Domik Petra Pervogo : A Tribute to Peter the Great

Russia was ruled by Peter the Great, or Peter I, between the years of 1682 until his death in 1725. Taking the throne at the age of seventeen, Peter the Great has become known as a leader that brought great reform and change to Russia and standing at close to seven feet tall and of broad stature, Peter the Great was said to have had a presence that commanded respect and was always directly involved in all his projects. One of his dwellings, Domik Petra Pervogo, has become one of the most popular attractions in St. Petersburg, where he resided while establishing the city.

At the time Peter the Great decided to found St Petersburg, the city could have been described as being a number of villages that were linked to each other. He ordered soldiers to erect a wooden cabin for him on the banks of the Neva River, while he oversaw the construction of the city and the building of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Domik Petra Pervogo was erected in 1703, in a mere three days and is today the oldest building in the city.

He stayed in Domik Petra Pervogo until 1708 and is a sixty square meter cabin that has three living rooms and large windows with a wooden tiled roof and red interior walls that were painted with red oil. Peter the Great later had the cabin moved closer to the Winter Palace in 1711, where it stands today, and ordered a pavilion to be built to protect and preserve the cabin in 1723, as reminder to the founding of the city. In 1784, it was renovated by Catherine the Great and a brick pavilion was added in by Nicholas I, as well as iron railings in 1874 and the conversion of one of the rooms into a chapel. To protect the cabin, it was stripped of its entire collection of historical items and boarded up during the Second World War. The cabin survived and after the Siege of Leningrad was over, it reopened to the public in 1944.

Visitors to Domik Petra Pervogo will be astounded at the beauty of this simply constructed cabin that was once home to one of the greatest rulers of Russia. Seen as one of the most valuable museums and attractions in St Petersburg, because of it containing personal items and furniture used by Peter the Great, it is the pride of the imperial city and reminder of their humble beginnings.