WINTER PALACE

View of the palace from the Palace Square

Winter Palace from across the Neva River

Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец) in St. Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars.

Designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Baroque-style, green-and-white palace has 1,786 doors and 1,945 windows. Catherine the Great was its first royal occupant.

The Palace is now part of a group of magnificent buildings that is called the State Hermitage Museum which holds one of the world's greatest collections of art. As part of the Museum, many of the Winter Palace's 1,057 halls and rooms are open to the public. The Military Gallery, opened in 1826, accommodates 332 portraits of military leaders of the Russian army during the Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

After the February Revolution in Russia, the Winter Palace was the headquarters of the Russian Provisional Government.

The assault of the Winter Palace by Bolshevik forces was the official milestone of the October Revolution.

See also

• The movie, Russian Ark, an innovative single shot walkthrough with period reenactments spanning three hundred years of court meetings, balls, and family life in this building.
• Palace Embankment and Palace Square - where the palace is situated
• Catherine Palace - the summer residence of Catherine the Great
• Hermitage Museum - the present use of the Winter Palace with the largest collection of art in the world
• Summer Palace - predecessor of the Winter Palace as the chief royal residence in St Petersburg
• Peterhof - the Tsar's summer residence outside St Petersburg
• Tsarskoye Selo - the Tsar's winter residence outside St Petersburg