Andrei Ivanovich Stakenschneider (also spelled Stuckenschneider; ; – ) was a Russian architect. His eclectic approach and competence in period styles are manifest in ten palaces built to his design in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He is often credited with turning

Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...

from

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

Life

Born into a prosperous family, Stakenschneider trained at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

, helping

Auguste de Montferrand Auguste de Montferrand (; ; January 23, 1786 – July 10, 1858) was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in Saint Petersburg. Early life ...

supervise the construction of

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral () is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Gre ...

. He was a revivalist, finding his inspiration in Greek, Renaissance, Baroque, and Gothic styles. His first independent work was a Neo-Gothic castle at

Keila-Joa Keila-Joa is a small borough () in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. It has a population of 373 (as of 1 January 2019). The Estonian name Keila-Joa literally means "Keila Falls", named after the river, distinguishing it from t ...

, a residence of Count

Alexander von Benckendorff Konstantin Alexander Karl Wilhelm Christoph Graf von Benckendorff (, – ) was a Russian History of Russian military ranks, cavalry general and statesman of Baltic German descent. He was also the adjutant general of Alexander I of Russia, Alex ...

near

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. In the late 1830s, Stakenschneider emerged as the chief court architect of

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

. For this monarch and his children, he designed the

Mariinsky Palace Mariinsky Palace (), also known as Marie Palace, was the last neoclassical Imperial residence to be constructed in Saint Petersburg. It was built between 1839 and 1844, designed by the court architect Andrei Stackenschneider. It houses the c ...

(1839–1844),

Nicholas Palace Nicholas Palace (Russian: Николаевский дворец, ''Nikolayevsky dvorets'') is one of several Saint Petersburg palaces designed by Andreas Stackensneider (1802–65) for the children of Nicholas I of Russia. The palace of Grand Duke ...

(1853–1861), New Michael Palace (1857–1861), as well as the

Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace Beloselsky Belozersky Palace (Russian: Дворе́ц Белосе́льских-Белозе́рских; also known before the Russian Revolution (1917), Revolution as the Palace of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, the Sergei Palace, and ...

(1846–1848) for Princess Kochubey. In Peterhof, he was responsible for the

Farm Palace The Farm Palace () is a pavilion in the Alexandria Park of Petergof, Peterhof, close to the Cottage Palace and Gothic Chapel (Peterhof), Gothic Chapel. It was later expanded into a summer residence for the family of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, T ...

(1838–1855), the Belvedere Palace (1853–1856), and numerous garden pavilions. Stakenschneider refurbished some rooms in the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

and applied the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

idioms to the imperial palace in Oreanda,

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

(1842–1852; burnt down in 1882).

Selected works

File:Mariinsky Palace Saint Petersburg.jpg,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

File:DvorecTruda 29622.jpg,

File:Alferaki Palace 2008.jpg,

Alferaki Palace Alferaki Palace is a museum in Taganrog, Russia, originally the home of the wealthy merchant Nikolay Alferaki. It was built in 1848 by the architect Andrei Stackenschneider on ''Frunze Street'' (formerly ''Katolicheskaya''), in downtown Taganro ...

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

File:Beloselskii.jpg,

File:Keila-Joa loss.JPG,

manor in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, Stackenschneider's first independent work File:2129. Петергоф. Императорский телеграф.jpg, Palace Telegraph Station, located in Alexandria Park, Peterhof

Sources

* Петрова Т.А. А. Штакеншнейдер. Л., 1978. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stackenschneider, Andrei 1802 births 1865 deaths People from Gatchinsky District People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd 19th-century architects from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class