The Razumovsky-Sheremetev House (Sheremetev’s Coal House) is a classicist mansion that forms the corner of the Sheremetev Courtyard at the intersection of Vozdvizhenka and Romanov Lane in Moscow.
In the 18th century, the site adjacent to Vozdvizhenka from Romanov Lane belonged to the Naryshkins, and then to the Razumovskys, who built a rich estate here (modern address: Vozdvizhenka, 6).
The corner house of the estate was built in the 1790s by order of Count A. K. Razumovsky. In 1799, he sold the almost completed house to his brother-in-law, Count N.P. Sheremetev, who completed the construction.
The architect of the building is not exactly known, it is supposed to belong to the school of M.F. Kazakov.
In 1801, in this house Sheremetev celebrated his wedding with the former actress P.I. Kovaleva-Zhemchugova.
The building has three floors, it has an L-shape with an obtuse angle, in accordance with the location of the carriageways of Vozdvizhenka and Romanov Lane. The architecture of the building belongs to the style of mature classicism.
The most characteristic element of the house is the corner semi-rotunda, surrounded by a colonnade of the Tuscan order and crowned with a dome. The side facades of the building are symmetrical both relative to each other and each separately. The rotunda with a colonnade, recessed between the side facades, is placed on a powerful arched plinth. The motif of the arched opening is repeated on other facades, along with clear horizontals and verticals. The central part of each of the side facades is marked by a pediment and triple windows separated by plastic columns.
The house lost some of the molded details during the fire of 1812, after restoration it acquired some features of the Empire style. The internal layout of the first and second floors has been preserved, which is characterized by a combination of a round corner hall-lobby, adjacent semicircular living rooms and a rounded entrance hall.
Address: Vozdvizhenka, house 8/1, building 1.
Nearest metro: Arbatskaya (Filyovskaya Line), Arbatskaya (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line), Biblioteka imeni Lenina.
Nearest attractions: Arbat street, New Arbat Avenue, Church of Simeon Stolpnik on Povarskaya, Khudozhestvenny cinema, Arseny Morozov’s mansion, Shakhovsky – Krause – Osipovsky’s mansion, Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, Gogol boulevard, Kremlin.
See also Architecture of Moscow, Palaces and most historic buildings of Moscow.