History

The establishment of a palace and park ensemble in Strelna has been completed in 1715. Peter the Great had intended to build a suburban residence here. The construction of the Great Strelna palace was started with the project of N. Michetti in 1720, but in 1725 after the death of Peter the Great the works were suspended. In 1797 Strelna receives the status of the principality and acquires a new owner, the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. He began to reconstruct the Konstantin Palace with the help of the architects A. Voronikhin and Luigi Rusca in order to preserve the historical appearance of the building in memory of his great ancestor. As a general inspector of the Russian cavalry guard, he conducted parades and maneuvers of his regiments at the square.

After the death of Konstantin Pavlovich, the emperor Nicholas I, handed the estate over to his son, Konstantin Nikolaevich. From that moment, the palace turns "from a gloomy castle into a wonderful suburban residence". Now the concerts, shows and balls are held here, involving the most eminent musicians, composers and culture figures – Strauss, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Shalyapin, Dostoevsky, etc.

After 1917 the Palace gradually falls into disrepair. During the WWII, in 1941-45, the Germans made it into a lookout station. In these years, the palace suffered greatly from shelling and fires – it was reduced to a stone frame.

In 1990, Konstantin palace, as an architectural masterpiece has been included in the UNESCO list of the Global Heritage Monuments at risk. The restoration works commenced only in 2001. In 18 months the entire architectural ensemble has been restored as a gift for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

Konstantin Palace today is a pearl of the National Congress Palace – the residence of the President of the Russian Federation, a museum and a modern congress centre.