Details of the baroque decor of the palace.

Rundāle Palace (German: Schloss Ruhental, formerly also Ruhenthal and Ruhendahl; Latvian: Rundāles pils) is the most important baroque palace in Latvia, situated at Pilsrundāle (west of Bauska). It was constructed in the 1740s to a design by Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a summer residence of Ernst Johann von Biron, the duke of Courland. Following Biron's fall from grace, the palace stood empty until the 1760s, when Rastrelli returned to complete its interior decoration. 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 the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ... Bauska- town in Zemgale- southern Latvia, 70km from capital- Riga and 20km from border with Lithuania, between rivers Musa and Memele in a place where they join and form Lielupe river. ... Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-71) was the most important baroque architect working in Russia. ... Ernst Johann von Biron or Biren, (1690 - 28 December 1772), duke of Courland, was the grandson of a groom in the service of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland, who bestowed upon him a small estate, which Birens father inherited and where Biren himself was born. ... Courland (Latvian: Kurzeme, German: Kurland, Polish: Kurlandia, Latin: Curonia / Couronia) is a historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ...

After Courland was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, Catherine the Great presented the palace to her lover, Prince Zubov, who spent his declining years there. His widow remarried Count Shuvalov, thus bringing the palace to the Shuvalov family, with whom it remained until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Courland (Latvian: Kurzeme, German: Kurland, Polish: Kurlandia, Latin: Curonia / Couronia) is a historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ... 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... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... Coat of arms of the Zubov family Zubov was a Russian noble family which rised to the highest offices of state in the 1790s, when Platon Zubov succeeded Count Orlov and Prince Potemkin as the official favourite of Catherine II of Russia. ... Pyotr Shuvalov Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov (граф Пётр Андреевич Шувалов) (1827 - 1889), was a Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II. Referring to his reactionary policies, his more liberal opponents sometimes called him Arakcheev II. Biography Pyotr Shuvalov came from a Russian family which rose to distinction in the person Peter Ivanovich... The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political events in Russia, which, after the elimination of the Russian autocracy system, and the Provisional Government (Duma), resulted in the establishment of the Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ...

The palace is one of the major tourist destinations in Latvia. It is also used for the accommodation of notable guests, such as the leaders of foreign nations. The palace and the surrounding gardens are now a museum. Part of a garden in Bristol, England A flower bed in the gardens of Bristol Zoo, England Checkered flower bed in Tours, France A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. ...

External links

• The Rundāle Palace Museum website.