The concept of Russian architecture in the baltic provinces between the great northern war and the cosmopolitanism of the 19th century

Abstract

The goal of this article is to examine the role of the new Russian ruling power as it related to cultural policy in the Baltic provinces between the Great Northern War (1700-1721) and the Russian Revolution (1917), in order to engender a discussion about the Russian influence in Estonia's architectural history-its content and meaning-based on primary sources in the archives of Estonia, St Petersburg and Moscow. The historiography of this topic dates back nearly a century; as a neighbouring country and an important centre of political power and culture, the influence of St Petersburg as the main Russian metropolis has been always been taken into consideration and studied in the history of Estonian art history. The articles by Sergey Androsov and Georgy Smirnov that appear in this volume have provided the inspiration to try and re-examine the entire spectrum of Estonia's position between East and West, and to point out the main subjects in this new context and the relationship to the new geography of architecture in the Age of Enlightenment and the stylistic changes of the 19th century. In the broader sense, we are dealing with an invasion and impulses that introduced high-quality international art to the Baltic provinces and provided a 'border country' with a unique position in regard to the adaptation and interpretation of an international art experience that Russia itself has inherited from Rome, Paris, Dresden and Berlin, and which paved the way to a cosmopolitan cultural horizon in both the metropolis and the province. Using a methodological approach, the article deals with both the cultural geography and architectural genesis from the Baroque period to the era of Neoclassicism and from the romantic impulses of the 19th century to the variety of different stylistic impulses characteristic of the end of the era. In the article, five main problems have been investigated. Firstly, the Great Northern War, which resulted in great geopolitical change and impacted both sides. For the imperial power, the 'window to Europe' through the Baltic countries (Estonia and Latvia) helped establish new cultural relations with the West, and for the Baltic countries, it gave an access to the needed resources. However, the question remains, how deeply did the initiatives of the central government affect the spiritual relations that have developed over the centuries, and what was the actual role of the new utopia in a province where the German language and mentality lived on, and where architecture had an important role to play. The article examines several facts about the first large edifices built by Peter the Great and his Italian-born architects Niccolo Michetti and Domenico Trezzini. If the architectural idiom of Michetti clearly demonstrates his Roman background, then Trezzini, based on the energy of the Baroque, introduced Sebastinao Serlio's influence in which simplicity and clarity were key, and which, in the form of Northern Italian Baroque had acquired more of a graphic than volumetric nature. Much has been written about Trezzini's activities related to Peter the Great's summer palace in Katharinenthal on the outskirts of Tallinn. But it may be even more important to consider Trezzini's role as the master architect of the tsar's first town palaces, including his residences in Narva and Tallinn. The second issue examined in the article is that of the Russian Orthodox Church as the generator of a new concept of space and form in the province. There is a definite contradiction between the religious and aesthetic sides of the problem. In addition to the political dictates coming from the centre of power, the iconography and style has its own rules, thereby providing a reason for analysing the concrete facts in a wider scale. One example is the building history of the large cupola church in Tartu designed by Johann Wilhelm Krause, the university architect. In addition to the impact of the Russian metropolises, Krause was directly influenced by the German tradition and familiar with its architectural theories and examples (L. Chr. Sturm, Chr. L. Stieglitz etc.). The scope of the architecture and aesthetical thought extends far beyond the specific political relationships. The third topic, which has often been dealt with in Estonian art history, is the German ethos and the impact of the Russian style on the architecture of the Baltic nobility as it appeared at the very beginning of the 19th century, when the large palaces in Horeda, Raikkula. Aaspere, Riispere etc were built. The column and, in a broader sense, the Vitruvian tradition that appeared both on the portico-facades or indoors as columned halls and cupolas, was the symbol of the age. Despite the close relations between the local aristocracy and the Russian court, there are only a few examples that can be directly connected to the most outstanding architects from St Petersburg, such as Jean Vallin de la Mothe, Georg Freidrich Veldten or Carlo Rossi. Despite the lack of concrete data, it was at the beginning of the 19th century (nearly 100 years after the Great Northern War) that Baltic architecture found its place in the space of Russian classical trends and identity. Fourthly, there is the matter of the dictates of the metropolis and 'obedience' of the province. At the beginning of the new era, the Baltic culture found itself in quite a peculiar situation. On the one hand, the adoption of the international cultural experience, and on the other, a social order that had outlived its time along with an extensive bureaucracy. Just as it was difficult to replace the German language with Russian, the steps taken by the central government to unify the architectural image of the empire by using standardised facades (tipovye fasady) was viewed with scepticism in the province. In 1814 and 1815, only three houses based on approved models were built in the old Hanseatic town; in 1812, 1816 and 1817 none were built in Reval. Time had to pass before the standardised facades were accepted in the town. And even then, they were viewed as being more bureaucratic than essential in nature by the professional architects. Unlike in Tartu and some other Estonian towns, the mentality of the previous ages lived on in Tallinn, Narva and elsewhere. Finally, the situation changed at the end of the 19th century when the messianic Orthodox mission of the Russification policy culminated in a massive religious conversion movement in the early 1880s. In Tallinn, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the most visible location in the city, where only recently the Estonian Knighthood had planned to erect a bronze statue of Martin Luther (upon its completion it was installed in front of the parsonage at Keila). Several hundred Orthodox churches were built all over the country.