Winter Palace

The Winter Palace was designed by Bartolommeo Rastrelli and built between 1754 and 1762 as a winter residence for the reigning monarch. One of Rasyrelli’s finest creations, the Winter Palace is a typical Baroque structure. Its magnificent architecture and sumptuous sculptural ornamentation make it the dominant feature of the Saint Petersburg center. West to east the Winter Palace is about 230 meters long. All the palace’s facades are lavishly decorated. The jutties of the walls are adorned with columns and the corners of the building with clusters of columns. The south façade overlooking the Palace Square has three archways that lead into an extensive courtyard. The main entrance is in the north façade of the Winter Palace, from the side of the Neva, and leads directly to the Jordan Staircase. After 1762 the interior of the palace was redesigned several times. In 1837 all its interior decoration was destroyed by fire. The present interior décor was executed in 1838 – 39 from designs by Vasily Stasov and Alexander Briullov. They re-created, with only minor alterations, the Small Throne Hall, the Jordan Staircase and the 1821 Gallery. The facades of the Winter Palace were restored to their original aspect.
After the February revolution when Russian tsar Nikolai II abdicated the Winter Palace was for a short time the seat of the Provisional Government. On the night of October 25 – 26 (November 7 – 8 New Style), 1917, the Winter Palace was taken by storm by workers, soldiers and sailors under the direction of Bolsheviks. The Provisional Government was deposed and the Soviet era begun.