Michael Manege

Michael Manege (Russian: Михайловский манеж, Mikhailovsky manezh) is the Neoclassical building of an early 19th-century riding academy in the historic center of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was converted into an indoor sporting arena in 1949 and was renamed Zimniy Stadion (Russian: Зимний стадион, lit. "Winter Stadium").

Similar to the neighboring Mikhailovsky Castle the name "Mikhailovsky" comes from the Archangel Michael, a heavenly patron of the House of Romanov, the ruling dynasty of the Russian Empire in 1613–1917. "Manège" is French for "riding academy", since the area was originally used as a dressage area for horses of the imperial cavalry. The square in which the monument sits is called Manezhnaya Square (Russian: Манежная площадь).

The history of Manezhnaya Square and the Mikhailovsky Manège dates to the 1730s, when a Persian shah, Nader, who signed a treaty with the Russian Empire in Ganja in March 1735, sent an elephant as a gift to the Russian empress, Anna of Russia, the niece of Peter the Great. To keep that gift alive, an "elephant yard"—actually, the first zoo—was built on what is today Manezhnaya Square. Very soon, a "beast yard" (Russian: зверовой двор) for other animals was put nearby, along with a greenhouse to grow plants to feed them.

However, the elephant could not bear loneliness and the heavy northern climate of Petersburg. So in 1741, the Persian shah sent a caravan of 14 elephants. A house for them was built where the Manège is now located. From this "stable", elephants were regularly taken for walks across the current Manezhnaya Square. In 1742, the new empress, Elizabeth of Russia, began construction of a new Summer Palace for herself nearby. The zoo was moved away, and on the place of the stables a labyrinth garden was built with interlocking lanes and clipped shrubs. The wooden Summer Palace stood for half a century until the reign of Paul I of Russia, when it was dismantled, freeing up space for the stables and manège.

The Mikhailovsky Manège is an elegant, spare structure faced in stucco of cream-yellow and white. It was built in 1798–1800 by Vincenzo Brenna, an Italian architect and painter who was the court architect of Paul I. Brenna is considered a precursor of romantic neoclassicism, when some elements of the late baroque are combined with romanticism and classicism.

A quarter of a century later, tastes changed, and in 1823–1824 architect Carlo Rossi renovated the facades in classic style upon his joint project with two Russian sculptors, Vasily Demuth-Malinovsky and Stepan Pimenov. The facade of the building, which faces the square with its five doorways, and the attic, were decorated with bas-reliefs of military armor and bas-relief shields with swords and oak branches. This design reflects the use of the Manège by the War Ministry as a dressage spot for the horses of imperial cavalry. For the same reason, the building was sometimes called by a Russian name of German origin, "экзерциргауз" (German: Exerzierhaus, lit. "house for exercises").

In the years of economic expansion following the Emancipation reform of 1861, the Mikhailovsky Manège became one of the city spots for agricultural and industrial exhibitions. The Imperial Gardeners' Society was among the most regular tenants of this hall. In 1893, the First All-Russian Hygiene Exhibition took place here; in 1909, the International Exhibition of the Latest Innovations, at which the All-Russian Aero Club formed the core of the national exhibition stand.

In 1902, the Imperial Russian Automobile Society was created. In 1907 it leased the Manège for the international All-Russian Automobile Exposition for the first time. The second exhibition took place in 1908 in Moscow. In 1910, exhibitors returned to Petersburg, where on 28 [O.S. 15 May] 1910 the III International Automobile Exposition was opened, again in Mikhailovsky Manège. The following day, on 29 [O.S. 16 May] 1910, the international rally "Petersburg—Kiev" for the prize of Nicholas II started. Forty-eight cars set out from Mikhailovsky Manège for the starting line of this rally at Tsarskoye Selo. Russia was represented with national brand Russo-Balt; among the other participating brands were Adler, Mercedes, Delaunay-Belleville, Mors (France), Benz & Cie., Itala, and many others.