Ensemble of the Bolshoi (Menshikov) Palace description and photos - Russia - St. Petersburg: Lomonosov (Oranienbaum) (Topic)

Ensemble of the Bolshoi (Menshikov) Palace description and photos - Russia - St. Petersburg: Lomonosov (Oranienbaum). Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Big (Menshikov) Palace is one of the best examples of Peter's Baroque. In addition to the palace itself, the ensemble includes the Lower Garden, the Picture House and five Lower Houses.

The main facade of the palace faces the Gulf of Finland. Semicircular gallery wings end with the Church and Japanese pavilions. A miniature observation tower crowned with a crown rises above the palace roof. From here Menshikov watched the construction of Kronstadt through a telescope. The external appearance of the palace has come down to us almost in its original form.

For 10 years, F.-B. Rastrelli supervised the reconstruction and interior decoration of the palace. He decorated the interiors with vases, sculptures, gold carvings, paintings, fabrics, as well as mirrors and parquet.

Simultaneously with the construction of the Grand Palace, one of the first regular gardens in Russia, the Lower, was laid out in front of its main facade. It required a large number of maples, lindens, elms, but mainly fruit trees and shrubs - apples, cherries, currants, which were transported from afar. The gardener Witzvol with his assistant, the Swede Christopher Graz, supervised the layout of the garden. In the central part there were flower beds and three fountains, the side ones were occupied by bosquets with fruit trees planted inside.

The ensemble of the Grand Palace was enclosed by two buildings, built at the very border of the Lower Garden. One of them, the Picture Gallery, still exists, while the other, the greenhouse, was destroyed in the 18th century. Not far from the palace in the 20s of the 18th century, the Lower Houses were built for servants. They were later rebuilt.

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Topic: Ensemble of the Bolshoi (Menshikov) Palace description and photos - Russia - St. Petersburg: Lomonosov (Oranienbaum).