Marble Palace St Petersburg Staircase

If this were any other city the marble palace would be a prominent draw in its own right however in st petersburg it is simply overshadowed by all the other competing palaces.

Marble palace st petersburg staircase. The palace was designed by architect antonio rinaldi whose portrait can be found on a marble bas relief installed on a sidewall of the main staircase at the palace s entrance. It remained the st. Marble palace is the most expensive in st petersburg. The principal or jordan staircase of the winter palace st petersburg is so called because on the feast of the epiphany the tsar descended this imperial staircase in state for the ceremony of the blessing of the waters of the neva river a celebration of christ s baptism in the jordan river the staircase is one of the few parts of the palace retaining the original 18th century style.

The portrait s existence resulted from the request by the original owner of the palace count orlov who wanted to express his admiration for the talent of the. Only the main staircase and the marble hall survived that refacing and still retain the refined stucco work and elaborate marble pattern of rinaldi s original decor. First the round three story central chamber. Catherine ii built it as a parting gift to her lover count grigory orlov who organized the coup and her accession to the throne.

In 1843 grand duke konstantin nikolayevich ordered major remodelling of the marble palace by the architect alexander briullov who left only the marble hall and the grand staircase intact in their original form. Whether you like the exhibits or not it is well worth the admission price to walk up the immense central staircase and take in the incredible architecture. The rotunda and the palace grounds. We now enter perhaps the most spectacular space in the winter palace and climb the jordan staircase a sweeping white marble baroque masterpiece.

It was built in 1768 1785 under the order of catherine ii who intended to present it to her favorite grigory orlov. It was here that the imperial family watched the epiphany ceremony of baptism in the river neva celebrating christ s baptism in the jordan. The palace is called marble thanks to the material used in construction. Petersburg residence of junior members of the imperial family until the october revolution.

Marble palace is one of the most recognized buildings in st petersburg constructed in the 18th century.