Lomonosov

Lomonosov (ləmənô`səf), formerly Oranienbaum (orä`nyənboum), city (1989 pop. 42,000), NW European Russia, on the Gulf of Finland. It is a rail terminus and summer resort and has foundries and brick factories. In Lomonosov are a palace built (1710–25) by Peter I and the "Chinese Palace," built (1762–68) by Catherine the Great. The city was part of the Soviet bridgehead on the Gulf of Finland during the German siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in World War II. It was renamed in 1948 in memory of scientist, poet, and glassmaker M. V. Lomonosov.

---

Lomonosov 

(prior to 1948, Oranienbaum), a city in Leningrad Oblast, RSFSR. It has a port south of the Gulf of Finland and a railroad station (Oranienbaum) 40 km west of Leningrad. Population, 40,000 (1970).

Lomonosov grew out of one of the most notable palace and park ensembles of the 18th century. Originally belonging to A. D. Menshikov and later to the royal family, the ensemble is now a museum. The first part to be constructed was the baroque Great Palace (1710-25), designed by the architects G. M. Fontana and G. Shadel. From its main building, linked by arched galleries with two bathing pavilions, a grand staircase descends to the symmetrical Lower Park, laid out at the time the palace was built. The park’s compositional axis is a canal leading to the sea. Service buildings extending outward from the other side of the palace form a great courtyard. Most of the ensemble was erected between the 1750’s and 1770’s, when the architect A. Rinaldi designed the principal part of the picturesque Upper Park (1756-62). Here are found the small palace of Peter III (1758-62; decorative lacquer murals by F. Vlasov), the elegant Chinese Palace (1762-68), and the Toboggan Hill Pavilion (1762-74). The Chinese Palace combines baroque and classical features and employs stylized Chinese motifs in the decoration of the suite of ceremonial halls, executed by Italian and French painters and artists and by Russian masters.

In 1780, Lomonosov became a district capital. During the siege of Leningrad in the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), the forces of the Leningrad Front held a beachhead around Lomonosov from early October 1941. The palace and park ensemble, partially damaged during the war, has been restored. The city’s industries include an engineering and foundry works, a brickyard, and enterprises of the light and food industries. The city has a maritime training school. In 1948, Oranienbaum was renamed in honor of M. V. Lomonosov, to whom a monument was erected in 1955 (sculptor, G. D. Glikman).

REFERENCE

Shvarts, V. Prigorody Leningrada. Leningrad, 1961. Pages 87-119.