Alexander Palace. The last home of the last Tzar

The Alexander Palace (New Tsarskoselsky) was presented as a gift by Catherine II to her eldest grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I, on the occasion of his marriage to Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alexeevna. According to the idea of the sovereign grandmother the palace had to be similar to the château at Ferney, where the great thinker of that time – Voltaire – lived. But in 1792 the architect G. Quarenghi presented another project to the Empress and could convinced her of its advantage. The palace construction was completed in May of 1796, and in June the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, his spouse and his court moved into the New facade design (click to enlarge)The New Palace in the classical style is considered to be the pearl among the creations of Quarenghi and one of the main masterpieces in the world. The art-critic wrote that “there are palaces bigger and more regal, but there is no palace which architecture is more beautiful”. In the center of the main northern faç