Perhaps the finest, most grand palace in all of Russia, is the Imperial Winter Palace, now the State Hermitage. Initially, this palace was the winter residence of the Imperial family. Construction on the palace began in 1754. Emperor Peter III was the first to occupy the palace later followed by Catherine the Great, and others until Nicholas II was overthrown by the Bolsheviks. The Hermitage is now one of the truly great art museums in the world. The photograph below is looking north across the Palace Square.
West of St. Petersburg about 29 kilometers, is the beautiful Petrodvorets (Peter's Palace) palace and grounds. The photograph below (looking north) shows the long, yellow Great Palace, which was built on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Construction began in 1714 and was completed in 1721.
A truly spectacular structure is the Catherine Palace located 25 km south of St. Petersburg in Pushkin, formerly known as Tsarskoye Selo (Royal Village). Although the first stone palace was constructed in 1717 - 23 under the direction Peter I's wife, Catherine, the real founders of Tsarskoye Selo were the Empresses Elizabeth Petrovna (1741 - 61) and Catherine II (1762 - 96), who built the main palaces and laid out the parks. The palace was essentially destroyed by the Germans during World War II, but restored by the Soviets in 1957, and opened as a museum. It is a beautiful building and is shown behind my daugher and me in the photograph below.
The yellow, Great Palace at Petrodvorets, is seen in the second photograph above. The photograph below is of fountains and the cascade on the north side of the palace. Between the palace and the Gulf of Finland is a very large and beautiful garden filled will a wide variety of fountains. This view is illustrative of the fountains contained in that park and also shows the north side of the palace.
The final photograph in this series is the Great Palace in Pavlovsk, 27 km from St. Petersburg. In 1777, Catherine the Great presented a tract of 400 hectares to her son Pavel. The Great Palace was built for Pavel in 1782 - 86.
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