TSARSKOYE SELO, Alexander Palace

The second major palace of Tsarskoye Selo is Alexander Palace, built by Giacomo Quarenghi on the orders of Catherine the Great, as a wedding gift for his favorite nephew Alexander I.

The palace, completed in 1796, is considered one of the finest Neoclassical buildings in Russia. Quarenghi, who originally designed the building for St. Petersburg, created a masterpiece, beautifully crafted and painstakingly decorated. The striking main facade features a magnificent colonnade in the middle and wings extending from both sides.

When he ascended to the throne, Alexander gifted the palace to his brother Nicholas, who made improvements to the interior and gardens. The famous Mountain Hall, with a large slide for the children of Nicholas I, was built in this period.

Alexander Palace owes its fame to the fact it was the residence of the last Tsar, Nicholas II. Along with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, the tsar decided to take refuge here after the Bloody Sunday of 1905, when the imperial guard fired on unarmed demonstrators, making it too dangerous to remain in the Winter Palace....