Winter Palace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Winter Palace (disambiguation).

View of the palace from the Palace Square

Winter Palace from across the Neva River

Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец) in Saint Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars.

Designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Baroque-style, green-and-white palace has 1,786 doors and 1,945 windows. Catherine the Great was its first imperial occupant.

The Palace is now part of a complex of buildings known as the State Hermitage Museum which holds one of the world's greatest collections of art. As part of the Museum, many of the Winter Palace's 1,057 halls and rooms are open to the public. The Military Gallery, opened in 1826, accommodates 332 portraits of military leaders of the Russian army during the Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

After the February Revolution in Russia, the Winter Palace was the headquarters of the Russian Provisional Government.

The assault of the Winter Palace by Bolshevik forces was the official milestone of the October Revolution.

[edit] See also

The movie, Russian Ark, an innovative single shot walkthrough with period reenactments spanning three hundred years of court meetings, balls, and family life in this building.
Palace Embankment and Palace Square - where the palace is situated
Catherine Palace - the summer residence of Catherine the Great
Hermitage Museum - the present use of the Winter Palace with the largest collection of art in the world
Summer Palace - predecessor of the Winter Palace as the chief royal residence in St Petersburg
Peterhof - the Tsar's summer residence outside St Petersburg
Tsarskoye Selo - the Tsar's winter residence outside St Petersburg eo:Vintra Palaco