Summer Palace (Russia)

The Summer Palace is the name of three Russian royal residences in St Petersburg, of which only one survives to the present.

Summer House

The Summerpalace1.jpg (1710-14) was designed by Domenico Trezzini in the Baroque style for Tsar Peter the Great. One of the oldest extant structures in the city, this masonry palace is surprisingly modest by Russian Imperial standards and contains just 14 main rooms.

The mansion was designed as an entertainment center and was intended for warm weather use only. Peter moved into the partially completed palace in 1712 and spent summers here until his death in 1725. He occupied the lower level while his wife Catherine preferred the upper rooms. An innovative feature of this palace is the still extant central heating system which featured solid fuel burning boilers and elaborate porcelain ductwork, with extensive ornamental painting. The palace is now a museum and both the house and the adjacent Summer Garden are open to the public.

Summer Palaces

There used to be two wooden Summer Palaces in front of the Summer Garden. Both were designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli for the Russian Empresses. The first one (1730) was a one-storied baroque structure, with 28 rooms, a spacious central hall, and a system of interior waterways. The second one (1741-44) was a large and imposing mauve-walled edifice with 160 gilded rooms, adjacent church and a fountain cascade.

The second palace was the chief residence of Empress Elizabeth in the Russian capital. During the 1750s Rastrelli added to the complex a Hermitage pavilion and an opera house. Catherine the Great effectively sealed its fate by moving her court to the newly-built Winter Palace. A year after her death, Emperor Paul (who had been born there in 1754) ordered the dilapidated palace to be demolished and replaced it with a new residence, St. Michael's Castle.

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Summer House

Summer Palaces

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