Stroganov Palace

The exquisite baroque masterpiece was designed in 1752-1754 by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the architect of the world-famous Winter Palace. Commissioned by the enormously wealthy count Sergey Stroganov, the palace was occupied by his descendants until the 1917 Revolution. The vast Stroganov fortune was amassed mainly through the monopoly the family held on salt, which they mined from their territories in the Northern pert of Russia. The pinkish edifice of the Stroganov Palace overlooks the Nevsky Palace, the main thoroughfare of Saint-Petersburg and used to be the city’s most impressive private residences. The Stroganovs were noted collectors of everything starting from Egyptian antiquities and Roman coins to medieval icons and Old Masters. After the October revolution the palace was nationalized and then preserved for ten years as a museum of life of the decadent aristocracy. When it was closed, some of the item of the former dazzling collection were auctioned in the West and can be found in private collections the rest were transferred to the Hermitage. The building now functions as a branch of the State Russian Museum. It is used for temporary exhibitions. One can also have a look at the collection of wax figures of Russian prominent historical leaders.

See on the map