It was at the time of Elizabeth, Peter's daughter (ruled 1741-1761), that the city obtained its magnificence in architecture. One style was ruling in the middle of the 18th century - baroque, and there was an architect who could not be surpassed in creating baroque masterpieces - Francesco Rastrelli (1700-1771). This Italian architect, who was the favorite court architect of Elizabeth I, built a lot of richly decorated baroque buildings in St. Petersburg and its suburbs, which are now a distinguishing feature of our city.

Among them are the Winter Palace - former main imperial residence, the Smolny Convent (former residence of the first women's school in Russia), and summer imperial palaces in Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkin) and Peterhof (now Petrodvorets).

prev | next