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The palace is currently under reconstruction and is scheduled to open in mid-2018.

If luxurious Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo was created for pompous receptions, then its simpler neighbor was intended for life. The future Romanov family residence was built under Catherine II. In 1796, the palace became a worthy wedding gift to the Tsarina’s grandson Alexander Pavlovich. During his visits to Tsarskoye Selo, he himself loved to live in Bolshoi Tsarskoye Selo, but his younger brother and successor Nicholas I preferred the Alexander Palace and enjoyed its improvement. On the left side of the building were the living rooms of his grandson Alexander Alexandrovich, however, after becoming king, Alexander III chose the Gatchina Palace as his residence. The Alexander Palace became a real family nest for Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna. From there the Romanovs went into exile, from which they never returned.

In 1918, the palace turned into a museum, then the building was converted into a rest home for representatives of the NKVD, on the second floor there was an orphanage; during the occupation there was a German headquarters and the Gestapo here with prison cells in the basements. After the war, the palace premises were given to the Institute of Russian Literature, and then to the Military Department. Now the Alexander Palace again serves as a museum.

Architecture Features

The two-story building seems quite simple, especially when compared with its closest neighbor, the Catherine Palace. Despite this, the Alexander Palace is recognized as one of the outstanding examples of classicism architecture. The author of the project was the famous Giacomo Quarneghi, the building was erected under the supervision of the architect Pyotr Neelov. There are double wings on both sides of the palace - previously there were living quarters there. The main façade is decorated with a luxurious through colonnade - in the center were the halls of the front enfilade. Part of the building is complemented by a semi-rotunda with a dome in the shape of a sphere.

Halls and interiors

The same Kvarneghi worked on the furnishings of the Alexander Palace, and with him a dozen eminent artists, sculptors and decorators. The interiors of the residence corresponded to classical canons. Today they are actively recovering.

3 halls of the front part of the residence were reconstructed: the Marble Living Room, decorated with gilded furniture, mirrors and tiger skin, the Semicircular Hall, where at the beginning of the last century the Christmas tree was lit every year, and the Portrait Hall with images of members of the imperial dynasty. At the end of the enfilade there is the Emperor's Reception Room, paneled with oak, and his State Office.

The living rooms of the imperial family were located in the eastern wing. The Corner Living Room, which belonged to Alexandra Feodorovna, the Lilac Study, the Maple Living Room of the Empress and her bedroom were restored. The decoration of some rooms was lost entirely; only archival photographs of the interiors remained.

4. Alexander Palace

The Alexander Palace is located in the northern part of the Alexander Park, a 5-minute walk from the Catherine Palace along Palace Street. The palace belongs to the brightest sights of St. Petersburg, but so far only half of the palace premises on the ground floor have been restored, and they are mainly stylized exhibition rooms. The park on the south-eastern façade of the palace near the kitchen pond has not yet returned to its former shine, as a result of the long stay in the palace of the military research institute, which until recently was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire.

Catherine II dreamed of building a palace in the park, similar in appearance to Ferney Castle, where the philosopher Voltaire lived. In a letter to her political agent, diplomat Baron F. Grimm, she wrote: “Tsarskoye Selo Park should not exist if there is no Ferney Castle in it”. However, the new palace was built in the style of a Palladian country villa, ingeniously adapted to the harsh northern conditions by the Italian architect D. Quarenghi.

The palace was intended by Catherine II for the summer stay of her beloved grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I. Construction of the palace began in 1792 and by May 1796 its decoration was almost completed; on June 12, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich with his family and court had already moved to the new palace. The Empress celebrated her housewarming with her grandson and his family in the open colonnade of the palace, where a wonderful dessert was served and from where beautiful view to the park.

From the outside, Quarenghi's creation is characterized by simplicity and austerity of style. A majestic colonnade rises in front of the middle façade, receding slightly from it and forming an inner courtyard. Near the colonnade there are two bronze sculptures “Butterflyman” and “Pilemaker”, to which the famous poem by A.S. Pushkin is dedicated. The statues were made in 1838 at the Alexander Iron Foundry and represent two ancient Russian games of babka and pile, and also highlight the inconspicuous main entrance to the palace.

The opposite, park façade is decorated with a semi-rotunda with a spherical dome and a terrace lined with gray and white marble tiles.

The first owner of the palace, Alexander I, having become emperor, moved to St. Petersburg, and when coming to Tsarskoe Selo, he preferred his apartments in the Catherine Palace. The Alexander Palace was more often used as a spare “housing fund” for those close to him, who were usually settled on the second “Cavalier” floor.

His brother and successor Emperor Nicholas I, on the contrary, preferred to live with his family in the Alexander Palace in spring and autumn, and to hold noisy receptions, celebrations and church services in the Great Catherine Palace. It was under him that the new palace, in memory of his brother, began to be called Alexandrovsky. After the sudden death of his beloved daughter Alexandra (Adini), Nicholas I stopped living in Tsarskoe Selo and then visited there only occasionally.

Subsequent emperors also did not indulge the Alexander Palace with their presence: Alexander II preferred the Catherine Palace, and the family of Alexander III spent more time in the Gatchina residence.

Naturally, when the owners changed, the palace was rebuilt several times, the purpose of the rooms was changed, and new engineering equipment was installed.
The palace began to be rebuilt especially actively under Nicholas II, turning from a purely summer residence into a place of permanent residence. The emperor chose for himself half of the palace, previously occupied by his retinue - in its place were the personal apartments of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna.
A balcony with a canopy was added to the outer wall of the first floor of the palace, and the heating and water supply system was improved.

In 1897, according to the design of S. Danini, it was built underground tunnel(now inactive) into the kitchen outbuilding for the hidden movement of servants. The building now has a fire alarm, telephone, fire water supply, elevator and much more.

In 1901-1904, the Oryol water supply system was installed in Tsarskoye Selo. In case of its damage, the architect S. Danini built an underground reservoir in Alexander Park opposite the Church of the Sign to supply the palace clean water, delivered from captured Oryol keys.

After the revolution of 1905, the Alexander Palace became the permanent residence of Nicholas II and the favorite place of residence of his family. The times were turbulent, so security officers were constantly on duty in the basement of the palace, under the bedrooms of the king and queen, and panic buttons were installed in the chambers. The duty room was connected by telephone to all posts near the fence and the city telephone network. In the vast basements of the palace, the area of ​​​​the premises exceeding the first residential floor, there were about 200–250 servants daily, including security.

In 1917, the imperial history of the palace ended. It was from there that, after a painful house arrest, on August 1, 1917, the royal family was sent into exile in Tobolsk, from where they were no longer destined to return.

Already in 1918, a historical and everyday exposition dedicated to the life of the family of the last Russian autocrat was opened in the Alexander Palace. Later, in half of the palace there was a rest house of the NKVD, and in the rooms of the children of Nicholas II - the Children's Home named after Young Communards. In 1932, the Orphanage was closed, and the toys and furniture of the imperial children were transferred to the Toy Museum.

During the occupation of Pushkin during the Great Patriotic War, the German headquarters and the Gestapo were located in the Alexander Palace, a prison was located in the basements, and the area in front of the palace was turned into an officers' cemetery.
Since 1951, the palace housed a naval school, then a military research institute, and the preserved collections of the museum were transferred for storage to the Catherine and Pavlovsk palaces. For a long time, the Alexander Palace remained a closed facility, where even art critics were not allowed.

Only in 1997 did the first exhibition open in the Alexander Palace, and in 2009 the palace was finally transferred to the museum. Today, partially preserved historical and non-preserved interiors (exhibition rooms) display furnishings and personal items. Sometimes very rare excursions are conducted, such as.
In 2015, reconstruction and technical re-equipment of the Alexander Palace began with adaptation to a multifunctional museum complex.

Opening hours of the Alexander Palace (2015)

Alexander Palace (Pushkin, Dvortsovaya str. 2) is open from 10:00 to 18:00; box office until 17:00. Tuesday and the last Wednesday of each month are days off. Check the current operating hours on the official website of the Alexander Palace

Cost of visiting the Alexander Palace (2015)

Ticket prices to the Alexander Palace:
for adults – 300 rubles;
for students, pensioners, cadets of military schools, military personnel - 150 rubles;
for visitors under 18 years old – free!

Currently, the Alexander Palace is closed for reconstruction.

We have been on the territory of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo" for almost the whole day....

Behind the Catherine Palace with its impressive park complex, we did not leave the Pushkin Lyceum without attention....

The time is already 16.30... And then it dawns on us that we have not yet been to the Alexander Palace....

Having quickly oriented ourselves to the area, we head towards the palace....

But to get to it you need to cover a considerable distance through the park of the same name....

At another time, we would be happy to stroll through this magnificent park, admiring its beauty....

But now we have a slightly different task - to have time to get to the Alexander Palace.....

Therefore, we take a very fast step and, cutting corners wherever possible, rush towards the intended goal...

We allow ourselves to take the only short break near the Children's House...

On a small island located in the center of one of the ponds, there is a small blue building...

This is the Children's House... It was built in 1830 for the amusement of the children of Emperor Nicholas I ... Until 1941, the house even had children's furniture from those times...

Well, now, or rather for many decades, the house is under.... No, not under restoration, but under conservation.... What saves the house from the destructive influence of the surrounding reality is its territorial location: for most of the year it is cut off from " big land"and is thereby isolated from unnecessary visits by various individuals..

But the palace itself appeared on the horizon... All that remained was to go around the pond and

We're at the goal. The time is 16.50... We manage to buy tickets at the box office in the last minutes (they close at 17.00) and, as the last visitors of the day, we cross the threshold of the museum...

Before we get into the halls of the palace - traditionally about its history...

The palace was built in 1796 by order of Catherine the Great for her grandson Alexander I.

The Alexander Palace "is an elongated two-story building with double wings on the sides. In the center of the main northern facade there is a magnificent through colonnade of the Corinthian order, consisting of two rows of columns. From the side of the regular part of the Alexander Park, the facade of the building is designed in the form of a semi-rotunda, covered with a spherical dome "...

After 1917, the palace was first opened state museum, then they decided that we had plenty of art and a rest house for NKVD employees settled in the palace... During the fascist occupation, the headquarters of the SS division was located here, and in the courtyard of the palace a cemetery was organized for the burial of German military personnel...

In the 1990s, the palace was transferred to the museum-reserve and restoration work began...

On June 23, 2010, the grand opening of three state halls of the palace took place, located in the central part of the palace: Portrait, Semicircular and Marble....

It is with them that we will begin our journey through the palace....

These halls are connected to each other by through arched spans and represent a single space with a common history...

Their interiors have preserved the original architectural solution from D Quarenghi.

On June 12, 1796, the first ceremonial reception was held here for the Empress herself.... Subsequently, in these halls on Sundays and holidays ceremonial receptions, dinner parties, dance evenings were held...

The vast areas of the halls made it possible to organize archaeological exhibitions, exhibitions of icons, paintings, products of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, etc. for the imperial family...

The first room we find ourselves in is the Marble Living Room (sometimes it was called the Billiard Room, since in 1832, at the direction of Nicholas I, billiards were installed in it)....

One of the central places in the exhibition of the Marble Hall is occupied by a painting by F.L. Catella "Walk in Palermo"...

Its plot is quite real: at the end of 1845 - beginning of 1846. The royal family was in Palermo due to the illness of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna...

During this period Nikolai I visits an art exhibition in Rome, where he meets the artist. Nikolay liked Katel’s works I , and he ordered this painting from him...

On the walls of the hall we see portraits of the English Queen Victoria and Alexandra Feodorovna sitting on the throne....

The furniture in the hall is arranged in functional corners....

One of them is by the fireplace...

Other corners form areas for conversation and communication....

In that big hall guests could easily group themselves by “interest” and have small talk about the weather, art, etc., etc....

Well, we smoothly move on to the next hall - the Semicircular, the name of which fully corresponds to its shape...

At one time Nikolai II I chose it to install a Christmas tree for the retinue and security officers...

In the center of the hall there is a candelabra, which was made according to the design of the court architect K.F. Schinkel in 1840. Later, a bouquet of bronze flowers was made for her, with candles inserted into the cups....

In the same room you can see a fragment of the original painting of the vaults...

When the time came to restore them - Nikolay I gave a vandal order: instead of restoration, cover everything with white paint.... Which was done successfully. That’s why today we see vaults and ceilings that are quite “simple” for a palace....

Otherwise, the interior of the Semicircular Hall completely intersects with the interior of the neighboring rooms, forming a single style...

They say that Nicholas I was one of the first emperors to place both his own portraits and images of family members in the palace halls...

Therefore, it is obvious that in a hall with such a name one cannot do without portraits....

And again the fireplace is from the same series, with similar items....

To get to the next halls of the museum we have to make a short transition through rooms that have not been restored...

After which we find ourselves in the corner living room of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna...

Chamber musical evenings were held in the living room for VIP guests (members of the imperial family and invited artists took part in them)...

Therefore, the central position in the interior of the room is occupied by the piano...

Sometimes in this hall the emperor received foreign delegations and ambassadors, the empress was introduced by ministers and various deputations...

From time to time, meetings of the Imperial Historical Society were held here..... At Easter, the imperial couple took Christ with their courtiers and employees, and on August 21, 1915, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held in this hall, at which Nicholas II announced his decision to take charge of the army...

On one of the walls we see the tapestry "Marie Antoinette with her children", which was presented by the French President E. Loubet during his visit to Russia in 1902...

Busts, bas-reliefs, porcelain were of great importance in the decoration of the hall...

The exposition of the next room was allocated in 1947-1949. from the Maple Cabinet of the Empress and reminds of the room of Nicholas's children II and Alexandra Fedorovna...

To date, all that remains of the furnishings of those times is a corner wardrobe made of oak, in which Alexei Nikolaevich’s military uniforms are displayed,

icon case (recreated in 1997),

and puppet show"Guignol", donkey harness, and historical toys, similar to those that the imperial children had...

Before us is Alexandra Feodorovna's Maple Study, which was created in 1902 and was intended for the Empress to occupy herself with current affairs, drawing and needlework...

In 1941, more than 120 items were evacuated from the Maple Cabinet (drapes, carpets, paintings, sculptures, porcelain, etc....

It is unknown how many of them were able to make the return trip, but, as museum workers say, “in the near future it is planned to recreate the historical volume and architectural and artistic decoration of the cabinet.”...

The next room of the palace is Alexandra Feodorovna's Rosewood Reception Room...

During the 19th century, this room was used as the Blue Living Room of the suite...

In 1895, the Empress decided that she vitally needed a room for official audiences and reception of officials of the charitable institutions founded by her... Before she had time to think about it, the architect R.F. Meltzer brought her ideas to life....

Since there were no special rooms for dining in the palace (the sovereign did not like to dine in any one room), on weekdays the dining table was often set in the Rosewood reception room....

This reception room is also famous for the fact that it was in it that on March 2, 1917, General Kornilov announced to the Empress about her house arrest...

Today we can contemplate the “missing” details of the historical interior of the Rosewood reception room thanks to the reproduction of a photograph from 1941 (before the evacuation) on the wall...

Well, these are individual details of the interior of this room....

Another office of Alexandra Feodorovna - Lilac...

It was designed by the architect Meltzer, already known to us, in 1895....

The interior was dominated by lilac color (hence the name): the walls were covered with lilac silk fabric, lilac silk was used in the furniture upholstery....

The room was richly decorated with flowering and evergreen plants, lighting was provided by electrically rotating sconces and an onyx table lamp...

Of the 100 items in this room sent for evacuation in 1941, they returned... (no one knows how many, but very few).

To ensure that the interior does not seem sparse to visitors, most of what was lost is presented in a huge photograph....

Well, we move to the bedroom...

The room retained its original dimensions and was used in the 19th century as a bedroom in the Suite half of the Alexander Palace....

In 1873 she was prepared for the marriage of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna to Prince Alfred.

On November 3, 1895, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (Nicholas's first daughter) was born here II).

On the walls we see many icons, images, etc. (at one time their total number exceeded 700 units). Also in the bedrooms (by tradition) there were two display cases for jewelry, in which a special place was occupied by Easter eggs made by Faberge (their Nikolai II gave it to my wife......

But today, alas, no eggs or other jewelry... Consequences of the evacuation...

Well, we have the opportunity to take a closer look at some icons...

So, unnoticed by ourselves and those around us (they were actually not there), we got to the 1st exhibition room...

Yes, exactly the first one... That’s how the excursion program is organized in the palace. It's nothing you can do...

Therefore, having already examined a lot of halls and rooms, we begin to get acquainted with the initial stage of the history of the Alexander Palace...

We see a portrait of Catherine II , by whose decree G. Quarenghi built this palace

Here, in the work of O. Vernet “The Tsarkoye Selo Carousel” we see on what scale the imperial couple celebrated the 25th anniversary of their life together....

Here you can also see exhibits telling about the era of Nicholas I , for whom the Alexander Palace became a real family nest...

Walking down the corridor

we find ourselves in the reception room of Emperor Nicholas II...

Originally there was a dining room here, the decoration of which has been preserved with oak panels, a fireplace and a chandelier...

IN last years reign of Nicholas II this room was used as a reception room, where officials who had arrived for a report awaited an audience...

The reception room furnishings included a large table located in the center under the chandelier, a work desk and a sofa, as well as paintings, photographs, figurines...

A special place in the reception room is occupied by a collection of trays (plates)... On them the emperor was presented with bread and salt when they met him in different cities of Russia...

By the way, this plate appeared in the museum’s exhibition quite recently.... It was handed down by the descendants of a German officer, who during the occupation “seized” it and took it to Germany...

The next room of the palace is Nicholas’s Working (Old) Office II...

At one time, furniture from the F. Meltzer company was located here, the walls were decorated with paintings by Benois, Boehm, Bogatov, Makovsky, Pryanishnikov and other famous artists...

In this office, the emperor received ministers, State Duma deputies, ambassadors...

In 1941, 150 items were evacuated from this premises....

Today in the Old Cabinet we see only ceremonial dresses and uniforms belonging to the royal family,

ceremonial portraits,

photos,

several icons: ("Queen Alexandra"),

"Nicholas the Wonderworker",

and paintings by G.N. Gorelov "Feodorovsky Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo"

and "Fedorovsky town" ...

Lavatory (Moorish basin) Nicholas II...

The room got its name because of the decoration, which was done “in Moorish taste”.... Well, the pool... there was also a pool with capacity for 1000 buckets (7000 liters), equipped with the latest technology from S.-P. mechanical plant. In the three outer corners of the pool there were glazed ramps with colored green lights to illuminate the water... The pool area was covered with cloth and was several steps higher than the front of the room...

There was also a horizontal bar for gymnastic exercises and a rack with rifles from the Tula arms factory...

After the war (1941-1945), they wanted to dismantle the relatively good finishing and move it to the second floor... But something went wrong, and what happened to the finishing is unknown...

Currently, the exhibition of the Moorish Basin includes mahogany bookcases, recreated after a cabinet from the Tsarkosselo Own Library of the Alexander Palace...

Following the pool is Nicholas's Dressing Room II....

Wardrobes made of ash wood were located here, in which items of the king’s wardrobe were stored (several hundred pieces of military uniform, frock coats, overcoats, shirts, hats, etc.)...

To this day, only a wardrobe and about 10 uniforms belonging to the emperor have survived...

Brings up the rear personal accounts Emperor Nicholas's front office II...

It was created in 1902 on the site of the Concert Hall...

All work (construction, engineering and technical equipment, architectural and artistic decoration, fireplaces, furniture) was carried out by the well-known company "F. Meltzer"...

The office has largely preserved its historical decoration. Some work to restore the ornaments of the fireplace and niches was carried out in 1997. At the same time, corner sofas, bookcases, lighting fixtures were made for the set of G. Panfilov’s film about the royal family...

Meetings of the Council of Ministers were held in this office, the emperor met with delegations, commissions...

Billiards was used to play with grand dukes, retinue officers and persons close to the emperor...

The decoration of the office was complemented by numerous sculptures, paintings, photographs, porcelain...

Unfortunately, few things from that time have survived to this day....

Well, now we are returning to the exit...

Along the way (in the corridor) we manage to capture some exhibits:

The caretakers are eagerly waiting for the last visitors (i.e. us) to leave the museum (many have already begun to get ready to go home)...

And we leave the Alexander Palace with a sense of accomplishment...

Our program today was extensive, and we actually managed to see everything we had planned (maybe we just didn’t have time to properly explore Alexander Park...)

Now all that remains is to get to the parking lot, get into the car and drive to the hotel...

The Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo was built by order of Catherine the Great in 1792-1796 for her beloved grandson, Alexander Pavlovich. Alexander, who later became emperor, preferred to stay in, but his younger brother Nicholas paid a lot of attention to the arrangement of the Alexander Palace. Later, the palace became the grand-ducal residence of Prince Alexander Alexandrovich, but after the coronation he moved to Gatchina. In 1904, Nicholas II and his family moved to the Alexander Palace. After 1918, the palace managed to serve as a museum, a rest home for NKVD employees, an orphanage named after Young Communards, a German headquarters, a Gestapo with a prison, a depository of the Institute of Russian Literature and a naval school. Now it is again a museum, the restoration of historical interiors is underway.

// Part 30

1. The architectural design of the Alexander Palace belongs to the famous Italian architect D. Quarenghi. The work was carried out under the supervision of the architect P.V. Neelov.

2. In 2010, three main halls were opened for inspection. The first one is the Marble Living Room.

3. Sometimes it was called the Billiard Hall, since in 1832, on the instructions of Nicholas I, a large billiards and a small billiards “biki” were installed in it.

4. The hall is furnished with a set of gilded furniture, and a tiger skin is spread on the floor.

5.

6. The living room is decorated with mirrors and gilded consoles with marble vases and glass lamps.

7.

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9. The next room is a semicircular hall. Here, under Nicholas II, a Christmas tree was lit at Christmas for members of the closest retinue and officers of units on security duty.

10. Gilded furniture, marble fireplaces, mirrors were selected by Quarenghi with great taste.

11. The next room is Portrait. Nicholas I was one of the first emperors to place his own portraits and images of family members in the palace halls. Here was one of the best painting series, created by order of the emperor by the German artist F. Kruger.

12. There are also two glass Easter eggs on display in the hall.

13. Inside one of them the Alexander Palace is depicted.

15. Here you can see the old decoration, revealed by restorers from under layers of Soviet paint.

16. Time-worn fireplace.

17. The eastern wing contains the living rooms of the last royal family.

18. The first of them is Alexandra Fedorovna’s corner living room.

19. On the wall is a portrait of the empress.

20. Also in the hall hangs a painting depicting a Cossack army.

21. Next begins a series of rooms, interior decoration which were completely lost. Along one wall there are huge photographs of former interiors. Surviving details are placed against their background. This is what the former Lilac office looks like.

22. And here was the Maple Living Room of the Empress, decorated by the firm of F. Meltzer in 1903-1906. Only a few pieces of furniture survived.

23.

24. Cabinets from the royal library.

25.

26. The most striking thing is the Empress’s bedroom. The wall above the bed is densely hung with icons, according to the ancient Russian tradition revered by Nicholas II.

27. The reproduced photograph from 1941 shows. that before there were twice as many icons.

28. Painting by G. N. Gorelov “Theodore Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo.”

29. In the once official Dressing Room and Valet Room, an ash cabinet has been preserved, in which things from the wardrobe of the last Russian Tsar are stored: uniforms of guards and army regiments, an overcoat, a burka, a reindeer cloak, in which the Emperor went hunting. A special exhibit is the red uniform of the colonel of His Majesty's Life Guards Hussar Regiment (in the closet on the left). The Emperor wore this uniform at his wedding.

30. Uniform of colonel of the Farnese Uhlan 5th Regiment, officer’s uniform of the Serbian Army, uniform of the 5th Romanian Rochefort Hussar Regiment, belonging to Nicholas II.

31.

32. Also in the halls are exhibited surviving objects and personal belongings of the royal family.

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37.

38.

39. At the end of the enfilade there are two completely restored interiors. The first is the Reception Room of Nicholas II, lined with oak panels.

40. The fireplace has been preserved since before the reconstruction carried out by R. F. Meltzer in 1896-1898, when the Dining Room was located here.

41. Second interior - Front (New) office of Nicholas II. During his reign, meetings of the Council of Ministers, presentations of deputations and commissions were held here. At this table the emperor played billiards with the grand dukes and officers of his retinue. With the beginning of the First World War, maps of the General Staff were laid out on it.

42. The decoration and furniture for the office were created in 1903-1906 according to the design of the court architect R. F. Meltzer. Panels, fireplaces, a mezzanine with columns, mahogany ceiling paneling, as well as portraits, photographs, porcelain and books have survived to this day from the original decoration.

43. Bookcases, corner sofa, desk, sconces and chandeliers were recreated based on measurements and historical photographs in 1997.

44. The mezzanine with columns of polished marble was connected by a passage over the corridor with Alexandra Fedorovna’s Maple Living Room, who could secretly be present at the emperor’s meetings. Like the last president of Russia, the last emperor was fond of photography.

45. But the most touching exhibits of the palace are associated with the children of Nicholas II. Here are the interior details of the Tsesaevich’s room: a corner wardrobe, a sofa, a carpet, a toy horse, Bilibin’s illustrations on the wall.

46.

47. Class schedule for 1916-1917.

48. German porcelain dolls.

49. Fair guignol.

50.

51. The outfit of the donkey that gave Alexey a ride.

52. Soft toys.

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55. Costumes of the Tsarevich.

56. Dresses of princesses.

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59. In this palace, the family of Nicholas II met the February Revolution, from here on August 1, 1917 they set off on their last journey to the Urals. Their ghost costumes remain in the palace, next to which there are always fresh flowers.

On the eve of the release of the already notorious film “Matilda” on the big screens, we made a selection of the favorite estates and palaces of Nicholas II. We found out where the last emperor of the Russian Empire lived and rested.

Alexander Palace

After 1904, Nicholas II chose it as his place of permanent residence. In place of the premises in the right wing, which were previously occupied by the retinue, the personal chambers of the Emperor and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna appeared.

At the beginning of the 20th century, under Emperor Nicholas II, the Alexander Palace became the main residence of the imperial family and the center of court life: ambassadors were received here, the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov and the 200th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo were celebrated.

At this time, the palace underwent a number of reconstructions and improvements. A balcony was attached to the outer wall of the first floor. The heating and water supply system was improved, thanks to which it was now possible to live in the palace even in the cold season.

It was in the Alexander Palace that Nicholas II spent the most time with his family.

Livadia Palace

The most famous summer residence of the king. For many years the Livadia Palace was favorite place holidays of Russian monarchs. Alexander II loved to spend the cold winter months here.

And from the beginning of 1900, Nicholas II and his family. In 1911, according to the design of the Yalta architect Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov, a new White Palace was built for Emperor Nicholas II. According to some reports, the king spent about 4 million gold rubles on the palace.

The building has 116 separate rooms, one large courtyard and three small light courtyards. The royal family came here to improve their health, and large receptions were held here. This is the biggest summer palace the last royal family.

Hunting residence in Turkey

Like any Russian prince Nicholas II loved hunting. The royal family had several hunting residences not only in Russia, but also abroad. One of these mansions was located in northeast Turkey. Nicholas II's dacha in Kars was built in 1896, after the region was captured by the Russian army during the Russian-Turkish War. How often the emperor appeared there is unknown.

Estate in Dagomys

For a long time, Dagomys, along with Krasnaya Polyana and other tasty corners of the coast, was a royal estate, where not only members of the Romanov family, but also ministers close to the court vacationed. The gentle sea softened the heat of the southern summer, and in the surrounding forests there was always plenty of game. On the territory of the estate itself, a luxurious arboretum was laid out, which has preserved to this day a significant part of its former splendor.

Hunting estate on Krasnaya Polyana

The hunting lodge of Emperor Nicholas II is a unique landmark of the village of Krasnaya Polyana. Built in 1898, it belonged to the last Russian emperor for many years.

The three-story house is designed in a traditional English style. A little below the main building, a huntsman's house was erected, as well as a protective wall and a guard booth. From 1903 to 1917 Members of the Romanov family visited the royal house. Emperor Nicholas II himself, his wife and children never visited either the royal house or Krasnaya Polyana. Most often the house was visited by the Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov.

After the construction of the royal house, the forests growing on the slope of Mount Achishkho were declared a protected area; only members of the imperial family, as well as senior government officials, could hunt here.

Winter Palace

Another large residence of the king. Winter Palace It is more connected with the sad and tragic events in the life of the imperial family, however, representatives of the royal family managed to spend many happy hours there too. This palace became the home for the family of Nicholas II and remained so from 1905 to August 1, 1917. The Winter Palace served as the emperor’s residential residence for almost 9 years.