View of the palace from the Palace Square

Winter Palace from across the Neva River

Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец) in Saint Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars. Winter Palace with the Alexander Column. ... Winter Palace with the Alexander Column. ... Palace Square is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. ... Download high resolution version (1024x416, 69 KB)Winter Palace, St. ... Download high resolution version (1024x416, 69 KB)Winter Palace, St. ... River Neva (Нева́) is a 74 km long Russian river flowing from the Lake Ladoga (Ладожское Озеро - Ladozhskoye Ozero) through the Carelian Isthmus (Карельский &#1055... The Palace Embankment or Palace Quay (Russian: Дворцовая набережная (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya)) is a street along the Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg which contains the complex of the Hermitage Museum buildings, including the Winter Palace, the Hermitage Theatre, the Marble Palace and the Summer Garden. ... Palace Square is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Monomakhs Cap symbol of Russian autocracy, the crown of Russian grand princes and tsars Czar and tzar redirect here. ...

Designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Baroque-style, green-and-white palace has 1,786 doors and 1,945 windows. Catherine the Great was its first imperial occupant. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-71) was the most important baroque architect working in Russia. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens. ... Catherine II of Russia Catherine II of Russia, called the Great (Russian: Екатерина II Великая, Yekaterina II Velikaya; 2 May 1729–17 November 1796 [O.S. 6 November]) — sometimes referred to as an epitome of the enlightened despot — reigned as Empress of Russia for some 34 years, from June 28, 1762 until...

The Palace is now part of a complex of buildings known as the State Hermitage Museum which holds one of the world's greatest collections of art. As part of the Museum, many of the Winter Palace's 1,057 halls and rooms are open to the public. The Military Gallery, opened in 1826, accommodates 332 portraits of military leaders of the Russian army during the Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The State Hermitage Museum (Государственный Эрмитаж) in St. ... Military Gallery Military Gallery (Russian: ) is a gallery of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ...

After the February Revolution in Russia, the Winter Palace was the headquarters of the Russian Provisional Government. The February Revolution (N.S.: March Revolution) of 1917 in Russia was the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. ... The Russian Provisional Government was formed in Petrograd after the deterioration of the Russian Empire and the abdication of the Tsars. ...

The assault of the Winter Palace by Bolshevik forces was the official milestone of the October Revolution. Bolsheviks (Russian: IPA , derived from bolshinstvo, majority) were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split apart from the Menshevik faction[1] at the Second Party Congress in 1903 and ultimately became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... Bolshevik (1920), by Boris Kustodiev. ...

See also

• The movie, Russian Ark, an innovative single shot walkthrough with period reenactments spanning three hundred years of court meetings, balls, and family life in this building.
• Palace Embankment and Palace Square - where the palace is situated
• Catherine Palace - the summer residence of Catherine the Great
• Hermitage Museum - the present use of the Winter Palace with the largest collection of art in the world
• Summer Palace - predecessor of the Winter Palace as the chief royal residence in St Petersburg
• Peterhof - the Tsar's summer residence outside St Petersburg
• Tsarskoye Selo - the Tsar's winter residence outside St Petersburg