Menshikov Palace, Saint Petersburg

Home of the first governor of the city, the Menshikov Palace was the first large stone building to be built in St Petersburg, and the only private city structure to have survived from the beginning of the 18th century.

Home of the first governor of the city, the Menshikov Palace was the first large stone building to be built in St Petersburg, and the only private city structure to have survived from the beginning of the 18th century. It now holds a vast collection of European and Russian art from the 18th century, as well as contemporary sculptures and paintings. Peter the Great gave the land on the banks of the Neva to Alexander Manshikov, his closest companion in the Russian court, in 1703. He built a wooden house which was quickly replaced with this three-storey yellow building and a garden decorated with lavish fountains and sculptures. It even had a jetty to welcome visitors arriving by boat. It was used by the Russian Tsar for many opulent formal events in the early 18th century because it was the grandest building in the city at the time.

Menshikov was arrested in 1727 and the palace was grabbed by the Office of Foreign Affairs, acting as a home to the First Cadet Corps, the most prestigious secondary school in Russia. In the 1880s, it was turned into a museum showing the history of education, but in 1967 the palace was restored to its former glory and opened as the present museum in 1981. You can explore the rooms and  admire the  artwork in the gallery, which is part of the original decor of the house where foreign deputies were greeted and balls were held.

Florstein (WikiPhotoSpace)/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Florstein (WikiPhotoSpace)/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

Opening Hours

Monday:
Closed
Tuesday:
10:30 - 17:00
Wednesday:
10:30 - 20:00
Thursday:
10:30 - 17:00
Friday:
10:30 - 20:00
Saturday:
10:30 - 17:00
Sunday:
10:30 - 17:00
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