Vielgorsky House

The building was built by architect Bolotov for tobacco manufacturer Zhukov. In the middle of the facade, on the side of the square, there was a passage leading to the courtyard. Since 1844, the house belonged to the Vielgorsky brothers, who were musicians and patrons of the arts. Mikhail Yurievich was a courtier, and his five children, born of a Courland maid of honor, Princess Biron, were raised by grand dukes. Vielgorsky's social status did not allow him to practice music professionally, but he was in a sense the curator of the cultural life of the city and received funds to organize receptions for visiting musicians. He was one of the founders of a Concert Society, a Philharmonic Society, a brass band, and a popularizer of symphonic music. The courtyard wing was built in the middle of the 19th century and rebuilt into an arched building in the 1940s. Russian Russian Museum In 1993, part of the Vielgorsky family's fortune was donated to the Russian Gymnasium of the State Russian Museum.