Maltese Chapel of the Vorontsov Palace | St.Petersburg, Russia

Maltese Chapel of the Vorontsov Palace

The Maltese Chapel appeared on the map of St. Petersburg in the 18th century. It got its name from the Maltese knightly order: a Catholic church was built for the knights who fled to Russia from Malta captured by Napoleon. The famous architect Quarenghi was involved in the construction. The Maltese Chapel is attached to the main building of the Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg.

The Vorontsov Palace was built by the architect Rastrelli for about ten years. Expensive construction thinned the wallet of Count Vorontsov so much that he had to hand over the house to the treasury. The palace, built to shine and delight the entire Petersburg world, was empty for years. Later they began to use it as a hotel. Foreign princes and influential aristocrats stayed here. For more than a hundred years - from 1810 to 1918 - the Corps of Pages was located in the Vorontsov Palace, in which future courtiers at the Imperial Court studied.