Palace Square is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. It was the setting of many events of world-wide significance, including the Bloody Sunday (1905) and the October Revolution of 1917. In the United States, a town square is an area in the middle of a traditional town consisting of a park or plaza and surrounded by small shops. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday. ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ...

View of the square from an open window of the Hermitage Museum in the Winter Palace.

The earliest and most celebrated building on the square is the baroque white-and-azure Winter Palace of Russian tsars (1754-62), which gave the square its name. Although the adjacent buildings are designed in the Neoclassical style, they perfectly match the palace in their scale, rhythm, and monumentality. The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. ... Jump to: navigation, search Located between the bank of the Neva River and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace in St. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In arts, the Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the style that dominated it. ... Jump to: navigation, search Located between the bank of the Neva River and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace in St. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ...

The opposite, southern side of the square was designed in the shape of an arc by George von Velten in the late 18th century. These plans were executed half a century later, when Alexander I of Russia envisaged the square as a vast monument to the Russian victory over Napoleon and commissioned Carlo Rossi to design the bow-shaped Empire-style building of the General Staff (1819-21), which centers on a double triumphal arch crowned with a Roman quadriga. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Aleksander Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), Emperor of Russia (reigned March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825), King of Poland (reigned 1815–1825), son of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, afterwards Paul I, and Maria Fedorovna, daughter of the Duke... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... A wine made in Modesto, California. ... Empire is an early 19th century style of architecture and furniture design that and originates from Napoleons rule of France. ... A General Staff is a group of professional military officers who act in a staff or administrative role under the command of a general officer. ... Arc de Triomphe, Paris A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental gate, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. ... A quadriga (from the Latin language quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games, and represented in profile as the usual chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and bas-reliefs. ...

The centre of the square is marked with the Alexander Column (1830-34), designed by Auguste de Montferrand. This red granite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47,5 metres high and weighs some 500 tons. It is set so nicely that no attachment to the base is needed. Monferrands cathedral was the largest Orthodox church in the world at the time it was completed. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ...

The eastern side of the square is occupied by Alexandro Brullo's building of the Guards Corps Headquarters (1837-43). The western side, however, opens towards Admiralty Square, thus making the Palace Square a vital part of the grand suite of St Petersburg squares.

Further reading

• V.I. Pilyavsky. Palace Square in Leningrad. Moscow, 1958.