Annunciation church in St. Petersburg (1843-49)

Konstantin Andreyevich Thon, also spelled Ton (October 26, 1794, St Petersburg - January 25, 1881, St.Petersburg), was an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. His major works include the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armoury in Moscow. The Annunciation Church in St Petersburg (1843-49). ... The Annunciation Church in St Petersburg (1843-49). ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect/Building designer is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Nicholas I Pavlovich (Russian: Николай I Павлович, July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (February 18, Old Style), 1855) was the Emperor of Russia and king of Poland from 1825 until his death in 1855. ... View of the cathedral in 1905 The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Russian: Храм Христа Спасителя) is the largest Orthodox church in the world. ... Andreevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in 1849 The Grand Kremlin Palace (Большой Кремлевский дворец Bolshoi Kremlyovski Dvorets), also translated Great Kremlin Palace, was built from 1837 to 1851 in Moscow, Russia on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th... The Armory (Оружейная палата in Russian), one of the oldest museums of Moscow, located in the Kremlin. ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ...

Early life

Konstantin, born to the family of a German jeweller, was one of three Thon brothers who all rised to become notable architects. He studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1803-15) under the Empire Style architect Andrey Voronikhin, best remembered for his work on the Kazan Cathedral, situated right in the middle of the Nevsky Prospect. He studied Italian art in Rome from 1819 to 1828, and on his return home was admitted to the academy as its member (1830) and professor (1833). In 1854, he was appointed rector of the architectural division of the academy. ... Empire is an early 19th century style of architecture and furniture design that and originates from Napoleons rule of France. ... Our Lady of Kazan (16th century). ... Nevsky Prospekt, or the Neva Avenue (Russian: Невский проспект), is the main thoroughfare in the city of St Petersburg. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ...

Thon first attracted public attention with his sumptuous design for the interiors of the Academy building on the Neva embankment. In 1827, he submitted to the tsar his project of St Catherine church at the Obvodnyi Canal, the first ever design in the Russian Revival style. Nicholas I, who felt disaffected with the prevailing Neoclassicism of Russian architecture, remarked that "Russians have their own great art traditions and don't need to cringe before Rome". Thon's project was to become a revered model for other churches in St Petersburg and across Russia. ... Нева Length 74 km Elevation of the source 4 m Average discharge 2,600 m³/s Area watershed 282,000 km² Origin Lake Ladoga Mouth Gulf of Finland Basin countries Russia River Neva (Нева́) is a 74 km long Russian river flowing from the Lake Ladoga (Ладожское Озеро - Ladozhskoye Ozero) through the Carelian Isthmus... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1...

Byzantine Revival

In 1830, Thon completed his most ambitious design to date, that of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The Byzantine Revival style of his project, intended to underline similarity of the new church with old cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, displeased many of his fellows, who wanted to see the cathedral built in the severe Neoclassical style. Nevertheless, the emperor personally approved his design. Thon and his disciples continued to work on the cathedral for the next 50 years, until the master's death in 1881. View of the cathedral in 1905 The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Russian: Храм Христа Спасителя) is the largest Orthodox church in the world. ... The 11th-century monastery of Hosios Lukas in Greece is representative of the Byzantine art during the rule of Macedonian dynasty. ... The Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is the best known kremlin (Russian citadel). ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1836-42, Thon supervised the construction of another ponderous church with a spacious interior, that of Presentation to the Temple for the Semenovsky regiment in St Petersburg. He followed this with dozens of Neo-Byzantine designs for churches and cathedrals in provincial towns, including Sveaborg, Elets, Tomsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Krasnoyarsk. Some of his revivalist projects were assembled in the Model Album for Church Designs (1836). Utsikt över Sveaborg (View over Sveaborg), painting by Augustin Ehrensvärd Suomenlinna (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. ... Tomsk (Томск) (2002 pop. ... Central market and Church in Rostov. ... Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisei River Krasnoyarsk (Russian: Красноярск), administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, is the third largest city in Siberia. ...

Andreevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace

From 1838 to 1851, Thon was employed in construction of the Neo-Byzantine Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armoury in Moscow. The grandiose palace, famed for opulent interiors of its 700 rooms and halls, was meant to symbolise the grandeur of the Russian state. It was a daring design which incorporated parts of earlier structures that had been standing on the spot. The palace has served successively as an official residence for the Russian tsars, Soviet rulers, and the Presidents of the Russian Federation. Download high resolution version (527x680, 136 KB)Then newly-decorated Hall of St Andrew in the Grand Kremlin Palace. ... Download high resolution version (527x680, 136 KB)Then newly-decorated Hall of St Andrew in the Grand Kremlin Palace. ... Andreevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in 1849 The Grand Kremlin Palace (Большой Кремлевский дворец Bolshoi Kremlyovski Dvorets), also translated Great Kremlin Palace, was built from 1837 to 1851 in Moscow, Russia on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th... The Armory (Оружейная палата in Russian), one of the oldest museums of Moscow, located in the Kremlin. ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Hall has several meanings. ... A dwelling is a structure in which humans or other animals live. ...

Later years

Thon's last important commissions were the railway stations in Moscow and St Petersburg (1849-51). In his design for the stations the architect implemented some of the newest construction technologies. Despite large pieces of steelwork used in the construction, Venetian facades and medieval clock towers of the stations cleverly masked their modern function. Both structures, although extensively reconstructed, are still standing. Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... A clock tower is a tower built with a large clock face on one or more (often all four) of its sides so as to be visible to a large number of inhabitants of an area. ...

After the death of his patron, the Emperor, Thon's failing health prevented him from working on other projects apart from the great cathedral in Moscow. Even during his lifetime, the more radical of his contemporaries, such as Alexander Herzen, dismissed his architecture as "reactionary manifestation of the tyrant's rule". The Soviet authorities, labelling Thon's churches ugly chests of drawers, systematically destroyed as many of them as possible, including all his churches in St Petersburg and vicinity and the work of his life, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The fall of the Soviet rule in 1991 brought about a renewed interest in the work of the Neo-Byzantine master. Alexander Herzen in 1867 Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen (Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен) (April 6, 1812 - January 21, 1870) was a major Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the father of Russian socialism. He is held responsible for creating a political climate leading to the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. ...

See also

• Cathedral by day
• Cathedral by night

External link

• Official site of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour