Winter Palace
In 1703, Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg on a swampy delta of the Neva River. The first royal residence on this site was a humble log cabin known as the Domik Petra I, built in 1704. This small structure faced the river and served as the Tsar's initial home. By 1711, Peter commissioned Domenico Trezzini to design a larger house between 1711 and 1712. This building became known as the First Winter Palace. It was a modest two-story structure under a slate roof. Peter soon grew tired of its simplicity. In 1721, Georg Mattarnovy constructed a second version with a rusticated ground floor and a central projection. This palace stood until 1725 when Peter died within its walls. His successor, Catherine I, reigned briefly before her grandson Peter II took the throne. In 1727, Trezzini expanded Mattarnovy's palace into a third iteration. This new design incorporated the entire previous structure as one of two terminating pavilions. The third palace remained in the Petrine Baroque style but lost its status as the principal residence after 1728. The Imperial Court moved to Moscow that year, leaving the Winter Palace empty for several years.
The fourth and final Winter Palace emerged from the vision of Empress Elizabeth and architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Work began in 1732 on the site of Admiral Apraksin's neighboring palace. Rastrelli transformed the core structure into a colossal elongated rectangle painted straw yellow with white and gilded ornamentation. The building featured massive grey granite columns added later during Nicholas I's reign. Its principal façade stretched along Palace Square facing the Neva River. Inside, the palace combined Baroque elements with emerging Neoclassical styles. Only the Jordan Staircase and the Grand Church retained their original 18th-century rococo decoration. Catherine the Great commissioned architects Starov and Giacomo Quarenghi to redesign state rooms. They replaced five of Rastrelli's halls with three vast spaces featuring faux marble columns and bas-reliefs. The interior evolved further under Nicholas I who introduced neoclassical influences. Karl Ivanovich Rossi and Auguste de Montferrand created grand interiors like the Small Throne Room with jasper columns. The palace contained approximately 1,500 rooms and 1,945 windows across its 14.2 hectares. The ground floor housed bureaucratic offices while the piano nobile held imperial apartments. State rooms were arranged in two enfilades extending from the top of the Jordan Staircase.
A fire broke out in 1837 within the Winter Palace, destroying most of its interior. The cause remains unknown but spread was blamed on architect Vasily de Montferrand's use of wooden materials instead of stone. Disused fireplaces concealed behind hurriedly built partition walls acted as flues for the flames. The fire burned for several days until it could be extinguished. Guards rescued many treasures by depositing them in the snow outside Palace Square. To create a firebreak, Tsar Nicholas I ordered the destruction of three passages leading to the Hermitage wing. This decision saved the building and its art collection. The rebuilding process took less than one year despite severe winter conditions. Six thousand workmen labored continuously during the great frosts. Many died daily but were instantly replaced by others brought forward to perish. Pyotr Kleinmichel supervised the reconstruction using industrial-age techniques like metal roof frameworks and iron girders. Vasily Stasov restored the exterior and principal state suites to their original design. Alexander Briullov altered smaller private rooms in various contemporary styles ranging from Gothic to rococo. The Malachite Drawing Room became the new principal reception room after replacing the destroyed Jasper Room. The palace emerged with a mix of restored Baroque elements and newly fashionable interiors.
Empress Catherine the Great transformed the Winter Palace into a world-class repository through aggressive acquisition strategies between 1764 and 1781. She purchased six major collections including those of Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky, Heinrich von Brühl, Pierre Crozat, Horace Walpole, Sylvestre-Raphael Baudouin, and John Lyde-Brown. These acquisitions included works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Raphael, Tiepolo, van Dyck, and Reni. The Gotzkowsky collection alone contained 225 paintings such as Frans Hals' Portrait of a Man with a Glove. The Bruhl collection added two further Rembrandts: Portrait of an Old Man in Red and Portrait of a Scholar. Catherine's ambassadors in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, and London searched for thousands of priceless artworks sight unseen. Her art collection overflowed into the Hermitage wing which she christened as a retreat from court formalities. Later extensions included the Old Hermitage designed by Yury Velten and the Hermitage Theatre by Giacomo Quarenghi. By 1850, Cristoforo Barbarigo's Venetian collection brought additional Titians to the palace. Nicholas I expanded the Large Hermitage into Russia's first public art gallery opening on the 5th of February 1852. Visitors were required to wear evening dress even in the morning.
On the 9th of January 1905, a peaceful protest march ended in bloodshed near the Winter Palace. Father Gapon led 100,000 unarmed striking workers toward the palace bearing religious icons and singing the Imperial anthem. Protesters believed the Tsar resided there but he had moved to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo years earlier. Minister Pyotr Sviatopolk-Mirsky drafted additional troops without informing the Tsar of the planned demonstration. As strikers neared Palace Square, Tsar's troops opened fire near Saint Isaac's Cathedral. Moderate estimates place casualties around 1,000 men, women, and children killed or injured. The massacre became known as Bloody Sunday and served as a catalyst for the 1905 Revolution. The Winter Palace remained dark politically until the early twentieth century. In 1906, the first State Duma opened its session in St George's Hall within the palace walls. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna observed that the workmen looked as though they hated the royal family. By 1914, Russia entered war with Germany after the Triple Entente Alliance formed. Plans were drawn up to convert state rooms into hospital wards for returning wounded soldiers. The Fieldmarshals' Hall became a dressing station while the Armorial Hall turned into an operating theatre.
At 7:00 pm on the 25th of October 1917, the cruiser Aurora began firing upon the Neva façade of the Winter Palace. Five thousand sailors from Kronstadt attacked the building while Bolshevik forces captured the Peter and Paul Fortress across the river. The Provisional Government led by Alexander Kerensky barricaded themselves inside with only Cossacks, Cadets, and 137 female soldiers defending them. Food ordered by occupants was commandeered by Bolsheviks leaving the palace under siege. At 2:00 am, Bolsheviks gained control after entering via His Majesty's own Staircase. Casualties occurred on both sides during the ensuing battle. The government was arrested in the Small Dining Room of private apartments before being imprisoned in the fortress. An alleged eyewitness account described how priceless pictures were ripped from frames by bayonets and crystal chandeliers smashed to atoms. The palace wine cellars contained Château d'Yquem 1847 which fueled weeks of looting and unrest. Crowds clustered around palace drains where wine had been piped out into the Neva River. Martial law eventually restored order to Petrograd following the storming. A historical reenactment organized by the Bolsheviks on the third anniversary involved thousands of Red Guards led by Lenin.
On the 30th of October 1917, the Winter Palace was declared part of the Hermitage public museums. The first exhibition concerned the history of the revolution allowing public viewing of imperial private rooms. Soviet authorities removed all Imperial emblems including eagles and monograms from stonework and ironwork. In 1920, high walls topped with decorated railings featuring these symbols were demolished. Some sandstone wall sections relocated to serve as boundaries for the new the 9th of January Gardens. During the Soviet era many treasures dispersed around other museums while some sold for hard currency or given away to dignitaries. By 1943, Soviet ski troops used the New Hermitage during the Leningrad Siege. The palace floor area measures 233,345 square metres containing approximately 1,886 doors and 117 staircases. Today it houses the State Hermitage Museum attracting millions of visitors annually. Railings restored in 2022 mark ongoing efforts to preserve imperial heritage alongside modern museum functions. The building stands between Palace Embankment and Palace Square adjacent to Peter the Great's original log cabin site.
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Common questions
When was the Winter Palace originally built in Saint Petersburg?
The first royal residence on this site, known as the Domik Petra I, was built in 1704. The fourth and final Winter Palace emerged from the vision of Empress Elizabeth with work beginning in 1732.
Who designed the current Winter Palace structure?
Architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli transformed the core structure into a colossal elongated rectangle painted straw yellow with white and gilded ornamentation. Later additions included massive grey granite columns added during Nicholas I's reign.
What happened to the Winter Palace interior in 1837?
A fire broke out in 1837 within the Winter Palace destroying most of its interior while the cause remains unknown. The rebuilding process took less than one year despite severe winter conditions and involved six thousand workmen laboring continuously.
How did Catherine the Great transform the Winter Palace collection?
Empress Catherine the Great transformed the Winter Palace into a world-class repository through aggressive acquisition strategies between 1764 and 1781. She purchased six major collections including those of Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky and Heinrich von Brühl containing works by Rembrandt and Rubens.
When did the Winter Palace become part of the Hermitage public museums?
On the 30th of October 1917, the Winter Palace was declared part of the Hermitage public museums. The first exhibition concerned the history of the revolution allowing public viewing of imperial private rooms.