Alexander Palace
- Alexander Palace – Tsarskoe Selo – St. Petersburg
Alexander Palace in Pushkin
Tours of St. Petersburg,Russia are hard to plan. Why? Because there are SO MANY great places to see and things to do in St. Petersburg.
The Alexander Palace was the last royal home to the last Czar, Nicholas II and his family, including Grand Duchess Anastasia.
The Alexander Palace is steeped in history. Located just 15 miles from St. Petersburg Russia, the Palace is on the Tsarskoe Selo (Czar’s village) estate.
Tsarskoe Selo estate encompasses some 1482.6 acres of land, chiefly donated by Peter I to the Russian court in 1701. The estate is home to the enormous Catherine Palace which was used by the last Czar and his family only on very formal occasions. The Alexander Palace is adjacent to the Catherine Palace and was their principal residence.
The original palace on the grounds of Tsarskoe Selo was only a 16 room summer palace. Peter the Great had it constructed for his wife Catherine Alekseyevna. His daughter, Elizabeth, later enlarged and improved the palace.
Years later Catherine the Great also added her input to the Alexander Palace. She spent much time on perfecting this project. This new palace was built for Catherine’s grandchild, Alexander I. The Alexander Palace was given to Alexander and his bride in 1793 as a wedding gift. He further contributed to the design of the remarkable Russian palace.
Anastasia and Marie
The palace was designed to be a home that was simple yet elegant.
In the end the design left out ornamental structures and expensive interior additions. It certainly cost much less than the more opulent Romanov summer palaces like Peterhof and the Catherine Palace. Even ornamental statues planned for the roof were removed to further simplify the design. The final product included both Roman and Palladian styles with a touch of Neo-Classicism. The facade that greets visitors is marked by a double row of columns linking two pavilions. Perpendicular wings creating the courtyard of the entrance way give the palace an urban feel. In the 1830s the Alexander Palace central colonnade was adorned with two bronze statues of young men playing Russian games.
Uniform of Grand Duchess Tatiana
In 1997 the Recollections of Alexander Palace exhibit was set-up in the left wing. A visit today to the Alexander Palace will enable you to see many of the clothes and other personal items belonging to the children of Nicholas II and his wife Alexandria. A poignant site to see is the family’s pet cemetery on the children’s island near the palace.
The Alexander Palace holds a unique place in the history of the Russian monarchy.
Source: Russia.com
For more information on how this palace was viewed by its last inhabitants click here!
For more information and amazing photographs of the family of Nicholas II find the coffee-table book entitled “The Lost Word of Nicholas and Alexandra – TSAR” by Peter Kurth. Photos of the once all-powerful Tsar working in the vegatable garden of the Alexander Palace while under house arrest show just how far this monarch fell. The blissful scenes of the royal children at play near the palace prove that they had no idea of their tragic fate.
We can design a tour of St. Petersburg,Russia which will tell the story and and “connect the dots”between the relationship of the last czar and the evil Rasputin. You will see evidence of the limitless wealth and power of the czar and his family. The royal residences , particularly Peterhof , the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace and the Alexander Palace. You will also see the beautiful downtown Yusupov Palace where friends of Nicholas II murdered Rasputin hoping to save the czar from his disastrous influence.
If you have children they have undoubtedly seen the animated film “Anastasia “. We will bring the characters and places in “Anastasia” to life and correct the historical errors portrayed in the film.
Ask us to create this tour for your family.
