It must be said that the palaces in St. Petersburg for quite a long time determined the architectural look of this city. For two hundred years, a large number of and kings lived in the city, and large officials, as well as aristocrats who owned indispensable capital. Therefore, there is absolutely nothing surprising in the fact that St. Petersburg is located in the very first place in Russia not only by the number of palace buildings, but also ro luxury and wealth of their finishes.
At one time, the best architects of that time were invited to participate in the construction of tsarist palaces - Rastrelli, Kvareki, Trezini, Leblon and others. Moreover, each of the built palaces involuntarily became reflection of the architectural styles reigning at that time. Of course, after the October coup, many palaces were transferred to the placement of Soviet institutions. Only a little of the most outstanding palace structures were lucky and museums were opened in them.
The most important Palace of St. Petersburg - Winter to many tourists is also known as Hermitage. It is located on Palace Square. This impressive three-story building consisting of 1084 rooms and 117 stairs. In general, before this place was the Winter Palace of Peter I, which was later rebuilt five times. The most recent work in this direction was carried out under the leadership of the architect Rastrelli at the direction of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Today, Hermitage is the largest cultural and historical museum in which more than three million exhibits are stored.
However, the Winter Palace of Peter the first is still preserved and now it is part of a complex of state-owned Hermitage and is included in the building of the Hermitage Theater. Despite numerous restructuring from the researchers, it was still possible to establish the boundaries of the oldest - Petrovsky Palace and now several rooms were restored and some personal belief of the Palace owner are presented.
The summer palace of Peter the first is also preserved, which is in the summer garden. This is a small two-story building built on the project of Domenico Trezini in the style of Petrovsky Baroque. The palace consists of only the fourteen rooms and two cuisines and was intended exclusively for summer accommodation. To date, it is located a branch of the Russian Museum.
The marble palace is considered a monument of architecture of the eighteenth century. He was the very first palace in the city, for the finishes of which marble was used. It was built on the instructions of Catherine the second for her favorite Grigory Orlova. Unfortunately, he died and without waiting for the end of construction. Subsequently, members of the imperial family lived in it. To date, it is also a branch of the Russian Museum. The palace has a monument to Alexander to Alexander.
The Mikhailovsky Palace was originally built as a residence of the son of Pavel First - Mikhail Pavlovich. The architect of the Karl Rossi Palace gave him a classic strict style. This building knows very many residents, and guests of St. Petersburg also. It is located on the art square and now there are exhibits of the Russian Museum.
Mikhailovsky Castle was built specifically for Paul's first, who dreamed of his own residence long before she climbed the throne. In its appearance, he very much resembles some kind of fabulous castle. You should also not forget that Paul I Bіl Masson and planned to make it a place for meetings of Maltese knights. It turned out so exactly forty days after the emperor settled into the castle, he was killed by conspirators. And after that, he came to the launch. Now the reconstruction is fully conducted in the palace, the interior is restored and it is also a branch of the Russian Museum. This building has other names - the engineering castle and the Palace of St. Michael.
The Mariinsky Palace was built for the daughter of Nikolai First Mary. The author of his project was the architect Shockenshneider, who built it in an eco-style style. To date, the building of this palace is the most important component of St. Isaac Square. This palace is included in the so-called "Troika" of the most important political palaces of St. Petersburg along with Tavrichesky and Winter. Nowadays, it houses the Legislative Assembly of the city on the Neva.
The Tauride Palace is the former Residence of Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky. The author of the project of the palace was the architect of Starov. And, although the appearance of the palace looks very modest, but the luxury of his decoration was then hit everyone. In this building, there was a temporary government before the revolution, and today it hosts the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS states.
The Stroganovsky Palace was built in the middle of the eighteenth century for the family of Graph Stroganov in the style of Russian Baroque. His architect was the Great Rastrell himself. On the line of Stroganov, he was inherited all the time. In the Soviet period, it was the institute of crop production, and now it is a branch of the Russian Museum and all the interiors in it are almost completely restored.
The Yusupov Palace, located on the embankment of the car wash river, is a monument of culture of federal significance. It was acquired by the richest family of Yusupov in 1830. It is widely known in that it was in him that the murder of Grigory Rasputin took place. And although it is a house of enlightenment of cultural workers, nevertheless some of his halls are open to visitors.
The Menshikov Palace was built specifically for the Armenian Alexander Danilovich Menshikov close to Emperor Petr, who was also the first emperor of the city of St. Petersburg. It was the very first stone building in the city on the Neva, and his architectural style is Petrovskoe Baroque. After the opals and the links of Menshikov, the palace went to the treasury and now he is a branch of the Hermitage.