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On the very top of the hill, near the Silver Lake, a monumental building surrounded by a deep moat proudly stands. The Gatchina Imperial Palace was built to imitate a castle — which makes it a unique structure in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. But, despite its likeness to a medieval castle, the palace represents the original work of Russian architecture, for several generations of outstanding architects and decorators worked on its construction.

The Pavlovsk palace and the park ensemble were created at the end of XVIII century as the official summer residence of the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, (son of Catherine II) and his wife Maria Feodorovna. Catherine II presented these lands to Pavel in 1777, on the occasion of the birth of his first-born son Alexander. A Scottish architect Charles Cameron designed the Palace, which was erected in 1780-1786.  Pavel rarely visited Pavlovsk, as he preferred his Gatchina residence and soon presented it to his wife Maria Feodorovna.

Tsarskoe Selo is a magnificent historical and architectural monument, as well as a pearl of the landscape design art. Many outstanding architects, sculptors, painters worked here. The dominating architectural style is baroque — the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the famous Catherine palace in his favorite ornate technique. Palaces and structures that were constructed on the territory of the park later were designed in various other styles.

Peterhof has always been associated with fountains. This former summer residence of the Russian emperors has earned a world-wide fame as the capital of fountains. Peterhof was built in the beginning of XVIII century as a copy of Versailles — the famous residence of the French kings — and in some ways even surpassed it. Especially impressive was its system of naturally operating fountains.

Erarta is one of the largest contemporary art museums in Russia, its central part being the Museum of Modern Art in St. Petersburg. This museum boasts a new approach to popularization of art by building a revolutionary system of relationships between the art objects and the viewer. The museum exposition is completely focused on the visitor who is considered to have the greatest value.

The Fabergé Museum, a privately-owned museum, which was established in order to repatriate lost cultural valuables back to Russia, was opened in 2013. The museum is located in the center of St. Petersburg in the premises of the ShuvalovPalace, on the embankment of the FontankaRiver. The ShuvalovPalace with its total room area of some 4,700 square meters is one of the most beautiful palaces of St. Petersburg, a historical monument and a center of tourist attraction.

In 1895, Emperor Nicholas II passed a decree on establishing Russia’s first State museum of Fine Arts. In 1898, the Russian museum was opened in the premises of the Mikhailovsky Palace, which at that time belonged to the Russian treasury.

The Konstantinovsky Palace is situated some 19 kilometers to the South of St. Petersburg, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, in Strelna village — one of the oldest suburbs of the city. Originally the palace and the surrounding park ensemble belonged to the royal family.

In the very heart of St. Petersburg stands the exquisite Church of the Resurrection of Christ, also known as the Church of our Savior on the Spilled Blood. The ninth-domed temple was designed in Russian style to commemorate the memory of one of the most distinguished Russian emperors — Alexander II.

Beautiful views! Unforgettable experiences!

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