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History of Russia: Menshikov Palace

The lower garden in Oranienbaum and the Great Menshikov Palace are the only palace and park ensemble that preserved the style of the times of Peter the Great to our days. A beautiful Baroque building surrounded by a regular park, its scale and grandeur emphasizes the ambitious plans of the first governor of Petersburg and the favorite of Emperor A. Menshikov.

The choice of the location of the palace on the coast was a symbol of Russia's approval on the Baltic shores. A well-known resemblance to the location of the Menshikov Palace and the imperial palaces in Peterhof and Strelna was noted by many contemporaries: the building is located similarly, facing the sea, on the ledge.

The palace stretches for 200 meters on the shore of the sea, and it seems that it hovers over the surrounding landscape.

The main building of the palace is two-storied, on the right and on the left there are two single-storeyed wings that end with pavilions - Church and Japanese. The Menshikov Palace in Oranienbaum was distinguished by a variety of interior decorations and their refinement, although the interior spaces were not too large.

The palace began to be built according to the project of the architect from Italy D. Fontana in 1711. A few years later, construction continued Johann Schödel.
The construction of one of the most magnificent suburban residences of the Petrine era was completed in 1727.

Menshikov did not have to live here: as we know, having accused him of high treason, he was exiled to Berezov. But by the time of the collapse of the power of the influential temporary worker, the Lower Garden around the palace had already been broken, from which a navigable channel was laid to the sea. The Menshikov Palace consisted of a central building, two galleries, Church and Japanese pavilions, as well as a service building connected with the palace. Also in the estate there was a mill, baths, a bird and barnyard yard, a cellar, a forge, a stable.

After the disgrace of Menshikov, all the work connected with the construction of the palace in Oranienbaum has ceased for two decades.

After the resignation of Menshikov, Oranienbaum was transferred to the disposal of the Admiralty College and reconstructed into the Naval Hospital. In subsequent years, the owners of the palace were constantly changing, the building itself was subjected to repeated restructuring, its interiors were also altered.

In 1743 Oranienbaum was presented by the Empress Elizabeth as a parade residence to the Grand Duke Peter III. Further work on the decoration of the palace was conducted by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who formed the front courtyard, having built the eastern wing, and made the redevelopment of the Lower Garden. Since 1746 the family of Peter III lived every summer at the palace in Oranienbaum.

In 1792 the Peterstadt and the Menshikov Palace were transferred to the Naval Cadet Corps, but a few years later Oranienbaum again became a summer grand duke's residence and remained in this status until 1917, being in the ownership of the imperial family.

During the Great Patriotic War, the palace in Oranienbaum received much less damage compared to other palaces in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Today the whole palace complex belongs to the museum-reserve "Oranienbaum".

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