Alexis Palace

Alexeevsky Palace (Алексеевский дворец) is a Revivalist palace compound on the bank of the Moika River in Saint Petersburg. It was erected in the mid-1880s as a private residence of Grand Duke Alexei and his family.

The palace's asymmetrical design with two distinctive towers and a set of exuberant rooftops is highly unusual for Saint Petersburg. Architect Maximilian Messmacher used a different style for each façade. The dining hall had a set of ten paintings by Ernst Friedrich von Liphart. The park was encircled by a wrought iron and stone fence. The central gates are still ornamented with the Grand Duke’s monogram.

In 1910 part of the gardens were sold for the construction of a candy factory. Though the palace was declared a national landmark in 1968, it remained in utter disrepair throughout the Soviet period. A major restoration was undertaken in the early 21st century at the behest of Sergei Roldugin.

In 2008 the palace was reopened as the St. Petersburg Music House, where concerts and excursions are available with the exception of July.

Text adapted from “Alexis Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Alexis Palace ranks #2,825 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #75 of the 141 mapped in Russia. Founded c. 1885, it is older than 5% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 562 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,546 times in the last 60 days, more than 60% of the atlas. 29 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Saint Petersburg, 3 km away. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.

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