Each city in the world has at least one vital square, which can be critical for many reasons. It can be a link between the essential streets of the city. It can also locate in the center of the town. In terms of tourism, it may house one or more tourist attractions, or because of its history, it may be important for the people. However, in large cities, the central city square is vital for various reasons. St. Petersburg in Russia has several famous squares, which each of them is important for the city for different purposes. Some of them, like Arts Square, house multiple crucial cultural centers of St. Petersburg, including Mikhailovsky Palace, which is the headquarter of the State Russian Museum. Others, such as Field of Mars, played a critical role in the history of the city, including housing the resting place for several unknown revolutionary people who had lost their lives during the February Revolution, which triggered the October Revolution of 1917. Places like Victory Square, are monuments to people who served Russia and St. Petersburg during the dark days of Siege of Leningrad. While each of these places has their role to play in the architectural, cultural, and historical of the city of St. Petersburg, there’s one square that will be recognized the most among the famous and vital public places of St. Petersburg tour, and that’s the Palace Square.
Dvortsovaya Ploshchad or Palace Square is one of the most beautiful and essential architectural complexes of St. Petersburg. It’s the main square of the city, which almost every tourist will visit during their tour to Russia, mainly because it houses one of the major St. Petersburg attractive places in Russia tour, the State Hermitage Museum. The square acquired its name from the Winter Palace, but before that, at the beginning of the 18th century, it was known as Admiralty meadow. The first building constructed on this square was the famous Winter Palace, which also gave the square its current name. At the end of the 18th century, several houses were built on the south of the Palace Square, which was something that greatly upset Catherine the Great. She had always admired the open space that was visible from the windows of the Winter Palace. That was the reason why she ordered Yury Felten to construct a complex on the other side of the square counterpoint of the palace to save the view. However, Yury Felten’s design had never seen the light of the day. Still, it allowed Carlo Rossi, who had designed the General Staff Building at the site, which previously Felten commissioned to construct his complex.
Later during the reign of Nicholas I, Auguste de Montferrand was commissioned to erect a monumental structure to honor the victory of Russia against Napoleon in 1830. Montferrand, who greatly admired Alexander I, the Emperor of Russia during the Napoleonic Wars, dedicated his work to him by calling the structure Alexander Column. The last building that was constructed on the Palace Square was the Guard Headquarters Building by Alexander Brullov, who had been commissioned the task to connect the incompatibles, which were the baroque building of Winter Palace with the classical structure of General Staff Building. He filled the gap between the two significant buildings by designing a neutral yet, the elegant four-story building of headquarters of the Guards Corps. The same as Moscow’s Red Square, the Palace Square in St. Petersburg has also seen several major events throughout history. This square was the site of an unsuccessful attempt to assassinating Tsar Alexander II. It was also the site of one of the darkest events of the Imperial history of Russia, the Bloody Sunday Massacre, in which the imperial guards opened fire on a massive crowd of unarmed protestors who were approaching the winter palace. The Bolshevik marked the end of Tsarism in Russia by taking the Winter Palace on October Revolution as well. However, the Palace Square has seen many happy moments as well, such as parades and celebrations, including the white night festival and the Scarlet Sail events that have been held there as well as other parts of the city.
The Winter Palace (State Hermitage Museum)
The Winter Palace is the most famous building in St. Petersburg tour, which has played a significant historical, political, and cultural role in the history of St. Petersburg from the beginning. This building houses the most vital attraction of St. Petersburg in Russia tour, the State Hermitage Museum, which every tourist should visit during their travel to Russia. Hermitage Museum has more than three million items in its collection, including one of the must-seen collections of the tour to Russia, the Treasure Gallery. We at the Star Travel Group extremely recommend a visit to this gallery on our Russia tour program.
Alexander Column
The Alexander Column in the middle of the place is another famous structure on the square, which marks the victory of Russia over Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. Auguste de Montferrand had designed this majestic obelisk, which is the tallest one of its kind, to honor both Russia victory and his role model, Alexander I, who was the emperor of Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. The 47.5-meter-tall obelisk weighs about 500 tons, that’s the reason why it didn’t need any attachment to its base to stand. The Alexander Column and the Winter Palace are the most famous structures on Palace Square. However, the General Staff Building, designed by one of the most celebrated St. Petersburg architects, Carlo Rossi, in 1829, and the Alexander Brullov’s building of the Guards Corps Headquarters are other features of the Palace Square which you will see on your tour to Russia.
The Palace Square is the main square of the city, which is why it’s hard to miss on tour to Russia. However, housing the winter palace and Alexander Column are other reasons why you should visit this place during your travel to Russia. If you would like to learn more about the history of these structures, you can always read our weblog on The Star Travel Group website. For example, the Alexander Column is one of the Famous victory monuments and war memorial in St. Petersburg, and you can learn about our other top picks on that you can visit during your tour to Russia on our weblog as well as other top Russia attractive places that you will visit on your journey in Russia.
