Oranienbaum Palace

Place Oranienbaum located on the Gulf of Finland is known since 1710 when Peter the Great gave this land to his friend and associate Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. Since that time construction of the Grand Palace and the park was started. Later Orienbaum became a city in 1780. And since 1948 its name was changed to Lomonosov.

The Grand Palace of Oranienbaum is the oldest building of the architectural complex. The best architects took part in its construction. The palace was built in the style of "Peter's baroque" and it is huge. Its front facing the sea is more than two hundred meters long.

Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov is known to be from the ordinary family, thus he spared no expense for decoration. Some contemporaries were saying that Oranienbaum Palace was even better than Petergof.

Besides the Grand Palace the Oranienbaum complex has two parks: formal Lower Park and landscape Upper Park.

According to the traditions of park and garden architecture of the XVIII century it was popular to make canals leading to the sea. There is a canal in adjacent Peterhof Palace, the same was digged in Oranienbaum. But nowadays this canal is almost vanished as a motorway and a railway appeared on its way to the sea.

After the death of Peter the Great, prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was exiled. Since that moment (year of 1727) the manor passed to the state and a naval hospital was set there. From 1743 Oranienbaum was the residence of future Emperor Peter III and from 1762 the manor was used by Empress Catherine the Great. Both monarchs added their buildings to the architectural complex.

Empress Catherine the Great built in Oranienbaum a so-called Personal Summer Cottage. Nowadays only the Chinese pavilion, a unique building in rococo style, and the Roller coaster pavilion remained. Mostly all of the premises remained with the original interiors.

Emperor Peter III built toy fortress Petershtadt, set up a park on the bank of the Karasta river. Nowadays only entrance gate and the palace of Peter III remained. It is a museum now.