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-His Majesty's Own Dacha-

The renovations of the Dacha have been completed, and Tsar Ivan VII will be the first monarch since Nicholas II to visit this once destroyed building.

Being a member of the local newspaper, our team on Fontanka’s City Life department has been invited to an exclusive tour with the Chamberlain of the Ministry of the Imperial Court as he shows off the brand-new interior decorations and furnishing.

the dacha is a 2-story house on a raised base with yellow exterior and white stucco accents on the window treatments and columns, capped by a green patinaed roof.

The foyer featured stained beech wood boiserie panels and octagonal marble tiles. There is a rococo grandfather clock which seems to be a hint of the styles to come in the anteceding rooms.

The dining room is the first room we shuffled through. The room was spacious and large enough to accommodate quite a few people if the need arises. The large round table draped in cloth in the center of the room seemed smaller than it was! Two black marble fireplaces flanked the door from the foyer. The door across the room leads to the Blue Room and the Yellow Room.

The Blue Room is decorated in blue satin jacquard with white wood panels at the base. There are dark stained wood furniture with blue fabric and gold gilding. This room will be used as a sitting room and office for the Heir to use. The Yellow Room features stunning bright yellow jacquard broadcloth and lined with gold and white panels. The chairs and chaise longue feature a beautiful yellow floral embroidery. The Aubusson carpet displays a brilliant motif that enhances the colour of the room. The addition of instruments such as a harp, a xylophone, and an 18th century wood marquetry piano completed the conversion of this room into a music room.

Back across the dining room is the Alexander II Cabinet. A favourite of Alexander II this room was covered in carved dark wood panels. The furniture was dark wood with blue floral patterns. This room will serve as the Tsar's office. Thru the small door is a small staircase called Alexander's Ladder which gives access to the second and third floors of the dacha. on the other side of this small room is the Tsar's Dressing Room.

This small room has white French boiserie panels, red upholstered furnishings and a large French chifforobe with marquetry inlays and gilding. The door next to it led to the former Tsar's Valet Room but now is home to a water closet for the Tsar.

This room once housed the Tsar's valet but has been converted to a private water closet for the Tsar. Behind me is a small door that leads to a room with a shower and a toilet. The door on the right leads to the foyer and can be seen in the previous foyer photo as the door under the stairs. We will continue the tour and head to the second floor.

The second-floor landing was the same boiserie we saw in the foyer only now painted in a muted yellow with white accents. A gold rococo pendule hangs on the wall and there are orange satin stools and drapes. A bronze statue of the Idolino of Pesaro stands on an arabescato marble pedestal. The ceiling decorated in stucco moulure trim and is painted with gold leaf. The large door takes us to the Living Room and the smaller door takes us to the Library.

The spacious room was styled in the rococo taste with gold gilt French boiserie and gilt furniture with white fabric and floral embroidery. The door across the room leads to the Imperial Bedroom.

Immediately you a struck with the bold imperial purple colour that comprises this room! The striped fabric design is everywhere in this room, and I personally delight in the use of purple. What better way for our Tsar to sleep than surrounded with this regal colour? The small door to the left of the bed leads to a water closet, while the door on the right of the bed leads to her Majesty's Bathroom.

Blue and white moiré silk lines the walls with gold framing and gold and white panels. There are large mirrors on either side of the room with shelves decorated with small Sèvres porcelain vases and urns. A dressing table on one end of the room and a sofa on the other. The furniture features neo-classical motifs and flora embroidery. At the end of the room is a large carved marble bathtub set in an alcove.

across the Living Room we arrive at Her Majesty's Cabinet. The walls are paneled wood with painted medallions. The neo-classical furniture is upholstered in green embroidered fabric. There is a desk in one corner and a fireplace in the other. The small door leads to another set of service staircases that lead to the basement and up to the attics. This is used by the servants mostly to get around unseen. across from the service stairs is the Library.

red striped wallpaper with white panels lined the room. The furniture was upholstered in the same red striped fabric. The walls filled with 18th century paintings. The small door leads back to the second-floor landing, but we will double back to the service staircase take it to the attic floor and go to Her Majesty's dressing room.

The largest room on the attic floor, this room was used to store the Tsarina’s clothes and as a place where sewing can be done by her Majesty’s chambermaid. The room was simply dressed with modest pictures covering the wood paneled walls. two large armoires flanked an alcove where a table was set up with a sewing machine.

At the completion of our tour, we were allowed to see the garden park at the rear of the dacha.

(Special thanks to @lusitansims who goes by PalaceSims in gallery for the shell build of this beautiful piece of Russian history. and a special thanks to all the creators who work tirelessly for us to be able to furnish and style our worlds. @stereo-91 @thejim07 @cliffou29 @themarblemortal @anachrosims @felixandresims @strangestorytellersims @simmerofthedawn @irinaseverinka @itskingfalcon and countless others <3

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-The Private Apartments of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna-

The rooms occupied by Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrova were located along the western wing and southwestern quadrangle of the palace. Alexander II had moved into these rooms as Tsarevitch and when he ascended the throne in 1855 he continued to occupy these rooms. They are now occupied by Ivan VII the son of Alexei the Beloved. Tsar Alexei was the sole surviving heir following the brutal execution of his father Nicholas II in 1918.

Room 174- The Billiard Room of Alexander II

This room was reserved for Alexander II and his adjutants. They could spend time in here having cigars and brandy while playing some games of billiards. The door that is blocked gave access to the Saltykov Staircase.

Room 173- The Anteroom of Alexander II Apartments

This room served as a waiting room for Alexander where officials could queue before entering the following rooms where Alexander met with his ministers. The door on the right led to a smaller vestibule that led out into the Dark Corridor, the main artery for the western wing of the Winter Palace.

Room 172- The Council Room of Emperor Alexander I

Named after Tsar Alexander I, this room was where the Tsars would meet with their cabinet of ministers to discuss the state of the empire. The life-sized portrait of Alexander I was destroyed during the February Revolution in 1917. It has been replaced with a life-sized portrait of Tsar Alexander III, the grandfather of current Tsar Ivan VII.

Room 171- The Study of Emperor Alexander II

Centered in the middle of the western wing is the Study where the Tsars spent most of their days. Dispatches were deposited into a box on the Tsar's desk daily and the work of maintaining the empire never ceased. This room was also where Alexander II died following his assassination attempt along the canal in St. Petersburg.

Room 170- The Valet Room of Emperor Alexander II

This room was used to store all of the Imperial uniforms for the Tsar. The ceiling was lowered to give a more intimate space as dressing the sovereign was an intimate act for a valet. Dolls under glass bell jars and portraits of soldiers in uniform helped these valets to ensure that the Tsar was dressed correctly for each uniform. The door in the center led to a smaller vestibule that led out into the Dark Corridor.

Room 169- The Small Library of Emperor Alexander II

This was 1 of 3 libraries that Alexander had within the palace. The other two, The Military Library, and The Large Library were located across the Dark Corridor in rooms 162 and 163 respectively. This one served as his personal library where the emperor could relax.

The Rooms of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

Room 168- The Dressing Room of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

This was the private dressing room of Empress Maria with a door, that cannot be seen, to the left of the fireplace that led to the Small Feild Marshal’s Hall. The door on the right of the picture led into the bathroom of the Empress.

Room 945- The Bathroom of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

A simply spectacular look at an intimate space reserved for ladies-in-waiting and chambermaids. The tub was carved from a single block of marble. A fireplace and settee made this area incredibly comfortable.

Room 307- The Bedchamber of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

The bedchamber of the Empress was uniquely positions near the quadrangle which allowed for an extra set of windows allowing for more light to enter the room. The walls were covered in blue damask jacquard. Gold trimmed the vaulted ceilings. The bed was positioned near the wall and was covered by gold rails and curtains. We can see one of the chambermaids crossing the room taking freshly cut flowers in a vase to the next room. Let's follow her.

Room 306- The Boudoir of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

This room went through a change in the 1860s following the failing health of her majesty Empress Maria. The blue boudoir was transformed into the red boudoir in an extravagant rococo style. red silk velour framed by elegant boiserie in the French style. The Chambermaid has informed me that the Empress would be arriving soon which is why she has exchanged the flowers for fresh ones in this room. We must hurry with our tour.

Room 305- The Study of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

This room also went through at least 2 renovations during Empress Maria’s occupancy. The first iteration was the Raspberry study when the empress was married to the heir apparent and had not yet ascended the throne. The second iteration was the renovated study. During the last years of her life the empress would complain of the emperor’s mistress and his illegitimate children who had rooms directly above this study.

Room 304- The Gold Drawing Room

This was the Empresses formal reception room that connected with the White Hall. The entire room was covered in gold leaf paneling. A set of Doors along the right wall led to the Green Dining Room where the empress and her family had private dinners. The alcoves of the windows had chairs and tables where guests could look down onto the private gardens of the Winter Palace.

Room 289- The White Hall

The White Hall of the Winter Palace was designed by the architect Alexander Briullov to commemorate the marriage of the Tsarevich to Maria of Hesse in 1841.The effect of the monochrome hall is also based on the combination of the differently shaped surfaces of the polished marble and the whitewashed stucco decorations. The relief ornamentation, enclosed in geometric frames, also covers the lunettes and the vaults of the room. We can see the Empress and her retinue as they go into the Gold Drawing Room.

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-The 4th Reserve Apartment of the Winter Palace-

The 4th Reserve Apartment of the Winter Palace was one of several lavish residential suites created within the imperial palace for members of the Romanov court and distinguished guests. Located on the ground / 1st floor of the northwestern risalit within the immense palace complex overlooking the Neva River, the apartment consisted of rooms 12-16 on the floor plan with room 11 acting as an access corridor.

These rooms were historically occupied by the daughters of the Tsars including Grand Duchesses Maria Nikolaevna, Olga Nikolaevna, and Alexandra Nikolaevna, daughters of Tsar Nicholas I. Following the catastrophic palace fire of 1837, many of the interiors were redesigned and richly redecorated in the fashionable historic styles of the mid-19th century, blending Russian imperial grandeur with intimate aristocratic comfort.

Room 11- A corridor

This corridor gave access to the 4th Reserved Apartment and other service rooms. On the left side were the rooms given to the men who married women who lived in this apartment. We will explore these in due course but for now we will focus on just the women's section of this apartment.

Room 12- The Gothic Drawing Room

The room feels almost cathedral-like. Massive clustered columns rise into delicate ribbed vaults, creating arcades across the ceiling and dividing the space into elegant aisles. The pale stone-colored walls and vaulting are covered with lace-like Gothic ornamentation, while crimson draperies and deep red upholstery provide dramatic contrast. White marble statues stand in niches between the columns, and gilded chandeliers hang low from the vaulted ceiling, filling the room with warm light. The furniture itself echoed the Gothic theme, especially the pointed-arch backs of the chairs. Contemporary descriptions praised the room for its “unusual simplicity and extraordinary taste".

Room 13- The Cupid Drawing Room

The Cupid Drawing Room, also known as the Drawing Room in Rococo Style with Cupids, was one of the most ornate salons in the Winter Palace. Designed in the revived Rococo style popular in 19th-century Russia, the room was inspired by the elegance of 18th-century French aristocratic interiors. Its vaulted ceiling was covered in delicate white-and-gold stucco ornament, pale blue decorative panels, and playful cherub figures that gave the room its name. The furniture is upholstered in floral silks and pastel fabrics, while draped curtains soften the tall windows. Marble statues and tropical plants were arranged throughout the room, creating the effect of a luxurious private salon. Massive gilded mirrors and crystal chandeliers reflected candlelight throughout the space, creating a warm, shimmering atmosphere.

Room 14- The Corner Room

Unlike the lighter Rococo salons nearby, this room was dominated by deep crimson fabrics that covered the walls, draperies, and upholstered furniture, creating a warm and theatrical atmosphere. Large arched windows framed with heavy red curtains filled the room with soft daylight, while gilded mirrors, chandeliers, and carved furniture added brilliant flashes of gold and polished walnut throughout the interior.

The room combined luxury with comfort rather than formal ceremony. Small tables, upholstered chairs, portrait miniatures, marble sculpture, and decorative plants gave it the feeling of a private aristocratic salon meant for conversation and quiet gatherings. The ceiling retained elegant Rococo ornamentation with delicate gilded scrollwork and painted medallions, while the richly patterned carpet unified the space in deep jewel tones.

Room 15- The Bedroom

The room’s most striking feature is the deep cobalt blue fabric that wraps continuously around the walls, valances, and heavily tufted furniture suite. This intense, plush blue is brilliantly contrasted by heavy, elaborate wood carvings tracing the furniture frames, gilt mirrors, and wall borders. Grounding the space is a densely woven floral carpet in shades of burnt orange, red, and brown, while a magnificent gold-and-crystal chandelier hangs from the center of the room, casting light across the luxurious textures below.

Architecturally, the space is divided by monumental faux-marble columns painted in warm ochre tones that frame a massive wall of blue drapery. On either side of this central curtain, arched entryways with swept-back drapery lead into private, recessed alcoves meant to sequester the bed itself from the main sitting area, which is furnished with a matching parlor sofa, chaise longue, and an ornate white marble fireplace. Standing in sharp contrast to the heavy, dark walls is the airy vault above. The ceiling features intricate, pastel stuccowork in mint green, cream, and pale blue, adorned with painted medallions and frescoes of floating cherubs and mythological figures that elevate the room with a sense of whimsical lightness.

Room 16- The Boudoir/Dressing Room

The Boudoir/Dressing Room of the 4th Reserved Apartment is designed to look like a soft, cocoon-like fabric tent. The defining architectural feature is the ceiling, which is entirely upholstered in bright rose-crimson fabric gathered at a central apex to mimic the interior of a grand royal canopy. Below it, the walls are completely covered in diamond-quilted, tufted pink silk, bordered by an intricate lattice of hand-woven fringe and tassels that creates a soft, faux-architectural cornice. Grounding this intense, monochromatic pink palette is a densely patterned floral carpet woven with green leaves and multi-colored blossoms, evoking a vibrant garden floor beneath a royal tent.

The room is arranged with intimate, functional groupings of ultra-plush, flounced furniture characterized by vertical channeling and pleated skirts that completely conceal the chair legs. Positioned directly in front of the large window to catch the natural light is the dressing table, draped in ruffled pink fabric and crowded with silver, crystal, and porcelain vanity sets centered around a gothic-arched triptych mirror. Along the adjacent wall, a dark marble fireplace with gilded bronze inserts supports an elaborate mantle clock and towering candelabras, while a large indoor planter bursting with green foliage and a marble sculpture sits nearby. Illuminating the entire scene from the center of the tented ceiling is a whimsical, Rococo-inspired chandelier adorned with colorful porcelain flowers and painted birds, completing the room's deeply feminine, fairytale aesthetic.

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The 4th Reserve Apartment of the Winter Palace

Today is an exciting day as the renovations are now complete of the 4th Reserve Apartment. These rooms have been undergoing extensive renovations to bring them back to their Imperial origins. The rooms were designed for the daughters of Tsar Nicholas I and their last occupants were the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia.

Fontanka's City Life department has been given an exclusive tour to disseminate images of their splendor across the Empire.

We enter the palace thru the Neva side entrance and made our way to the corridor dedicated to the new suite. We were greeted by our hostess, the Countess Golitsyn, maid of honour to the Imperial Household. She was accompanied by Count Golitsyn, her husband, her assistant and bodyguard, as well as the butler and maid for the apartment.

After an exchange of pleasantries, we were ushered into the first room named, The Gothic Drawing Room. This room had a raised dais where the fireplace now stands that displayed a gigantic fossil from the earliest Eurasian Artefacts exhibit when the palace had been the State Hermitage Museum. All of these rooms had to be converted back to their original designs which required relocating all of the exhibit items in the newly constructed Romanov Centre of Imperial Art Collection.

The next room is the Cupid Drawing Room, tastefully decorated in a Rococo style. This room was magnificently lit up, and light seemed to bounce from one mirror to the others. I asked Countess Golitsyn for whom these new rooms would be given to and was told that the Grand Duchess Ekaterina, 5 years old, would settle in these rooms once she reached her age of maturity around 14 years old. Until then these rooms will be used for foreign dignitaries and distinguished guests who stay at the palace.

As I passed thru to the next room aptly called, the Corner Room, this room was to be a study and informal drawing room where the Grand Duchess will be able to relax with her ladies-in-waiting. Being a corner room this allowed for an extra set of windows allowing for more light.

The bedroom was next and seeing this sparsely decorated room made me think how devoid it was from any soul or character. I sure can't wait for Her Imperial Highness to grow up and fill these rooms with her own touch of personality. There was a maid in this room who was making sure that everything in the alcove behind the curtain was in order.

The final room in this suite was the Boudoir/ Dressing Room. This room was bursting in a pale blush of pink. The intimate space made one feel feminine and comfortable. I personally loved the latticed boiserie painted in a fiery pink, darker than the rest of the pink delights in this room. Personally, I thought this room was nicely assembled and I can't wait for Her Imperial Highness to make these rooms her own.

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@themarblemortal looking absolutely brilliant 🤩 thank you so much!

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-The 2nd Reserve Apartment of the Imperial Winter Palace-

The 2nd Reserve Apartment of the Winter Palace is an historic suite of private rooms loaded with imperial history. Located on the second floor (the piano nobile) of the southeast wing (risalit), the windows of this apartment look out onto Palace Square and Millionnaya Street.

Long before it was designated as a "reserve" or "spare" apartment, this area housed the primary, deeply personal spaces of Russia's rulers. In the 18th Century it originally served as the private apartments of Peter III, Catherine the Great, and later Paul I.

Following the death of Tsar Paul I, the rooms were designated for high-ranking visiting royals and were frequently called the "Prussian-Royal Rooms" due to the close family ties between the Romanovs and the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty.

After the catastrophic Winter Palace fire of 1837, the palace layout was reorganized. By 1870, this specific suite of rooms officially became known as the 2nd Reserve Apartment, a turn-key luxury apartment preserved for visiting dignitaries and extended family. In the early 1850s the young sons of the future Tsar Alexander II lived here temporarily.

Room 281- The Reception Room

The Reception Room is defined by elegant groin vaults, decorative relief arches and cream-colored walls articulated by white Corinthian pilasters and dark green marble columns. Symmetrical blind arcades and grand doorways with sculpted bas-relief overdoors frame a highly polished geometric parquet floor. Used mainly to receive visitors, it could also be used as a space for formal gatherings. The room features uniform gold-framed chairs upholstered in vibrant red velvet arranged along the perimeter, matching dark wood console tables, and large windows dressed in crimson valances and sheer white draperies. Classical multi-burner wall sconces and a prominent gilded clock on a mantelpiece complete the stately balanced interior.

Room 280- The Dining Room

The room blends neoclassical architecture with delicate ornamentation, featuring a coved ceiling decorated with soft floral garlands, swags, and medallions in pale pinks, greens, and golds. A deep white plaster frieze separates the ceiling from the muted cream walls which serve as a backdrop for gilded-frame landscape and maritime paintings. Centered beneath a gilded-brass and dark metal chandelier suspended by a long fabric-wrapped cord sits a wooden dining table draped in a fringed patterned red-and-gold cloth. Emphasizing the room's multi-functional design, a large set of Biedermeier-style dark wood chairs with curved backs line the perimeter of the diagonal lattice-pattern parquet floor. The room is completed by a white marble fireplace topped with a tall gilded mirror, candelabras, and a decorative clock, while a window on the right is dressed in shimmering white sheer curtains and a soft sage-green valance. Unseen in this watercolour is a door where a symmetrical window arch should be. This door led to a room that was built above the portico entrance called The Commandant's Entrance.

The Room with a Bay Window

Pictured above, the room with a bay window sat just above the portico to the entrance of the southeastern risalit. This room boasts a striking architectural verticality centered around a monumental bay window that frames a clear view of Palace Square and the General Staff Building. The narrow room features a dramatic, highly decorated groin-vaulted ceiling adorned with Renaissance Revival frescoes of soft green panels, intricate floral borders, and hanging flower basket motifs. Framing the deep window alcove are soaring, floor-to-ceiling sheer white draperies topped by an ornate heavily gilded valance that matches the gold frames of the flanking wall-inset mirrors. Placed as a dramatic focal point in the middle of the polished diagonal-lattice parquet floor stands a large red porphyry ornamental vase on a tall dark green marble pedestal. The room's perimeter is tailored for intimate lounging, featuring low built-in wall daises with matching Biedermeier-style chairs upholstered in vibrant teal velvet, balanced by a finely carved white marble fireplace mantelpiece topped with a glass-domed clock and classical golden urns.

Room 279- Drawing Room

The magnificent space is defined by an elegant barrel-vaulted ceiling adorned with gold and ochre Renaissance Revival scrollwork, sitting above intense crimson walls and a deep, white relief frieze. The room’s cohesive, opulent atmosphere is anchored by a thick red carpet with pink floral motifs and large windows dressed in heavy crimson valances and white patterned draperies. Multiple intimate seating arrangements feature carved Rococo Revival chairs, red-tufted sofas, and a central circular table draped in a fringed red cloth beneath a multi-tiered gilded bronze chandelier. A massive gold-framed historical painting dominates the back wall beside an open enfilade doorway, while a white marble fireplace mantelpiece on the left and large, ornate porcelain urns on tall plinths along the right wall complete the regal interior.

Room 278- The Small Cabinet

The Small Cabinet is a striking and intimate workspace defined by a vibrant cerulean blue and gold color palette. The room’s architecture features a soaring, octagonal domed ceiling adorned with an ornate Renaissance Revival border of delicate floral arabesques and a central painted laurel wreath. Suspended from the center of the dome by a remarkably long blue fabric-sheathed cord is a multi-burner bronze and glass chandelier. The vivid blue walls are structured by thin gold molding lines and serve as a backdrop for gold-framed paintings hanging from high picture rails. A large green baize topped mahogany executive desk stands prominently in the foreground near the large heavily draped window. The rest of the space is arranged with elegant Biedermeier and Rococo Revival mahogany furniture, including a plush tufted sofa, matching chairs, a wooden fire screen, and a white-paneled marble fireplace mantel topped with gilded candelabras. A patterned carpet with red and blue circular motifs anchors the room.

Room 277- The Bedroom

The room’s most defining architectural feature is its high barrel-vaulted ceiling which is elaborately divided into a grid of faux-coffered octagonal panels, each delicately painted with individual floral wreaths, bouquets, starbursts, and birds. Below a deep white plaster cornice the walls are covered in a gold-and-ochre fabric or wallpaper featuring a dense diamond-lattice patterned motif. An expansive deep archway built into the back wall creates an alcove for the bed chamber, cleverly hidden from view by heavy deep green velvet privacy curtains. This green theme is echoed throughout the room’s furnishings, including the plush gold-trimmed Rococo Revival armchairs and side chairs, as well as the matching green textile panel on a decorative fireplace screen. A multi-burner gilded bronze chandelier hangs low from a long green fabric-sheathed cord illuminating a cozy seating arrangement centered around a small table, a white marble statue on a pedestal, and a white marble fireplace mantelpiece topped with elaborate golden candelabras and a clock.

Room 276- The Study

The room is defined by an elegant groin-vaulted ceiling adorned with delicate cream, gold, and white scrollwork and faint bas-relief vignettes of classical figures and geometric borders. Below a heavily detailed white plaster relief frieze, the walls are covered in a pale diamond-lattice patterned wallpaper featuring repeating floral crest motifs. Suspended from the center of the vaults by a long dark green fabric-sheathed cord hangs a multi-burner gilded brass chandelier with frosted glass globes. Furnished predominantly in rich dark mahogany, the room is anchored on the left by a substantial executive writing desk topped with green baize and paired with a high-backed upholstered chair near a large window dressed in heavy crimson valances and sheer white curtains. The right side of the room features a cozy secondary sitting area with a high-backed wooden bench and matching armchairs upholstered in dark green fabric arranged around a small tea table. This arrangement sits adjacent to a white marble fireplace mantelpiece stepped with a tiered display of a grand gilded clock and ornamental classical urns, while a small low doorway can be seen on the far right of the watercolour. This led to the Large Cabinet and unfortunately there are no existing artistic references for this room. The remaining rooms (274-272) were reserved for valets, attendants, and service rooms.

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His Majesty’s Own Dacha, Peterhof Palace grounds

“Own Dacha” (Собственная дача, Sobstvennaya Dacha) at Peterhof, is one of the more intimate imperial residences in the Lower Park ensemble. Set slightly apart from the ceremonial axis of Peterhof, It’s scale and layout were deliberately domestic compared with the Grand Palace. The building consists of a small two-story palace-dacha, not a farm dacha in the modern sense but a private retreat for the reigning monarch and immediate family.

Built between 1727–1731 by Mikhail Zemtsov in the Late Petrine / early Elizabethan Baroque style, the exterior is highlighted by pale yellow façades with white stucco ornament and a green roof. The building’s compact, rectangular plan and balanced elevations reflect its purpose as a residential pavilion, not a ceremonial palace.

Having made herself an empress, Elizabeth gave the property the name "Her Own Dacha". Following Elizabeth’s death and the death of Peter III, Catherine the Great acquired the dacha. The building was dilapidated and unused by Catherine and in the 1770s the appearance of the dacha was restored and changed: many buildings were demolished, and the main facade was reconstructed. In 1843 Nicholas I gave the dacha to the heir Prince Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Emperor Alexander II. Alexander II spent his honeymoon here and frequently used the dacha as an intimate space that was diametrically different than life at the Grand Palace.

During World War II, the dacha was destroyed during bombing raids of Leningrad. In the 1960s the façades of the dacha were rebuilt but the interiors were not restored.

In 1980, the facades of the building were restored again and a project for further work to restore the park ensemble was developed. However, in the post-Soviet period, the building was abandoned. In 2014, architectural restoration and restoration works began inside the dacha.

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-The Private Apartments of the Imperial Family-

Following the fire of 1837 the Winter Palace was rebuilt under the supervision of architects Vasily Stasov and Alexander Bruillov with Tsar Nicholas I setting the ambitious goal of restoration in 15 months. Stasov oversaw the restoration of the facades and parade halls, aiming to recreate the palace's original appearance. Bruillov was responsible for the interiors, including new designs in more contemporary styles.

We will explore the northwestern most section of the Winter Palace located on the map above. With the exception of room 155, these rooms constituted the suite of rooms given to Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas I.

Room 155- The Arabian Hall

This room served as the room from which imperial processions through the state rooms began. The double doors were designed to be on a straight axis through the principal state rooms and ultimately the Jordan Staircase, forming an enfilade. Thus, it was here the Romanov family often assembled, in private, before state receptions and occasions.

Room 188- The Pompeian Dining Room

The Small (or Pompeian) Dining Room was created by Alexander Briullov after the 1837 fire reflecting the impressions that the architect took away from a visit to the excavations at Pompeii. The decoration of the walls imitated the frescoes found in the famous Ancient Roman city that perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Dining chairs of the Greek klismos type were formally ranged around the walls, and dining tables were brought in and removed as needed.

Room 189- The Malachite Room

The Malachite Room served as the state drawing-room of the Empress. The unique malachite decoration of the room and many of its furnishings were made in the "Russian mosaic" technique. The large malachite vase and furniture produced to designs by Auguste Montferrand were among the furnishings of the Jasper Reception Room that perished in the 1837 fire. It was in the Malachite Drawing Room that Romanov brides were traditionally robed before walking in procession through the state rooms to the palace's Grand Church for their weddings.

Room 187- The White Drawing-Room

Part of the suite of rooms reserved for the private use of the Empress. They form an enfilade which culminates in the Malachite Drawing Room, which served as the Empress' State Drawing Room, where she gave audiences and conducted her official business.

Room 186- The Large Drawing-Room

This room was mostly used by the Empress and her ladies-in-waiting. The walls were lined with silk jacquard in a bright crimson colour. The furniture was made of the same fabric with gold fringes lining the bottoms of the seats. Plants and personal items were plenty in this room highlighting the personal nature of this safe space for the Empress.

Room 185- The Empress' Study

This room was also lined with the same crimson silk jacquard from the previous room. being a corner room, it had 4 windows which allowed for much natural light to shine through. A corner of the room featured plants and was sectioned off with a grill that had ivy growing on it.

Room 184- The Empress' Bedroom

Like most monarchs, the Tsar and Tsarina had separate bedrooms. This room was decorated in a dark blue damask with a gold and marble trim. The room was separated by curtains into 2 areas, the bedroom and the living room. A door linked the bedroom to the maid-on-duty's room.

Room 183- The Empress' Dressing Room

The door next to the armoire connected this room to a bathroom that was designed in an Ottoman style.

Room 182- The Empress' Budoir

Room 181- The Empress' Winter Garden

This was a private space adorned with plants, ivy, and neoclassical-style lanterns. The stairs led to a mezzanine area which featured alcoves with sofas and a fountain. To the back of the space was a folly in the shape of a Roman lararium or prayer altar featured in Roman villas.