St. Petersburg Program at Pavlovsk -> Program Overview

PAVLOVSK:  THE LIFE OF AN IMPERIAL PALACE – YESTERDAY & TODAY

We invite you to participate in this unique program which is offered in August 2008 in cooperation with one of the most celebrated of St. Petersburg’s Imperial Palaces, Pavlovsk. 

Throughout this eight-day program, its curators will illuminate the rich, fascinating history of Pavlovsk Palace, its notable collections, its pavilions, its gardens and its lovely park. You will learn about heroic efforts, during World War II, to preserve Pavlovsk treasures and, over the past sixty years, the struggle to restore the estate, its furnishings and its works of art.

PAVLOVSK:  Home to Imperial Families 1781 to 1915

In 1781, Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, and his new wife, Empress Marie Feodorovna, began their efforts to design a charming, elegant – yet comfortable - home for themselves and their children.  Pavlovsk Palace became all of that, and more. 

Today Pavlovsk epitomizes “…a great epoch in Russian history, summing up all the ideas of beauty of Russian decoration and the best of the soul, spirit, and industry of a people and an age.”  PAVLOVSK, Suzanne Massie, page 51

PAVLOVSK:  Other Imperial Palaces - A Study in Contrasts

To help you understand Pavlovsk’s distinctive character, your schedule will include visits to other imperial palaces in and around St. Petersburg.  Here you will learn about their sometimes bloody, sometimes benign - but always intriguing – royal residents, beginning with Peter I (“the Great”) through the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II.  Today these palaces serve a more egalitarian function as settings for exhibitions and theatrical performances – some of which will be included in the schedule of activities.

CATHERINE PALACE, named for Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, and home of the recently restored Amber Room

THE WINTER PALACE, beautifully set on the banks of St. Petersburg’s Neva River, which now, with adjacent palaces, serves as the Hermitage Museum

PETERHOF, the palace of Peter the Great, with its incredible fountains, cascades, parks and small palaces

MIKHAILOVSKY PALACE, former home of Grand Duke Mikhail, now the Russian Museum, repository for the world’s largest collection of Russian art

ALEXANDER PALACE, built by Catherine the Great for her grandson, Alexander I, and the cherished home – and ultimately prison -  of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family

NIKOLAYEVSKY PALACE, a fine specimen of architecture of the 19th century built by the famous German born Russian architect Andrey Stakenshneider for Emperor Nicholas I's son, Grand Duke Nicholas.

Your accommodations during this program will be provided just a short distance from Pavlovsk Palace, within a beautiful and historic estate, the mansion of Prince V.P. Kochubey which was also the site of recent G8 Summit meetings hosted by Russian President Putin.

At the conclusion of the Pavlovsk program, you may opt to travel to Moscow for a four day visit to Russia’s capital city.  (Moscow: "The Heart of Russia")

BACK TO TOP