page_title: Alexander Palace
section_title: Construction during the reign of Catherine the Great (Catherine II)
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander Palace / Construction during the reign of Catherine the Great (Catherine II)
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of empress Elisabeth Alexeievna of Russia
context_page_description: The Alexander Palace is a former imperial residence near the town of Tsarskoye Selo, on a plateau about 30 miles south from the imperial capital city of St. Petersburg. It is known as the favourite residence of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, and his imperial family, and served as their initial place of imprisonment after the first of two Russian Revolutions in February of 1917 that overthrew the Romanov during World War I. The Alexander Palace is situated in the Alexander Park, not far from the larger, more elaborate Catherine Palace, begun in 1717 by Empress/Tsarina Catherine I of Russia and significantly expanded by Catherine the Great. Today it is undergoing renovation as a state museum housing relics of the former imperial dynasty.
context_section_description: The Alexander Palace was constructed in the Imperial retreat, near the town of Tsarskoe Selo, 30 miles south of the imperial capital city of St. Petersburg. It was commissioned by Empress/Tsarina Catherine II (Catherine the Great) (1729–1796, reigned 1762–1796), built nearby the earlier Catherine Palace for her favorite grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future emperor (tsar/czar) Alexander I of Russia (1777–1825, reigned 1801–1825), on the occasion of his 1793 marriage to Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alexeievna, born Princess Luise Marie Augusta of Baden.
  
  The Neoclassical edifice was planned by Giacomo Quarenghi and built between 1792 and 1796. It was agreed that the architect had excelled himself in creating a masterpiece. In 1821, a quarter of a century later, the architect's son wrote: 
  An elegant building which looks over the beautiful new garden ... in Tsarskoe Selo, was designed and built by my father at the request of Catherine II, as a summer residence for the young Grand Duke Alexander, our present sovereign. In keeping with the august status of the person for whom the Palace was conceived, the architect shaped it with greatest simplicity, combining both functionality with beauty. Its dignified façade, harmonic proportions, and moderate ornamentation ... are also manifested in its interiors ..., without compromising comfort in striving for magnificence and elegance.
caption: Empress/Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna by Vigée Le Brun
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