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The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. Floor area is 233,345 square metres.
St. Petersburg's most famous building, the Winter Palace not only physically dominates Palace Square and the south embankment of the Neva River, but also plays a central political, symbolic, and cultural role in the three-century history of the city.
Winter Palace, former royal residence of the Russian tsars in St. Petersburg, on the Neva River. Several different palaces were constructed in the 18th century, with the fourth and final version built in 1754–62 by Baroque architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli; it was restored following a fire.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jul 15, 2022 · The palace dominates Palace Square and the south embankment of the Neva River and plays a central political, symbolic and cultural role in Russia. (The palace is adjacent to the site of Peter the Great’s original Winter Palace, built in 1708, which is now the site of the Hermitage Theatre.)
- Amy Irvine
- It is the fifth Winter Palace. Several “winter” palaces were built in the 18th century and the present one is the fifth of its kind. Two “winter” palaces were erected under Peter the Great.
- It was built by an Italian. The final design of the ostentatious Baroque palace was by Elizabeth Petrovna’s chief architect, Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
- It was the main residence of the Emperors for 150 years. It is not called the ‘Winter’ Palace by accident. In summer, the monarchs preferred to retire to the country - each of them had their own magnificent residence and, indeed, more than one - Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk.
- The palace has over 1,000 rooms. There are three floors in the Winter Palace and its floor plan is rectangular with an internal courtyard. It has four façades (which vary slightly in design).
The Winter Palace is one of the most outstanding monuments of architecture, located in Saint Petersburg. It houses the State Hermitage Museum with its rich collection of art and historical objects. The current building of the palace was built in 1754-1762 by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli during the reign of Empress Elizabeth.
The enormous Winter Palace was built to represent the grandeur and power of Imperial Russia. The imposing green-and-white Baroque building has a main façade of over 700 feet (215 metres) long, more than 1,700 doors, almost 2000 windows, 1,500 rooms and over 100 staircases.
