Museums and Palaces

Planed on a grandiose scale, the centre of magnificent Saint-Petersburg is awash with stunning palaces and fascinating museums calculated to impress, their colonnaded facades painted in bold Mediterranean colours, reflected in the dark waters of numerous canals and rivers.

Hermitage One of the world??™s greatest art galleries, the State Hermitage Museum with its six magnificient buildings spread along the Neva River embankment indubitably lives up to the expectations of the pride and joy of Russia.

Yusupov Palace Located in the very city center, a remarkable edifice of the Yusupov palace is worth visiting not only because of the refined and gorgeous interiors but also from the historical point of view - its cellar became the setting of the murder of one of the most notorious figures in Russian history ??“ Grigory Rasputin.

Russian Museum Like the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the State Russian museum contains the unrivalled collection of Russian Art starting from medieval icons of the 10th century to the thought-provoking avant-garde works of the 20th century.

Museum of Ethnography With displays of folk art, costumes, tools, reconstructed cottage and hut interiors and photographs representing more than 60 nationalities, the Museum of Ethnography, located in the east wing of Mikhailovsky Palace, provides a fascinating insight into the variety of peoples and countries which inhabited the old Soviet Empire.

Kunstkamera (The Chamber of Curiosities) Founded by Peter the Great in 1714 to dignify his fascination for curiosities and freaks, nowadays Kunstkamera boasts an absorbing collection of more than 1,8 million unique objects including 250000 ethnographic, 500000 archaeological, 380000 pieces of physical anthropology and 800,000 illustrative materials.

Menshikov Palace A gabled yellow-and-white building erected in the early 18th century to the design by architects G.Fontana and J.Schedel on Vasilievsky Island is the Menshikov Palace - the first residential structure in Petersburg sporting a fine Petrine-era d?cor, which nowadays is an affiliate of the Hermitage.

Michael Castle (Engineers??™ Castle) Ironically, the Russian emperor, Paul I was murdered in his bedroom at the night of March 12, 1801 here ??“ in this heavily fortified castle, an extraordinary hybrid brick-red structure, which was designed by Vasily Bazhenov to Paul??™s decree in an attempt to allay his fear of being assassinated.

Stroganov Palace Built by Rastrelli in 1753, this luxurious palace in Russian Baroque style flaunting its owner??™s status with Doric Columns and pediments emblazoned with the familial coat-of-arms, belonged to the Stroganov??™s who owned vast tracts of Siberia and earned a fortune from salt trading.

Zoological Museum Founded in 1832 on the basis of the collection of Kunstkamera, the museum has one of the finest collections of its kind in the world, with over 100000 specimens, including a set of stuffed animals that once belonged to Peter the Great.

Yelagin Palace Created in the early 19th century by the architect Carlo Rossi, an ensemble of graceful buildings decorated with utmost refinement - the Yelagin Palace, which was commissioned by Alexander I for his mother Maria Fedorovna, is the chief attraction is of Yelagin Island.

Suvorov Museum A quasi-fortified building of the first memorial museum in Russia was built on private donations according to the design of architect A.Gogen. Erected in 1902, the building is adorned with colorful mosaics on the fa?ade depicting Suvorov??™s departure for the Italian campaign of 1799 and Russian troops traversing the Alps.

Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace One of the most striking buildings on Nevsky prospect, the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace, sporting a glorious red fa?ade, Corinthian pilasters and muscled Atlantes supporting the balconies, is a Rococo masterpiece, which was created by Andrey Stakenschneider in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Academy of Fine Arts Museum The imposing facade of the academy of Fine Arts located along the Neva river embankment and built according to a project of J.B. Vallen and A.F. Kokorinov at the end of the 18th century is an alma mater for such renowned Russian artists as Rokotov, Repin, Serov and such brilliant architects as Voronikhin and Bazhenov.

Anichkov Palace Bearing the name of the colonel who sited an encampment here when the city was founded in 1704, the neoclassical ensemble of the Anichkov Palace was built to the decree of Empress Elizabeth for her lover, Alexey Razumovksy, a Ukrainian chorister whom she may have secretly married.

Sheremetiev Palace (Fontanny Dom) Located on the embankment of the Fountain river the elaborate baroque yellow and white edifice of the Sheremetiev Palace built by Saava Chevakinsky in the 18th century for count Sheremetiev is now closely associated with the name of Anna Akhmatova, one the greatest Russian poetess belonging to the so-called ???Silver Age??? movement.