The ceremonial courtyard in front of the palace or mansion, bounded by the main building and the side wings, is called the Courdoner. The word is borrowed from the French language. “Cour d’honneur” literally means “courtyard of honor”. This name originally meant the inner courtyard of the castle, into which only guests of honor were allowed to enter on horseback or in a carriage. During the Middle Ages, the Courdoner was surrounded on all sides by the castle walls. Then the front facade of the courtier from the street began to be fenced off with a beautiful fence.

In Russia, the first cour donneurs began to appear during the reign of Catherine II. Now at the disposal of the Russian Museum there are two cour donneurs. The first is the front yard of the Marble Palace. The second is the courdoner of the Mikhailovsky Palace.

Dear subscribers, if you want to know the history of the Kurdoners of the Russian Museum, write in the comments. If there are many of them, we will continue this story.

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