The beautiful Neo-Gothic-style dacha of Countess Maria Eduardovna Kleinmichel (1846-1931), situated on Kamenny Island, St. Petersburg.
Countess Kleinmichel bought the mansion in 1893. During the late 19th to early 20th centuries, it became one of the centers of social life for St. Petersburg’s society.
The Countess’s masquerade balls were considered the finest in the city. For Shrovetide in 1914, costume sketches were created by the famous Russian artist and designer Leon Bakst (1866-1924).
The interiors of the mansion were distinguished by luxurious décor and were decorated with precious woods, marble, carved columns and stucco: sculptural friezes, flowers, figures of cupids.
In the oak-panelled vestibule there was a fireplace with ceramic tiles, from which a staircase with carved railings and a balustrade led to the gallery.
In the Great Drawing Room there was a marble fireplace with a mirror supported by caryatids, and at the base were two sphinxes, whose heads and breasts were in the form of 18th-century ladies. The dining room floor was paved with an intricate parquet.
The elegant interiors of the mansion were depicted in photographs by Karl Bulla, and published in the magazine «Capital and Estate».
In February 1917, Countess Kleinmichel was arrested by the Bolsheviks, but later released. When she returned to her home, she found the mansion damaged by Bolshevik soldiers, who had looted the wine cellar and shot at portraits of the Tsar hanging on the walls of the mansion.
During the Soviet years, the dacha was used as a club, the as communal housing. In 1972, the house was transferred to the City Health Department.
In 1976, the dacha became the property of the Baltic Shipping Company. Between 1978-1984 a partial renovation was carried out, during which the original interiors were lost.
In 2004, restoration of the dacha began, but came to a halt in May 2009, due to lack of funding.
