El Marble Palace It is a unique architectural monument from the second half of the 18th century. Built on the site of the Peter the Great Post Shipyard, it has become a splendid place for a visit in the city of St. Petersburg.
The construction of the palace, began in 1768, lasted 17 years and was completed in 1785. The main building material for the exterior and interior decoration of the building was a natural stone: granite and marble of different colors, which imparts the palace an originality unique and later the name of the Marble Palace was given.
The Marble Palace surprises with its luxury, the magnificence of the interiors and the beauty of the sculptural and pictorial decoration. However, the first owner of the palace Grigory Orlov did not see its magnificence. He died in 1783 when the interior decoration of the palace was not completed.
Until Catherine II bought it from the heirs of Grigori Orlov and gifted it to her grandson Grand Duke Constantine Konstantinovich on the occasion of his marriage to Princess Juliana Henrietta of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She accepted Eastern Christianity and received the name Anna Fedorovna.
Then in 1832 Emperor Nicholas I granted the Marble Palace to his second son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The most complete reconstruction work related to the name of Alexander Brullov lasted from 1848 to 1851. He had no choice: to restore or remake the palace.
Despite continuous reconstruction work, the building had been a dangerous structure; the preserved decoration including door canvases and parquet flooring had been dismantled in 1830. The architect chose to preserve the external face of the palace, while redecorating the interioirs of the state rooms of the Marble Palace, in which he preferred Late Renaissance, Gothic , rococo and classicism.