Where does the name Anichkov come from? When Elizabeth signed a decree on the construction of the palace, there was a suburban settlement right next to the future palace, on the then boundary of the city. Among those who lodged there there were soldiers from the Admiralty Battalion under the secondment of the officer M. Anichkov.

The Anichkov Palace has quite a history. For over two centuries it was passed on as a gift: it was built in 1751-1753 by the order of Empress Elizabeth for her favorite Razoumovsky (and later passed on to Ivan Shuvalov, the new favorite) in the mid-eighteenth century, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great presented the palace to her lover, Grigory Potemkin; shortly thereafter Potemkin sold the palace - but the Empress purchased it from the new owner and presented it to Potemkin yet again! And yet in 1785 Potemkin sold it again - to the crown! In the early nineteenth century it became property of the Romanov family, and member of the royal family would receive this palace as a wedding gift. In the XX century, this palace was presented to Leningrad boys and girls. This building is amazing to us in that this is a genuine palace of the XVIII century, with little damage from World War II. On German maps the Anichkov palace was listed as “target 192” and the "Palace of young Bolsheviks" and marked for destruction. But destiny kept it alive.

Some outstanding Russian and foreign architects worked on this palace at one time or another, while the august owners for decades filled it with artwork. The names of the architects include M. Zemtsov, Rastrelli, I.Starov, Rossi, I. Monighetti and many others. One can study the history of St. Petersburg architecture here! Many Russian luminaries visitied this palace at the invitation of the hosts visited here: writes Sumarokov, Pushkin, Ivan Krylov, F. Dostoevsky; musicians Glinka and Balakirev; artist A. Bogolyubov. And it was here that the host of the Palace, Grand Duke Alexander, played music with the court orchestra - the prototype of a large hall Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1914, the palace witnessed the most magnificent wedding of the granddaughter of the Dowager Empress - Irina Romanova and her very rich husband Felix Yusupov, who would go down in history as a murderer of Grigory Rasputin. The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II spent his childhood in Anichkov Palace. After the February Revolution, the palace was nationalized and given to the Ministry of Food. After October 25, 1917 there opened here Museum of the city, with period rooms of the former owners of the Palace.

We recommend visiting the Anichkov Palace to those who are interested in the architecture of the middle of the XVIII century or history of the Romanovs; you can add this to your tour of the nearby attractions which include the Ostrovsky Square - Aleksandrinsky theater (the building itself and the theater), the National Library, the Basin mansion, the buildings of the Ministry of national Education, the Directorate of imperial Theatres (the Museum of Theatre and Music ), St. Petersburg municipal Credit Society, the Russian Musical Society , the monument to Catherine ΙΙ, Catherine garden, Anichkov Palace garden and pavilions in this garden. In addition, next to the Anichkov Palace are Anichkov Bridge, Fontanka, Nevsky Prospect, Rossi Street, Grand Arcade, Vorontsov Palace, Passage House, Shuvalov House, and the Eliseev House.

 Адрес: Nevskiy prospekt 49/2., St. Petersburg, Russia
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