Gardens of the Winter Palace

The gardens of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, are little known as the great imperial palace of the Romanovs was never intended to have gardens. As the Tsar's principal residence, situated in the capital it was very much intended as a symbol of power rather than a place of relaxation and pleasure.

Bordered by the River Neva on it its northern side and Palace Square on its southern, the Winter Palace was devoid of space for gardens, however, the last two empresses of Russia both created gardens from previously paved areas.

In 1885, Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III had a garden created in the principal courtyard, an area which had previously been paved. This was of a formal rectangular shape, reflecting the shape of the courtyard which contained it. The lawned garden was planted with trees and shrubs, and surrounded by a cobbled carriage drive which led from the palace's principal arched entrance on Palace Square to the various doors giving access to the palace's interior from the courtyard.

The second garden was created, in 1896, for Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, who lived briefly at the palace at the turn of the 20th century. She found the public access to all the exterior facades of the palace disconcerting, and disliked the way that the members of the public would stare at the windows of the private apartments in the western part of the palace. She also wished for an area where her children could play in privacy and seclusion, as a result she had a garden created on the parade ground beneath her windows. This was surrounded by a high wall with railings on the top.

References

* [http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/12/b2003/hm12_3_2_4.html Hermitage Museum Website] Published bt the Russian state Hermitage Museum. Retrieved 23 September 2008.