1: Palace Square

Palace Square was designed by Carlo Rossi, an outstanding architect of Russian Classicism, in 1819. The magnificent General Staff building, which was constructed to the design of Carlo Rossi opposite the Winter Palace, the creation of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1754-62), completed the ensemble of the square. The two wings of the General Staff are linked by the Triumphant Arch crowned with the Chariot of Glory. The Alexander Column, designed by Auguste Montferrand, was erected in 1834 in the centre of the square to commemorate Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon. The complex of Palace Square combines two contrasting architectural styles, Baroque and Classicism. The integrity of the ensemble is attained therefore by the regularity of architectonic structure rather than by the stylistic similarity of the buildings. The monotony of the buildings, almost equal in height, is broken by a number of dominating silhouettes - the statues on the Winter Palace roof, the Chariot of Glory surmounting the Triumphant Arch, the angel crowning the Alexander Column and the ship on the Admiralty spire, a symbol of the city.