Monplaisir Palace

The Monplaisir Palace is part of the Peterhof Palace Complex, Russia.

In 1714, Peter began construction of the Monplaisir Palace ("Monplaisir" means "my delight" in French) based on his own sketches. He "chalked out not only the site but also the inside layout, some elements of the decorative finish, etc". Based in a Dutch style, this was Peter's summer retreat (not to be confused with his Summer Palace) that he would use on his way coming and going from Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt. On the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of paintings that Peter brought from Europe and allowed to weather Russian winters and the dampness of the sea without heat. In the seaward corner of his Monplaisir Palace, Peter made his Maritime Study, from which he could see Kronstadt Island to the left and St. Petersburg to the right.

Later, he expanded his plans to include a vaster royal château of palaces and gardens further inland, on the model of Versailles which would become Peterhof Palace. The initial design of the palace and its garden was done by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Le Blond.

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

Monplaisir Palace ranks #2,181 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #68 of the 141 mapped in Russia. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,212 times in the last 60 days, more than 76% of the atlas. 29 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Saint Petersburg, 23 km away. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.

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