Palace Square, St. Petersburg

The Palace Square in St. Petersburg strikes with its magnificence and huge scale. It is one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles in the world and a popular place among tourists. Called the "Heart of the Northern Capital of Russia", Palace Square was created in the second half of the 19th century and its name comes from the Winter Palace, whose southern facade overlooks the square. The Palace Square acquired this look thanks to the talented architect Carlo Rossi, who developed a project for a single architectural ensemble celebrating the victory of the Russian army in 1812. His idea was to combine existing and new buildings into one. It is here that the glamorous grandeur of the imperial city in its original form is preserved.
Here again, in Palace Square, the event takes place, which determines the fate of the last Russian ruler in 1905. Due to the massacre of numerous civilians by the tsarist army, these few days of suppression of the revolt are known as Bloody Sunday. In October 1917, the Bolsheviks marched through Palace Square before storming the Winter Palace and overthrowing Kerensky's government. Today, Palace Square is an important tourist and shopping center, which is always lively. About 35,000 people can gather in the square for celebrations.
The Alexander Column is located in the center of Palace Square. Created on the occasion of Russia's victory over Napoleon, the height of the column from the pedestal to the top is 47.5 m. The monument was erected in honor of Alexander I, brother of Nicholas I in 1830 and was designed by Auguste de Montferrand. Made of monolithic granite block, the column weighs 650 tons and stands on the pedestal only by its weight, without any other attachment. The operation to lift it lasts only 1 hour and 45 minutes, involving 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers using a complex system of violins and ropes. The column is crowned with an angel trampling a snake. Allegorically, this is an image of Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812.
The most beautiful building on the Palace Square is the Winter Palace, which occupies an area of ​​9 ha. With about a thousand rooms, this is the tallest building in St. Petersburg at the time. The genius Rossi managed to combine the composition Winter Palace and the strict building of the General Staff. The huge arched building with a length of 580 m, occupies the eastern part of the square and was built between 1819 and 1829. Giovanni Rossi has created a spectacular ensemble of two buildings connected by a monumental arch. Above it is a 10-meter bronze statue of the goddess of victory Nike, who rides a chariot with six horses. The work is the work of sculptures Vasily Demut-Malinovski and Stepan Pimenov and is a monument to the victory over Napoleon.
The Guards Corps Headquarters building is located on the left side of the General Staff. Designed by Alexander Bryulov and built between 1837 and 1843, this modest building is remarkable for just that. As if not drawing attention to itself, the Guards Corps building takes a look at the other architectural masterpieces on Palace Square.