Palace Square - the most beautiful place in St. Petersburg

The majestic Palace Square for centuries is the most important place of the luxurious city on the Neva, from which visitors are advised to begin an unforgettable acquaintance with the architectural masterpieces of the Northern capital. She still remembers many of the most important historical events for the State of Russia, the rallies and demonstrations taking place in this place, as well as the appeals of various emperors to the people. Therefore, for tourists visiting the St. Petersburg-based St. Petersburg, the Palace Square will be an excellent place for an independent walk.

History : Palace Square appeared on the map of the city on the Neva at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, and its history begins with a decree signed in 1778 by Empress Catherine the Great. She decided to refine the free territory adjacent to the Winter Palace, and attracted to work on the unusual project of the outstanding architect Yu.M. Felten, and then - the Italian architect KI. Rossi. Felten seemed to draw an arc from the royal residence, after which later were built new majestic buildings, and Rossi concentrated on the formation of an architectural ensemble. For a short time around the perimeter of the square, the Main Headquarters and the Guards Corps were erected, and in its center later the Alexander Column appeared.

Wishing to penetrate into the vicissitudes of Russian history, the Palace Square of St. Petersburg will help to understand many paragraphs of schoolchildren textbooks. In particular, we can recall the tragic events that occurred on January 22, 1905 and entered the domestic history under the title "Bloody Sunday". Here the most important events took place in 1917, and the walls of ancient buildings of pre-revolutionary buildings along the square still remember the scene of the storming of the Winter Palace by the Bolsheviks.

Architectural ensemble : each tourist Palace Square and its architectural appearance will be remembered thanks to the majestic Alexander Column, erected next to the Winter Palace as a monument to victory. This column is associated with the victory of the Russian troops over the army of Napoleon, and its project, ironically, was developed by an ethnic Frenchman - the architect Auguste Manfranran. The Alexander Column has been in this place since 1834, when the work on its creation was completely completed, and tourists still admire this monument with a height of 47 meters, crowned with a figure of an angel.

The Palace Square attracts connoisseurs of pre-revolutionary architecture and art thanks to the preserved old buildings, in which various architectural styles can be traced. Among them stands the Winter Palace erected in 1762 as the main residence of the Russian tsars , in the facade of which the baroque features can be traced. Now in the building of the former royal residence, built for the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, there is a unique collection of the Hermitage Museum. Therefore, before the Winter Palace at any time of the year you can see a lot of tourists who want to see the rarest museum exhibits.

In the southern part of the square there is a white and yellow General Staff building, shaped like an arc, in the center of which flaunts the Arc de Triomphe, crowned with a massive quadriga. It consists of two separate buildings connected by means of an arch, and thanks to the framing of the free space of the square, it gives it a monumental and solemn appearance. Having built the Headquarters, the architect Rossi perfectly resolved the town-planning task, clearly outlining the arc-shaped boundary of space, set by Felten.

As another masterpiece of architecture can be identified Guards Corps, built in the style of late classicism. Thanks to its neutral architecture, the four-storey building fits perfectly between the Baroque Winter Palace and the main headquarters decorated in classical style.