Mansion of Prince Kochubei

The magnificent mansion on Konnogvardeisky Boulevard is often called the "House with the Moors" because of its fence decorated with busts of black boys and girls. At the end of the 18th century, there was a three-story stone house, which in the first half of the 19th century was owned by the merchant Solodovnikov. In 1853 the site was purchased by Prince Mikhail Kochubey, a fine connoisseur of the arts.

To reconstruct the house, the prince involved the architect Herald Bosse, who erected a new building in the style of the early Italian Renaissance. The facade of the building has an original metal fence with four Moorish busts. The exotic appearance of the house made a real sensation in the Northern capital.

In the late 60es of the XIX century, the mansion has a new owner - a merchant Fedor Rodokonaki. By his order and the project of Karl Müller, the second floor of the wing was built, the interiors were renovated, and the winter garden was converted into a ceremonial dining room. The descendants of Rodokonaki owned a mansion until 1918 when the house became state property.

In the 1990s, the mansion acquired the status of a monument of federal significance and became a citywide private cultural center. Here the representative offices of various companies, the Club "300 Years of St. Petersburg" and other organizations are located.