The Imperial Alexander Lyceum is the new name of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, given to him after moving to St. Petersburg from Tsarskoye Selo. The complex of buildings in which it was located occupies a site bounded by Roentgen Street (formerly Lyceum Street), Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt and Bolshaya Monetnaya Street. Currently, the Alexander Lyceum in St. Petersburg is an architectural monument of federal significance.
Events before 1843
In the first half of the eighteenth century, there was a large estate on this site, which then passed into the treasury. Later, in 1768, the land was given away for the construction of the Smallpox Vaccination House, the first in Russia. In 1803, the buildings were transferred to the Orphan's House of the Chancellery of Empress Maria. The current buildings here were erected from 1831 until the early twentieth century by various architects.
Chiefthe building of the lyceum, located at the address: Kamennoostrovsky prospect, 21, was built in 1831-1834. designed by L. I. Charlemagne in the style of late classicism. Initially, it was intended for the Alexander Orphanage (the previously existing building had to be dismantled after the flood of 1824). On September 23, 1834, on the third floor, the house church was consecrated in honor of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the heavenly patroness. The pediment of the building was decorated with a copper gilded cross, and masters E. Balin and K. Mozhaev performed modeling on the vaults of the temple.
When in 1838-1839. the route of the avenue was leveled, a square was formed in front of the building. Around it, in 1839, a cast-iron openwork lattice was installed, made according to the sketch of the architect P. S. Plavov. According to his own designs, two wings were built here in the 1830s and an office building (behind the main building) in 1841-1843.
1844-1917 – lyceum period
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum moved here in 1843. And at the same time, by decree of Nicholas I, he received a new name - Imperial Alexander. Lyceum life in connection with the move has undergone numerous transformations, this also affected the features of teaching. In 1848, a new Charter of the institution was adopted, which reflected changes in the purpose and content of the lyceum education. So, they began to accept and release pupils annually, and not once every three years, as was the case in Tsarskoye Selo. Also, additional departments were opened and new disciplines were introduced, corresponding to the trends of thattime. For example, departments of civil architecture and agriculture appeared. Later they were closed, and the curricula were brought as close as possible to the course taught at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. However, as before, the lyceum program remained diverse and extensive, primarily due to the presence of humanitarian disciplines: psychology, literature, history … Among other things, ballroom dancing was taught at the educational institution (the choreographer was Stukolkin Timofey Alekseevich - a famous dancer, an outstanding ballet dancer).
Further construction
For 1858-1860 The Alexander Lyceum expanded: a two-story extension was erected from the side of the square to the main building, an infirmary was located on the first floor, and a dining room (then an assembly hall) was located on the second. In 1878, the fourth floor of the building was added according to the project of the architect R. Ya. Ossolanus. Next to the building in 1889, a bronze bust of Alexander the First by P. P. Zabello (not preserved to this day) and a plaster bust of A. S. Pushkin by sculptor Zh. A. Polonskaya and architect Kh. In 1899, it was replaced by a two-meter bronze bust, designed by the sculptor I. N. Shreder and architect S. P. Konovalov (in the 1930s it was transferred from the garden to the stairs of the Lyceum, then in 1972 it was transferred to the Museum of Urban Sculpture, then in 1999 installed in front of the Pushkin House). In the square in 1955, a bust of V. I. Lenin was also opened by the sculptor V. B. Pinchuk and the architectF. A. Gepner.
In 1910, part of the main building was damaged by fire. In 1911, the architect I. A. Fomin carried out restoration work.
The Case of Lyceum Students
Alexandrovsky Lyceum for the last time released students in the spring of 1917. Then the October Revolution broke out, but even in the spring of 1918 classes continued sporadically. By decree of the Council of People's Commissars in May 1918, the institution was closed, and its place was taken by the Proletarian Polytechnic.
monarchist counter-revolutionary organization. In accordance with the decision of the Collegium of the OGPU of June 22, 1925, 26 people were shot.
The fate of the Lyceum
In the main building in 1917, the district committee of the RSDLP (b), the headquarters of the Red Guard of the Petrograd side, the district council under the leadership of the worker A. K. Skorokhodov (Bolshaya Monetnaya Street bore his name in 1923-1991) functioned. Then, before the Great Patriotic War, school No. 181 operated in the building, and after the Second World War, school No. 69 named after Pushkin, even later SGPTU No. 16 was located here. At the present time, the building is occupied by the Imperial Alexander Lyceum College. Next, we will tell you a little more about it.
Keeping Traditions
College "Alexander Lyceum" is an educational institution of economic orientation. It produces specialists in various fields of knowledge. Education is carried out only on the basis of general secondary education (that is, people come here to study after grade 11). The modern "Alexander Lyceum" tries to preserve the traditions of elite education to the maximum, to revive the atmosphere of a sophisticated academic environment within the walls of the building, conducive to the development of creative personalities. The college provides training in the following speci alties: finance, commerce, operations in logistics, land and property relations, economics and accounting, insurance business, archiving and documentation management.
