What's inside one of the most off-limits palaces in Moscow (PHOTOS)
We invite you on a small virtual tour of the Petrovsky Palace.
Since Peter the Great, all Russian monarchs have lived in St. Petersburg, coming to Moscow only on occasion, mostly for coronations.
In Moscow, they stayed in the Kremlin, but the journey from St. Petersburg took several days, so before the solemn entry into the former capital, the imperial family and entourage preferred to rest on the approach to the city.
That is why, at the end of the 18th century, Empress Catherine the Great ordered the construction of this “travel palace” on the then outskirts of Moscow.
It was designed by Matvey Kazakov, the empress' favorite architect, in the then fashionable romantic neo-Gothic style.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, the palace became Napoleon's headquarters. Destroyed after the French retreat, it was restored under Emperor Nicholas I.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the Imperial residence was home to the Museum of Red Aviation and then the Air Force Academy. In the late 1990s, restoration began again, which lasted ten years.
Today, the palace is used as the reception house of the Moscow City Hall. But, tourists can go inside on a guided tour: climb the ‘Kazakov stairs’, walk through the ceremonial halls and admire the dome, painted in the ‘grisaille’ technique.
