The mansion of the merchant Forostovsky

A small two-storied mansion on the 4th line of the Vasilievsky Island was erected by the architect Karl Schmidt for merchant Pavel Forostovsky. The merchant owned a freight forwarding company, his main business was the delivery of goods from Finland to Russia.

The Forostovsky mansion is one of the first and most "European" Art Nouveau buildings in St. Petersburg. In its architecture, it is close to the French art-nouveau style. The building is distinguished by an asymmetrical facade, the left part of which is decorated with a high tower, while the right one has only one floor with a glazed roof (there was a winter garden). These techniques create the illusion that the mansion really stands "apart", although other buildings adjoin it to the left and right.

The main facade of the mansion is faced with a yellowish brick. The plinth, the brackets of the balcony and the inserts are made of red granite of Gangut, ornamental decorations above the windows are made of artificial stone and imported majolica tiles. In the cast-iron decor the floral ornament is used.

Today, the former mansion is the Directorate for the construction of the Ring Road in St. Petersburg.