The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The history of Oranienbaum goes back to the beginning of the XVIII century, when the closest fellow campaigner of Peter the Great, Alexander Menshikov, constructed a homestead with a Grand Palace and a regular park. Oranienbaum was meant to be a part of a grand panorama, meeting all the visitors to the new Russian capital by the sea. The unbelievable luxury of the residence even swept away the Peterhof at the time.
During the tour we will also visit the Chinese Palace that was built in mix of Baroque architecture, Classicism and Chinese motifs. Every room of the Palace is decorated in a different style, with its unique combination of materials and textures like lacquer, porcelain, glass beads, embroidery, smalt (cobalt glass), walrus ivory and wood carvings, inlaid wood floors, painted lamp shades, gilt and, perhaps most importantly, stucco.
