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Alexander III (1881-1894) After his father's tragic death, Alexander III preferred not to stay long in the palace. He chose the Anichkov Palace as his winter residence in St Petersburg and the suburban palace of Gatchina as a summer home. In the Winter Palace Alexander III and his wife, Empress Maria Fiodorovna, occupied the former apartments of Nicholas I and Alexandra Fiodorovna in the second and third storeys of the north-western corner block. In the 1880s and early 1890s minor changes were made to the decor in these rooms. The imperial couple visited the palace only for official ceremonies, receptions and balls that remained as magnificent as ever and still astonished foreigners and all those granted entry to the court. Looking at the luxurious halls filled with people in all their finery "you could travel back to the magnificent age of Catherine the Great", was the comment of a participant after one of the balls. Alexander III was not fond of balls and often bored by them, but his wife, Maria Fiodorovna, at times danced until dawn without tiring. At receptions she was the object of general admiration: "gentle, kind, unaffected, she was an empress from head to foot". The work that the court architect, Nikolai Gornostayev, carried out in the palace was aimed at preserving the representative function of the prime residence in the capital and providing the latest "modern conveniences" in the palace. In the second half of the 1880s the parquet floors and artificial marble were restored in the state rooms of the Neva enfilade. New furniture and drapes were produced. In the late 1880s electric lighting was installed. This innovation entailed the replacement of all the old lighting devices. Much attention was paid to improving the heating and ventilation systems. In the 1880s and 1890s hot-water heating was installed in the building and at the same time repairs were made to the metal joists dating from 1838. |
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