Following his father's assassination, Alexander I was offered the throne. Although he was aware of the plan to transfer the crown, Alexander didn't know about his father's assassination. However, after becoming the emperor, he decided not to punish the assassins as the court physician declared apoplexy as the official cause of death. Alexander was the eldest son of the previous emperor, Paul I. Although Empress Catherine the Great had plans to declare Alexander as her successor, she died before announcing the matter; therefore, her son, Paul I became the emperor. Only five years later, the court decided to assassinate Paul I and set Alexander on the throne. The reign of Alexander coincided with the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars. Alexander was a kind person, and because of that personality, he was nicknamed Russian Sphinx since there is no other person like him in the Romanov Dynasty. Although he often used liberal rhetoric, he never abandoned Russia's absolutist policies. Alexander cared a lot about education; for that matter, in the first years of his reign, he made fundamental changes in the Russian educational system and established many schools and universities throughout Russia. During the first half of his reign, Alexander had participated in many wars and foreign conflicts. The most significant one was the Napoleonic Wars, in which Alexander emerged victoriously and became one of Russia's national heroes. However, those wars made a significant change in his character since he became increasingly irrational, regressive, and fearful of conspiracies against him during the second half of his reign. As a result of those changes, he ended several fundamental changes that he made during the first half of his reign, notably about education since he purged schools of foreign teachers. Alexander died of typhus in December 1825 while on a trip to southern Russia. Although he left no legitimate children to succeed the throne after he dies, he had left several major attractions for the tourists of St. Petersburg tour to visit during their travel to Russia.
One of the notable figures during Alexander's reign was the Italian architect Carlo Rossi. Rossi, Vincenzo Brenna's assistant during Paul I's reign, left St. Petersburg with Brenna. He returned to St. Petersburg after several years. Although he worked on the reconstruction of Anichkov Palace in 1815, his first major job was a commission from Alexander to build the Yelagin Palace for his mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna. When Alexander commissioned Carlo Rossi to build this palace, he was a young architect that was known to only a few people in St. Petersburg. However, almost nobody knew that Carlo Rossi would become the undisputed master of neo-classicism in St. Petersburg, who singlehandedly change the entire city. Carlo Rossi was responsible for designing the Grand Palace on Yelagin Island and constructing three pavilions, stables, and kitchen building. Today, the Yelagin Palace houses Museum of Decorative and Applied Art, and considers as one of the attractions of St. Petersburg tour. The island itself is also one of St. Petersburg's main attractions during the tour to Russia. We recommend visiting the Museum of Glass Art on your visit to the island during your travel to Russia.
Carlo Rossi's contribution to St. Petersburg didn't stop at Yelagin Island. After he had finished his work at the island, he received another commission from Alexander. Emperor Paul I had plans to build a palace for his youngest son Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. However, since he died, he couldn't commission the work. Alexander commissioned Carlo Rossi to build that palace for his younger brother with the special funds his father set aside. Carlo Rossi designed the magnificent Empire-style Mikhailovsky Palace and the garden around it. He didn't stop there and went to fully redesigned the entire neighborhood, including the neighboring buildings' exterior, streets, and the area in front of the palace, which later became the famous Arts Square. Today, the Mikhailovsky Palace houses the State Russian Museum headquarter and identifies as one of the top attractions of Russia tour in St. Petersburg. The area in front of the palace, the Arts Square, is also considered as one of the important cultural centers of St. Petersburg tour. After the construction of Mikhailovsky Palace ended, Carlo Rossi went to his next project, constructing the General Staff Building on the opposing side of Winter Palace, completing the Palace Square. When you visit Palace Square during your travel to St. Petersburg, General Staff building is one of the structures that give the Palace Square its magnificent look.
There are several other attractions in the tour to Russia that were constructed during Alexander's reign. The Old Stock Exchange, which is an integral part of Strelka, is one of the buildings that was constructed during that era as well as Kazan Cathedral, which is one of the major attractions of Nevsky Prospect during the tour to St. Petersburg. The Admiralty building was also reconstructed in the style of High Classicism during Alexander's reign. Each of these buildings can be part of your tour to Russia since each of them played a major role in St. Petersburg's history. You can learn about them on our weblog.
Although there are no significant statues of Alexander St. Petersburg for tourists to visit during their tour to St. Petersburg, you can find one of the famous monuments to the Russian military victory in the Napoleonic Wars in St. Petersburg, which also has a connection to Alexander. Auguste de Montferrand designed the Alexander Column on Palace Square after the death of Alexander. The angel's face on top of this column has been modeled after Alexander's face. Since it is located in the city's main square, most tourists will visit this column during their tour to St. Petersburg. You can also learn about each place mentioned in this article on our weblog and St. Petersburg's history in previous eras.
