Adam Menelaws
Encyclopedia
Adam Menelaws, also spelled Menelas (born between 1748 and 1756, presumably in Edinburgh
– died August 31, 1831 in Saint Petersburg
) was an architect
and landscape design
er of Scottish
origin, active in the Russian Empire
from 1784 to 1831. Menelaws achieved success in the first two decades of the 19th century as the designer of town and country residences and parks of Razumovsky
and Stroganov families, and later worked for emperor Alexander I
, specializing in Gothic Revival architecture. From 1825 to 1831 Menelaws, then in his seventies, became the first house architect of Nicholas I
and de facto the leading architect of the Empire. Except for this final, properly evidenced, stage, life story of Adam Menelaws remains scarcely documented and has been reconstructed by biographers based on sketchy archive data and circumstantial evidence; Menelaws still "belongs to the category of almost unknown".
in 1828. There is no other reliable evidence of his early years, education and experience prior to arriving in Russia in 1784. Members of Menelaws family were construction contractors in Argyll
; Howard Colvin
and Dmitry Shvidkovsky
suggest that Adam Menelaws belonged to the same family, but this opinion has not been reliably confirmed by archive research. Historians split over the year of his birth: a 1784 immigration record suggests that he arrived in Russia at the age of 35, i.e. born in or around 1748, while the funeral records of the English church in Saint Petersburg state the year of his birth as 1756. In 1803 Menelaws asserted that he hails from a noble English family, but Russian authorities refused to honour his claim.
In early 1780s Charles Cameron
, an architect employed by Catherine II
since 1779, published a job offer in Edinburgh Evening News
, signed Catherine of Russia, inviting skilled construction workers to join his Tsarskoye Selo
project. 73 craftsmen, including Adam Menelaws, agreed to move to Russia (many took their families with them), causing a futile protest of the Foreign Office. All were sufficiently qualified to become professional architects or at least architect's trainees in Russia; Cameron ranked Menelaws as the one of two best stonemasons - the "vaulting
master". Menelaws signed for a three-year contract to build the Cold Baths near Saint Petersburg, agreeing also to train a class of Russian craftsmen. Apparently the number of Scottish professionals was too big for Cameron, and one year later Menelaws left him and joined the service of Nikolay Lvov
.
Lvov, an amateur composer, poet and Palladian
architect was at that time aide to statesman Alexander Bezborodko
. Historians divide over his role in Menelaws career: tradition held it that Lvov promoted Menelaws, introducing him to the Crown projects, while later researchers assert that, on the contrary, Lvov's influence slowed down Menelaws career. Instead of architecture, in May 1785 Lvov engaged Menelaws and William Heste
in search for coal
fossils (at that time Russian metallurgy
was dependent on either charcoal
or imports from England and Wales). In 1786 Menelaws found commercial-grade ("not inferior to that of Newcastle
") coal near Borovichi
; by 1790 the coal research team increased to 10 professionals. It is quite likely, however, that Lvov used the state-sponsored quest for coal as a cover to extract a talented architect for his own use: in 1785–1794 Menelaws was regularly involved in Lvov's construction projects. Another Scot, Walter Irving, was employed by Lvov to construct his idealist Sun Temple, a country estate in Tver Oblast
; its circular arcade
, resembling the henge
s of Britain, was later recreated in Menelaws' own designs. The rotunda
motive, common to Menelaws later works, was most likely inspired by Lvov.
Menelaws married Elizabeth Cave in 1792; the ceremony was attended by Lvov, Alexey Olenin (president of the Imperial Academy of Arts
) and numerous members of the English and Scottish diaspora. In 1795 Menelaws began gradually separating from Lvov's service after the construction of the Saint Joseph cathedral in Mahilyow, but the two remained in contact until Lvov's sudden death in 1803. Meanwhile, Menelaws remained a Russian state servant of a small rank since his arrival. After Lvov's death he attempted to retire immediately, but, faced with refusal in pension benefits, preferred to remain in service until 1806. According to Anthony Cross, "the late burgeoning of Menelaws talent" probably occurred only after Lvov' death, during his work for the Razumovsky
family.
In the 19th century Menelaws created a string of English garden
s for the Razumovskys; the best known, in Gorenki (present-day Balashikha
), was included in John Claudius Loudon
's The Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, Villa Architecture for its landscaping and a private botanical garden
. Historians split on the issue whether Gorenki was designed primarily by Menelaws or by Lvov. In 1801–1802 Menelaws designed and built the Razumovsky Palace in Basmanny District
of Moscow
; the palace was destroyed by the Fire of 1812
and later reconstructed by Afanasy Grigoriev
. Another large park, Stroganov's Maryino, was laid down near Saint Peterburg in 1813. All these landscaping projects perished by the end of 19th century. Menelaws park designs always employed a Gothic ruin as a visual anchor. Menelaws was instrumental in operations of the Maryino school established by the Golitsyns
in 1819, teaching the peasants the craft of cob construction. Introduction of cob technology in Russia is usually credited to Lvov, but may also be linked directly to Menelaws's Scottish experience. Dmitry Shvidkovsky suggested that Menelaws, not Cameron, was the designer of the Razumovsky palace in Baturin, but other historians reject this opinion.
In the 1810s Alexander I invited Menelaws to redesign the Alexander's Park in Tsarskoye Selo
, starting with an old dilapidated menagerie
. The new plan proposed by Menelaws created an illusion of a completely novel design, yet carefully preserved the structure of a regular park shaped in the previous century; according to Lvov, Menelaws "merged the art of Kent
and Le Nôtre
". Menelaws designed and built 12 structures, including the Egyptian Gates and three park pavilions: the large Arsenal (1819–1834) built on the site of Mon Bijou built by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli
in 1750s, the White Tower (1821–1827), a house for the young Grand Duke
s and the Chapel (1825–1828), a folly
providing living quarter to the palace chaplain. Use of an eclectic, pan-European romanticism
was justified as a symbol of the New Europe shaped at the Congress of Vienna
, but was also a sign of Alexander's turn to mysticism
. Alexander's Park was occupied by Nicholas I, then heir presumptive
, who also leaned to eclecticism
and medieval legacy, as would be evidenced later by his reign.
Nicholas became Menelaws' "most appreciative patron who provided him with the opportunity at a very advanced stage of life". Indeed, his most important commission, the Alexandria Park, was started when the architect was at least around 70 years old.
Shortly before his death in 1824, Alexander I granted a 285 acres (1.2 km²) lot of land on the coast of Gulf of Finland
, east of Petergof, to Nicholas I. The new Alexandria Park, commissioned to Menelaws, became the last, and best preserved of the architect's projects. The work started with landscaping the territory and digging two large artificial pools; after Alexander's death, Nicholas commissioned Menelaws to build his summer residence, the asymmetrical Cottage. Externally, it was more English than Gothic; Gothic influence was more obvious in the interiors designed by Menelaw. The park, laid down in English style, featured winding walkways around ponds, and had a Gothic Chapel
(private church of the House of Romanov, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
) as its focal point (it was completed by Ludwig Charlemagne three years after Menelaws' death). It was suggested that Nicholas actually planned to relocate the remains of Alexander Nevsky
into the chapel. The park also had facilities of the lesser rank: an animal sanctuary
for old horses retired from the palace service, a farm and a menagerie
with llama
and elephant
pavilions. Elephants lived in Alexandria until 1911 and were allowed to roam free in the summer.
Menelaws died in Saint Petersburg during the cholera epidemic of 1831.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
– died August 31, 1831 in 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...
) was an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and landscape design
Landscape design
Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design.-Design scope:...
er of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
origin, active in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
from 1784 to 1831. Menelaws achieved success in the first two decades of the 19th century as the designer of town and country residences and parks of Razumovsky
Razumovsky
Razumovsky , originally Rozumovsky , formerly transliterated as Rasumowski, Rasumofsky and Rasoumofsky) is a Ukrainian noble family from Russian Empire. Surviving branch remains in Austria.-History:...
and Stroganov families, and later worked for emperor Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, specializing in Gothic Revival architecture. From 1825 to 1831 Menelaws, then in his seventies, became the first house architect of Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
and de facto the leading architect of the Empire. Except for this final, properly evidenced, stage, life story of Adam Menelaws remains scarcely documented and has been reconstructed by biographers based on sketchy archive data and circumstantial evidence; Menelaws still "belongs to the category of almost unknown".
Biography
The Scottish origin of Menelaws was confirmed by the architect himself to A. B. Granville, an English traveler who published a report of his journey in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1828. There is no other reliable evidence of his early years, education and experience prior to arriving in Russia in 1784. Members of Menelaws family were construction contractors in Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
; Howard Colvin
Howard Colvin
Sir Howard Montagu Colvin, CVO, CBE , was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field.-Life and works:...
and Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky is a Russian educator and historian of architecture of Russia and the United Kingdom during the Age of Enlightenment. A 1982 alumnus and long-term professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, Shvidkovsky was appointed its rector in 2007....
suggest that Adam Menelaws belonged to the same family, but this opinion has not been reliably confirmed by archive research. Historians split over the year of his birth: a 1784 immigration record suggests that he arrived in Russia at the age of 35, i.e. born in or around 1748, while the funeral records of the English church in Saint Petersburg state the year of his birth as 1756. In 1803 Menelaws asserted that he hails from a noble English family, but Russian authorities refused to honour his claim.
In early 1780s Charles Cameron
Charles Cameron (architect)
Charles Cameron was a Scottish architect who made an illustrious career at the court of Catherine II of Russia. Cameron, practitioner of early neoclassical architecture, was the chief architect of Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk palaces and the adjacent new town of Sophia from his arrival in Russia in...
, an architect employed by Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
since 1779, published a job offer in Edinburgh Evening News
Edinburgh Evening News
The Edinburgh Evening News is a local newspaper based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is published daily . It has a circulation of 68,000 and is owned by Johnston Press, which also owns The Scotsman and many regional titles throughout the UK.Much of the copy contained in the Evening News concerns local...
, signed Catherine of Russia, inviting skilled construction workers to join his Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
project. 73 craftsmen, including Adam Menelaws, agreed to move to Russia (many took their families with them), causing a futile protest of the Foreign Office. All were sufficiently qualified to become professional architects or at least architect's trainees in Russia; Cameron ranked Menelaws as the one of two best stonemasons - the "vaulting
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
master". Menelaws signed for a three-year contract to build the Cold Baths near Saint Petersburg, agreeing also to train a class of Russian craftsmen. Apparently the number of Scottish professionals was too big for Cameron, and one year later Menelaws left him and joined the service of Nikolay Lvov
Nikolay Lvov
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Lvov was a Russian artist of the Age of Enlightenment. Lvov, an amateur of Rurikid lineage, was a polymath who contributed to geology, history, graphic arts and poetry, but is known primarily as an architect and ethnographer, compiler of the first significant collection of...
.
Lvov, an amateur composer, poet and Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
architect was at that time aide to statesman Alexander Bezborodko
Alexander Bezborodko
Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko was the Grand Chancellor of Russia and chief architect of Catherine the Great's foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin.-Ukrainian origins:...
. Historians divide over his role in Menelaws career: tradition held it that Lvov promoted Menelaws, introducing him to the Crown projects, while later researchers assert that, on the contrary, Lvov's influence slowed down Menelaws career. Instead of architecture, in May 1785 Lvov engaged Menelaws and William Heste
William Heste
William Hastie was a Russian architect, civil engineer and town planner of Scottish descent. His name is also transliterated back from Russian as William Heste or, seldom, Vasily Heste....
in search for coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
fossils (at that time Russian metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
was dependent on either charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
or imports from England and Wales). In 1786 Menelaws found commercial-grade ("not inferior to that of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
") coal near Borovichi
Borovichi
Borovichi is the second largest town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Population: -Geography:The town is located in the northern spurs of the Valdai Hills, east of Veliky Novgorod. It stands upon the Msta River. Just upstream Borovichi there are the famous rapids of Msta popular among...
; by 1790 the coal research team increased to 10 professionals. It is quite likely, however, that Lvov used the state-sponsored quest for coal as a cover to extract a talented architect for his own use: in 1785–1794 Menelaws was regularly involved in Lvov's construction projects. Another Scot, Walter Irving, was employed by Lvov to construct his idealist Sun Temple, a country estate in Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...
; its circular arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, resembling the henge
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside...
s of Britain, was later recreated in Menelaws' own designs. The rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
motive, common to Menelaws later works, was most likely inspired by Lvov.
Menelaws married Elizabeth Cave in 1792; the ceremony was attended by Lvov, Alexey Olenin (president of the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
) and numerous members of the English and Scottish diaspora. In 1795 Menelaws began gradually separating from Lvov's service after the construction of the Saint Joseph cathedral in Mahilyow, but the two remained in contact until Lvov's sudden death in 1803. Meanwhile, Menelaws remained a Russian state servant of a small rank since his arrival. After Lvov's death he attempted to retire immediately, but, faced with refusal in pension benefits, preferred to remain in service until 1806. According to Anthony Cross, "the late burgeoning of Menelaws talent" probably occurred only after Lvov' death, during his work for the Razumovsky
Razumovsky
Razumovsky , originally Rozumovsky , formerly transliterated as Rasumowski, Rasumofsky and Rasoumofsky) is a Ukrainian noble family from Russian Empire. Surviving branch remains in Austria.-History:...
family.
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
s for the Razumovskys; the best known, in Gorenki (present-day Balashikha
Balashikha
Balashikha is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of Moscow. It is known for its unique river and waterway system. The Pekhorka River system covers an area of from north to south and from east to west, and many small lakes and ponds were created by damming to...
), was included in John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
's The Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm, Villa Architecture for its landscaping and a private botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
. Historians split on the issue whether Gorenki was designed primarily by Menelaws or by Lvov. In 1801–1802 Menelaws designed and built the Razumovsky Palace in Basmanny District
Basmanny District
Basmanny District is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. Population: The district extends northeast from Kitai-gorod, within the radial boundaries of Vorontsovo Pole Street and Yauza River in the south and Myasnitskaya Street and Novaya Basmannaya Street in the north...
of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
; the palace was destroyed by the Fire of 1812
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
and later reconstructed by Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church and assistance to Domenico Giliardi in rebuilding Moscow after the Great Fire...
. Another large park, Stroganov's Maryino, was laid down near Saint Peterburg in 1813. All these landscaping projects perished by the end of 19th century. Menelaws park designs always employed a Gothic ruin as a visual anchor. Menelaws was instrumental in operations of the Maryino school established by the Golitsyns
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
in 1819, teaching the peasants the craft of cob construction. Introduction of cob technology in Russia is usually credited to Lvov, but may also be linked directly to Menelaws's Scottish experience. Dmitry Shvidkovsky suggested that Menelaws, not Cameron, was the designer of the Razumovsky palace in Baturin, but other historians reject this opinion.
In the 1810s Alexander I invited Menelaws to redesign the Alexander's Park in Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
, starting with an old dilapidated menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
. The new plan proposed by Menelaws created an illusion of a completely novel design, yet carefully preserved the structure of a regular park shaped in the previous century; according to Lvov, Menelaws "merged the art of Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
and Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
". Menelaws designed and built 12 structures, including the Egyptian Gates and three park pavilions: the large Arsenal (1819–1834) built on the site of Mon Bijou built by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was an Italian architect naturalized Russian. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic...
in 1750s, the White Tower (1821–1827), a house for the young Grand Duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
s and the Chapel (1825–1828), a folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
providing living quarter to the palace chaplain. Use of an eclectic, pan-European romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
was justified as a symbol of the New Europe shaped at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, but was also a sign of Alexander's turn to mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. Alexander's Park was occupied by Nicholas I, then heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
, who also leaned to eclecticism
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
and medieval legacy, as would be evidenced later by his reign.
Shortly before his death in 1824, Alexander I granted a 285 acres (1.2 km²) lot of land on the coast of Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
, east of Petergof, to Nicholas I. The new Alexandria Park, commissioned to Menelaws, became the last, and best preserved of the architect's projects. The work started with landscaping the territory and digging two large artificial pools; after Alexander's death, Nicholas commissioned Menelaws to build his summer residence, the asymmetrical Cottage. Externally, it was more English than Gothic; Gothic influence was more obvious in the interiors designed by Menelaw. The park, laid down in English style, featured winding walkways around ponds, and had a Gothic Chapel
Gothic Chapel (Peterhof)
Gothic Chapel in Peterhof is an Orthodox church in the name of Saint Alexander Nevsky situated in the Alexandria Park of Petergof, Russia. It was designed at the request of Nicholas I of Russia by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in Gothic Revival style in 1829 and consecrated in July 1834...
(private church of the House of Romanov, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
) as its focal point (it was completed by Ludwig Charlemagne three years after Menelaws' death). It was suggested that Nicholas actually planned to relocate the remains of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
into the chapel. The park also had facilities of the lesser rank: an animal sanctuary
Animal sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death...
for old horses retired from the palace service, a farm and a menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
with llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
and elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
pavilions. Elephants lived in Alexandria until 1911 and were allowed to roam free in the summer.
Menelaws died in Saint Petersburg during the cholera epidemic of 1831.