Konstantin Thon

Konstantin Andreyevich Thon, also spelled Ton (October 26 1794, St Petersburg - January 25 1881, St.Petersburg), was an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. His major works include the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armoury in Moscow.

Later years

Thon's last important commissions were the railway stations in Moscow and St Petersburg (1849-51). In his design for the stations the architect implemented some of the newest construction technologies. Despite large pieces of steelwork used in the construction, Venetian facades and medieval clock towers of the stations cleverly masked their modern function. Both structures, although extensively reconstructed, are still standing.

Related Topics:
Railway station - Moscow - St Petersburg - Steelwork - Clock tower

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After the death of his patron, the Emperor, Thon's failing health prevented him from working on other projects apart from the great cathedral in Moscow. Even during his lifetime, the more radical of his contemporaries, such as Alexander Herzen, dismissed his architecture as "reactionary manifestation of the tyrant's rule". The Soviet authorities, labelling Thon's churches ugly chests of drawers, systematically destroyed as many of them as possible, including all his churches in St Petersburg and vicinity and the work of his life, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The fall of the Soviet rule in 1991 brought about a renewed interest in the work of the Neo-Byzantine master.

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