The House of the Dutch Reformed Church or simply the Dutch Church is a former church of the Dutch Reformed Church in St. Petersburg, the building of which today is an object of cultural heritage and decoration of the city.
The building is located in the center of St. Petersburg, between the Moika River embankment and Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street; and stretches for a whole block along the northern side of Nevsky Prospekt-one of the most visited and beautiful streets of the city.
The church building was built in 1831-1835 by the French-born architect Paul Jacot in the style of Russian classicism on the site of a house owned by the Dutchman Pierre Puzy.
Originally, the Pierre Puzy house was built in 1715 for Major General Dupree. In 1716-1718, the architect-general J. B. Leblon and his family lived in the house; then the house was one of the most elegant in St. Petersburg (it was lavishly decorated with pilasters, architraves and panels), had one floor and the early Baroque style. Since 1718, the house belonged to Pierre Puzy, who lived in the house and rented part of the building to the pastors of the Lutheran-Reformed prayer hall.
The Dutch Reformed community purchased the house in the 1720s. Thus began the history of the house as a church monastery. The community received permission from the Empress Anna Ioannovna to build a stone church in the depth of the site. The house itself had a prayer hall and a school.
In 1831-1835, a new building of the Dutch Reformed Church was erected, during the construction of which the foundation and part of the walls of the Leblon house were used. The house of the Dutch church was the permanent home of its pastor.
The new building was much larger than the previous one and occupied the site of two existing houses: the old Dutch church on the bank of the Moika River and the adjacent building on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street. Thus, the new building combined the church and the house with apartments and premises for the clergy.
After the 1917 revolution, services were discontinued in 1926, and the church building was nationalized and housed various organizations. The interiors of the church were gradually destroyed. The building was subsequently restored.
Currently, the building houses, among other things, residential apartments, commercial premises and the Center for Art and Music of the Mayakovsky Central State Library.
The location of the former church hall is now highlighted on the main facade of the building, facing Nevsky Prospekt, by a four-column Corinthian portico that unites three floors. In the tympanum of the pediment above the colonnade there is a high relief with the figures of two angels.
The facades of the former church building with semicircular windows on the first floor form a continuous arcade.
Above the flat roof of the building rises a sloping dome, on which there was previously a cross.
View of the side facade of the building from Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street
Dutch Church Organ
In the pre-existing Dutch church there was an organ made in the 1830s by master Friedrich. In 1891, the congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church ordered a new, German romantic organ from the firm "E. F. Walker". When installing the new instrument, the facade of the old Friedrich organ was used. After the closing of the church, the organ was moved to the concert hall of the State Academic Chapel, located at 20 Moika River Embankment.
It is this organ that now adorns the concert hall of the Chapel. The facade of the organ is the oldest preserved in Russia and is considered a monument of decorative and applied art. Read more about the Capella...
Practical information
The building of the former Dutch Reformed Church is located on the front section of Nevsky Prospekt, near the Green Bridge, Stroganov Palace and the house-palace of the Eliseevs (Chicherina), at the address: Nevsky Prospekt, 20.
Building coordinates: 59°56'10"N 30°19'16"E (59.936111, 30.321111).
Nearest metro stations: "Admiralteiskaya", "Nevsky Prospekt" and "Gostiny Dvor".
Website of the Central City Public Library named after V. V. Mayakovsky: pl. spb.
Website of the State Academic Chapel: capella-spb.
Website of the Evangelical Reformed Church in St. Petersburg: refspb.
Located in a former Dutch church, this apartment near the Hermitage features free Wi-Fi, free parking, 2 bedrooms, a flat-screen TV, an equipped kitchen with a dishwasher and a microwave, a washing machine, and a bathroom with a shower. Link to the apartment
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and on Nevsky Prospekt, can be viewed and booked here
