Yury Felten

Yury Matveyevich Felten, born Georg Friedrich Veldten (1730–1801) to a German family in Russian service, was an architect favoured by Catherine the Great. From 1752 to 1762 he assisted Bartolomeo Rastrelli on the Winter Palace, then designed the Old Hermitage, the Zubov wing of the Catherine Palace and the Chesme Palace.

He built the lifting machine that moved the giant granite pedestal of the Bronze Horseman, and in 1783 completed the celebrated iron railing of the Summer Garden. He taught at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1764 and directed it from 1789 until his death.