Oranienbaum, Russia

Oranienbaum (Russian: Ораниенба́ум) is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city center are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In 1707, four years after he founded Saint Petersburg, Peter the Great gave the grounds near the seaside to his right-hand man, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov. Menshikov commissioned the architects Giovanni Mario Fontana and Gottfried Schädel, who built his residence, the Grand Menshikov Palace from 1710 to 1727 (not to be confused with Menshikov Palace in Saint Petersburg, built by the same architects around the same time). The central part of the Palace is connected by two galleries with the two domed Japanese and Church Pavilions. The Lower Garden, decorated with fountains and sculptures, and the Upper Garden were laid out at the same time. The Palace is located near the Lower Park, whose composite axis is a channel leading to the sea. This channel is an imitation of one designed by Peter himself at his nearby residence of Peterhof.

Menshikov was deposed shortly after Peter's death, and died in exile, and the palace passed out of his family. In 1743, Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch, the heir of Empress Elizabeth (the future Emperor Peter III). Over the last ten years of Elizabeth's reign, Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli reconstructed the Grand Palace, adding beauty to its decor.

From 1756 to 1762, the architect Antonio Rinaldi built the Petrstadt Fortress ensemble on the bank of the Karost River for Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch. In 1762 Empress Catherine II ordered the construction of the suburb residence called "My Own Countryside House". For that purpose Rinaldi built the Chinese Palace (1762–1768), a mix of Baroque architecture, Classicism and Chinese motifs, the Katalnaya Gorka (roller coaster) Pavilion (1762–1774), a cupola pavilion, and the Gates of Honor with the tower crowned by a spire.

The Upper Park was laid out from 1750 to 1770.

External links

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Nikolajs Košeļevs
18 August 2017
Good to walk, park is more of a forest park, but they are working on restoring it
Fernando T.
27 February 2016
Almost no foreign tourists. Only recently restored.
Elena Zolotova
16 July 2014
http://www.oranienbaum.org/
Полина Махмудова
Чудесное место, большой ухоженный парк, восстанавливавшиеся трудами талантливых архитекторов-историков дворцы и даже прокат велосипедов! Не говоря уже о живописном пруде с лодочками и лебедями ????????????
Natalya Skripinskaya
5 October 2014
Прекрасный императорский пейзажный парк! Спокойно, благородно, невероятно красиво, много прекрасной натуры для фотосъемок. Людей меньше, чем в Петергофе, нет таких толп туристов- тише и больше воздуха
Натали Шмыкова
3 November 2014
Стоит туда съездить в теплую погоду и прогуляться по парку. Территория очень большая и есть что посмотреть. Посетите экскурсию в Меньщиковском дворце. Познавательно и интересно.????
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A121, 50, Lomonosov, Saint Petersburg, Russia Get directions
Fri Noon–5:00 PM
Sat-Sun 11:00 AM–8:00 PM
Mon 1:00 PM–6:00 PM
Tue 2:00 PM–4:00 PM
Wed 2:00 PM–5:00 PM

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