Located on the bank of the Neva River, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars.

Designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Baroque-style, green-and-white palace has 1786 doors and 1945 windows. Catherine the Great was its first royal lodger.

The Palace is now part of a group of magnificent buildings that is called the State Hermitage Museum which holds one of the world's greatest collections of art. As part of the Museum, many of the Winter Palace's 1057 halls and rooms are open to the public.

After the February Revolution in Russia, the Winter Palace was the headquarters of the Russian Provisional Government.

The assault of the Winter Palace by Bolshevik forces was the first milestone of the October Revolution.

See also

• The movie, Russian Ark, an incredible single shot walk through with period reenactments spanning three hundred years of court meetings, balls, and family life in this building.
• Catherine palace - the summer residence of Catherine the Great
• Hermitage Museum - the present use of the Winter Palace with arguably the greatest collection of art in the world.
• Peterhof - Peter the Great's summer palace
• Tsarskoye Selo - The Tsar's summer residence outside St Petersburg