The Winter Palace Garden is a small public square in the center of St. Petersburg.
The Winter Palace Garden is adjacent to the western facade of the Winter Palace (now the State Hermitage Museum) and is located between Palace Square, Palace Passage (Admiralty building) and Palace Embankment (Palace Bridge).
The square was built in the late 19th century as a buffer garden, as part of a series of measures to ensure the safety of the royal family, after an attempt was made on the life of Emperor Nicholas II in the form of an explosion in the basement of the Winter Palace.
The new garden was to serve as a buffer zone separating the royal residence from the common thoroughfares and pedestrian streets.
The construction of the garden was started in 1896 by the architect Nikolai Kramskoy. The garden was equipped with a flower garden and a fountain, the work was supervised by the garden master Rudolf Katzer. The fence of the square, stylized in the solemn style of the Rastrelli Baroque, was made by the architect Robert Meltzer. In 1900, the fence, the so-called Melzer grid, was presented at the World Exhibition in Paris, where it received the highest award.
The entrance to the garden was a large gate with a double-headed eagle and faced the walls of the Winter Palace. A sentry was constantly on duty at the fence. Thanks to this, the garden became the protection of the imperial family from the noise from the streets and the possibility of various kinds of attacks.
After the revolution of 1917, the palace garden was destroyed.
By 2009, the historic garden of the Winter Palace was restored and is now a recreated example of park architecture of the second half of the 19th century.
Today, the garden of the Winter Palace is a public square with a fountain, during the reconstruction of which a historical view was given; trees, some of which are historical; as well as flower beds, places for recreation and paths.
The garden of the Winter Palace is practically adjacent and visually is an integral part of the Winter Palace.
View of the western facade of the Winter Palace
The nearest metrostations are : "Admiralteiskaya" (550 meters), "Nevsky Prospekt" (1 kilometer), "Gostiny Dvor" (1.6 kilometers).
Ground stop: "Palace Square" (200 meters). Buses: 7, 10, 24, 191, trolleybuses: 1, 7, 10, 11.
All accommodation facilities in Saint Petersburg, including in the city center and near the Winter Palace Garden, can be viewed and booked here
