The Summer Palace (russian: link=no, Ле́тний дворе́ц) is either of the two wooden Baroque palaces built by

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (russian: Франче́ско Бартоломе́о (Варфоломе́й Варфоломе́евич) Растре́лли; 1700 in Paris, Kingdom of France – 29 April 1771 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Emp ...

on Tsaritsa's Meadow behind the

Summer Garden The Summer Garden (russian: Ле́тний сад, ''Letniy sad'') is a historic public garden that occupies an eponymous island between the Neva, Fontanka, Moika, and the Swan Canal in downtown Saint Petersburg, Russia and shares its name w ...

in St. Petersburg. Neither building survives.

First Palace

It was in 1730 that Rastrelli designed the first wooden palace for

Empress Anna Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

. This was a one-storied structure, with 28 rooms, a spacious central hall, and a system of interior waterways. After

Elizaveta Petrovna Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

ascended the Russian throne in 1741, she commissioned Rastrelli to demolish the palace of her predecessor and build a "Venetian-style" residence for herself.

Second Palace

The new Summer Palace, completed in 1744, was the chief residence of

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...

in the Russian capital. It was a large and imposing mauve-walled edifice with 160 gilded rooms, adjacent church and a fountain cascade. A Hermitage

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

and an opera house were added to the compound in the 1750s. In 1762, Catherine the Great moved her court to the newly built

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...

, effectively sealing the fate of the older residence. A year after her death in 1796,

Emperor Paul Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...

(who had been born there in 1754) ordered the dilapidated palace to be demolished and replaced it with a new residence, St. Michael's Castle.

References

Summer Palace in Encyclopaedia of St. Petersburg
*Каталог Франческо Бартоломео Растрелли. – СПб: Лицей, 2000. *Шварц В.С. Архитектурный ансамбль Марсова поля. – Л: Искусство. Ленинградское отделение, 1989. {{Imperial palaces in Russia Palaces in Saint Petersburg Royal residences in Russia Baroque architecture in Saint Petersburg Houses completed in 1744 1744 establishments in the Russian Empire Demolished buildings and structures in Russia Buildings and structures demolished in 1797 af:Somerpaleis#Somerpaleise it:Palazzo d'Estate (San Pietroburgo)#Palazzi d'Estate pt:Palácio de Verão em São Petersburgo#Palácios de Verão