakov. Varvara in 1892 married Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kelkh, the son of a Petersburg hereditary honorary citizen. He died two years later.

As often happens in Russia, Nikolai's brother Alexander married a wealthy young widow that same year, which may have happened for reasons of good business, since, in accordance with the premarital contract, almost all the wealth remained in the hands of Varvara. Since 1900, the couple began to live under the same roof, but their life together did not work out and in 1905 they registered separate residence.

In 1912, Varvara Petrovna left for Paris. In 1915, the Kelchs officially divorced. A.F. He stayed in Russia, tried to start life anew, got married a second time. After 1917, he worked as a worker at one of his factories in Siberia and was in poverty. In the twenties, A.F. Kelkh returned to St. Petersburg, but could not find a job, begging, selling cigarettes on the street. V.P. Sent him money, invited him to go to Paris. In 1930, A.F. was arrested, was exiled to camps, his further fate is unknown.

Saturday! My wife and I open the treasured door and enter the lobby. Everything is expected and familiar (virtually) but still festive and beautiful. At the request of the guards, they approached the table with the lists and, having shown their passports, received permission to go through the next door to wait for the tour. There were several guides. Eight groups of 20 people drove around the mansion for 30 minutes. A total of 160 people signed up. Now I will stop the story of the ordeals and start talking about the mansion itself.

First of all, the decoration with Italian marble of different colors - white, pink, gray, brown, is striking. Then the eye catches the whimsical, typical for Art Nouveau bend of the white marble staircase. The walls of the lobby are decorated with four paintings of the late 19th century with romantic landscapes. Between them - stucco decoration.

I didn’t get a sharp photo, but I really want to show a bizarre monster at the bottom of the stairs ...

In the upper part of the pilasters there is an image of a man's head. It is believed that this is an image of the brothers Alexander and Nikolai Kelkhov.

Part of the front door and part of the vestibule ceiling. Already at the entrance, the work of woodcarvers is striking.

The ceiling is decorated with picturesque arabesques, in its middle part there is stucco molding, its main element is a laurel wreath framing the picturesque canvas.

After the turn, we rise to the upper platform. Second floor. The arcade is visible on the left side of the picture. The arches are supported by pilasters and marble columns.

In the niches there are marble copies of sculptures by A. Canova - "Awakening" and "Italian Venus".

The third niche was also intended for sculpture, but then a mirror was installed in it. On the sides of the mirror are bronze candelabra with a figure of the winged Nike standing on a ball.

The skylight ceiling is decorated with polychrome stained glass. Ten paintings are placed under the ceiling. A huge chandelier of gilded bronze completes the extraordinarily magnificent decoration of the main staircase.

We pass into the Small living room.

Sculpture, painting, mahogany cornices with gilded details, parquet, and white marble window sills have been preserved in the Small Living Room. The exit to the surviving bay window is decorated on the sides with a sculpture - Egyptian caryatids with stucco torches above them. Above the opening leading to the bay window is a desudeport depicting an altar with a lamb's head on it, an overturned basket of roses and doves. Above the door to the White Hall is an image of Amphitrite surrounded by marine life. Above the door leading to the stairs is an image of a half-naked woman with a peacock and a lamb. To her left is a bust of a man. The walls are decorated with longitudinal stucco bas-reliefs. The spaces between them were covered with damask panels in the form of bouquets of flowers.

A huge picturesque plafond occupies the entire ceiling; the gilded cornice of the living room serves as a frame for it.

The first and third floors were occupied by living quarters. The interiors were distinguished by the variety of materials used, the thoroughness of their processing, the unity of the design of each room, characteristic of Art Nouveau.

Upper office.

The interior is in the Baroque style, walnut wood trim. Corinthian columns are used in the design of the doors and the central window. The monumental fireplace is made of labrodorite, modeled on the fireplace located in one of the halls of the City Hall in Bruges, made in the 16th century. Lancelot Blondel. In the first tier of the fireplace frame, columns are used, on which there is a second tier of entablature and a complex multi-figured composition of the third tier. In the center of the composition there is a niche, in the depth of which there is an image of a gate, in front of which stands a knight holding a raised sword in his hand. On the sides of the niche are pylons depicting geniuses in wreaths, on both sides of the central part - consoles, on which female figures in medieval clothes are placed. In the center of the pommel is a shield with the letters "KA" - Alexander Kelkh. The room is illuminated by two chandeliers made of spiers. The walls were decorated with tapestries.

In the decoration of the ceiling, along with carved compositions made of wood in the form of flowers, leaves, garlands, images of a rake, a hammer, a scythe, a shovel, a trowel, a composition with a shield partitioned off by an oblique bandage into two parts are placed in the cruciform panels of the ceiling; a six-pointed star is placed on the right side.

The door to the dining room.

The door to the billiard room.

Next to the Upper Cabinet was a billiard room, designed in the form of a Renaissance. Oak was used for decoration. The fireplace is made in the form of an arch made of white marble. On the sides of the fireplace are two corner sofas raised by a step. The upholstery is made of embossed leather. Of the pieces of furniture, a cabinet-stand for cues has been preserved. Panels with arabesque painting are placed in the panels of the ceiling. A dark metal chandelier has been preserved.

The room was not prepared for the tour and was closed. Only the ceiling was photographed.

The White Hall occupies the middle part of the building with windows to the south (Tchaikovsky Street). White marble is used for facing the lower part of the walls, framing the doors and for the wall pilasters of the Ionic order. The interior is designed in the "second rococo" style. The walls are decorated with stucco compositions in the form of bouquets of flowers, acanthus leaves, bouquets with the inclusion of musical instruments, a bow and arrows. Sculptures of playing putti are placed in semicircular compositions under the ceiling. Huge mirrors are placed between the windows. The white marble frames of the doorways are complemented by pink marble inserts. Above the doors are sculptural compositions with winged griffins and picturesque desudéportes with flowers. The parquet made of different types of wood is made in the form of a carpet with bouquets in the corners and mesh decor on the rest of the field. The hall is illuminated by a gilded bronze chandelier made at the St. Petersburg factory Shtange Luka in 1848.

Fireplace made of light gray Italian marble, with the author's signature "M. Dillon, 1899". The fireplace consists of three parts: the actual fireplace, a mantelpiece with a sculptural group and a mantelpiece with a multi-figured bas-relief. The fireplace insert is made in the form of a marble shell, inside which a polished brass shell is fixed on a holder in the form of twisted acanthus leaves. The lower tier of the fireplace is decorated with volutes. On the mantelpiece is the sculpture "Spring Awakening". The relief of the panel above the fireplace consists of a female figure flying up in a fluttering robe, playing a lute entwined with roses.

Well, now the most interesting part. Gothic dining room.

The dining room is designed in Gothic style. Wall panels, ceiling, furniture, framing of doorways and exit to the bay window are made of walnut wood. Stained-glass windows are placed in windows divided by bindings into narrow elongated parts. The ceiling is a composition of five keeled arches. The spread of the vault is restrained by horizontal flying buttresses resting on the consoles of the eastern and western walls. The consoles are decorated with weights and figures of chimeras, at the base of the consoles there are images of dancing men. The walls are decorated with a frieze, where shields with coats of arms are placed.

There is a huge fireplace in the dining room. The firebox is lined with yellow finishing bricks. The frame is carved in three tiers, the first tier is decorated with columns, the middle one is a complex entablature with a heraldic composition in the form of a shield with the monogram of the owners under a knight's mask. The shield is supported by a deer and a horse. On the sides of the middle part are two consoles, decorated with carved weights, on which are installed figures of a man and a woman in medieval clothes under carved canopies. The upper hipped tier is carved in the form of a stylized eagle.

A concert organ was installed on the mezzanine.

Niches for the location of the keyboard of the legs and two manual ones are clearly visible.

On the north side there is a spiral staircase leading to the mezzanine.

The hall is illuminated by two chandeliers, made in the form of openwork rims made of spiatra alloy, and a small lamp made of the same material, located in the bay window. Eight stained-glass windows were made in 1898 in the workshop of Ernst Tode in Riga.

Well, that's all that I managed to see during this tour. I also want to add that the work of Schene and Chagin did not satisfy Varvara Petrovna Kelkh. At her request, further work on the site was carried out by another architect, K. K. Schmidt. By 1903, they built a courtyard building and stables. The architect gave strictly Gothic features to the courtyard wing. The stables are made in the Art Nouveau style, which may mean the involvement of another architect in the work.

This is the view from the window. Haven't been able to get into the yard yet.

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