Apraksin Yard (also Apraxin Dvor; russian: Апраксин Двор) is a market and retail block in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, currently under a massive long-term renovation project. The buildings of Apraksin Dvor nestle between Sadovaya Street and the

Fontanka River The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River fo ...

, just southwest of the

Alexandrinsky Theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial tr ...

. The first market on the spot originated in the mid-18th century, deriving its name from Count Apraksin who owned the plot. After a merchant named Shchukin purchased a portion of it, that part became known as Shchukin Dvor. The market buildings were wooden and burnt to the ground in 1782. In 1863, a new department store was opened on the spot. It was built to a design by Geronimo Corsini. Over the next decade, more than 45 shops were constructed in the vicinity. In 1913, Apraksin Dvor contained more than 500 shops. A further 270 small wholesale enterprises were located on the grounds of Shchukin Dvor. After the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, most buildings of Apraksin Dvor were given over to use as depots and warehouses. By the beginning of the 21st century, Apraksin Dvor was a large city of block of small, downmarket shops facing the street with an open-air market - mostly clothing and accessories - on the inside: an enormous downmarket retail area in the middle of the ever more upscale city center. A long-term renovation plan was instituted; the market stalls were removed in 2008-9 to the Grazhdansky Rynok market (see

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: ...

on Russian Wikipedia) on the periphery of the city. There are plans to turn the area into a modern, pleasant retail, office, residential, hotel and cultural space.

Wilkinson Eyre Architects WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ha ...

and

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide ...

are the lead architectural firms.

References

{{Coord, 59.930678, N, 30.327523, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Saint Petersburg Department stores of Russia 1863 establishments in the Russian Empire Shopping malls in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Saint Petersburg

Further reading

References