Lomonosov is best understood through its history of parks and palaces: the Chinese Palace lies in the Upper Park, surrounded by greenery and forming part of Empress Catherine II’s “Own Dacha” palace and park ensemble. Oranienbaum Park also tells the story of changing approaches to garden design. Those interested in architectural and cultural history will find several specific points of interest here, which can be distinguished by location, period and design.

A Park in Transition

The historic Oranienbaum Park covers 162 hectares and combines a formal layout with a landscape composition. Until the 1770s, the formal layout was the principal design approach; it was later replaced by a landscape composition. This sequence is a useful guide to viewing the grounds not as a unified style, but as the result of a change in design ideas. This is about more than two labels: the shift over time marks which compositional form initially took centre stage and which later replaced it.

The Chinese Palace is part of the Upper Park and is surrounded by greenery on all sides. Its connection to the “Own Dacha” links it to Catherine II and provides a specific architectural reference point in the history of the park. Those who first want to understand how garden design developed can use this historical transition as a guide; those more interested in individual buildings can consider the palace as another way to explore the ensemble.

Palaces and Surviving Buildings

The buildings, too, can be distinguished by their historical roles. The Grand Menshikov Palace is Oranienbaum’s oldest building. Of the buildings in Peterstadt, only the Palace of Peter III and the Gate of Honour have survived. These two surviving structures thus represent what remains of Peterstadt, while the Grand Menshikov Palace provides a different historical reference point in Oranienbaum’s architectural history.

The miniature Palace of Peter III is considered one of the finest works of 18th-century architecture because of its balanced proportions and sophisticated decoration. Its architectural significance is therefore based on its design, not on a comparison with the size of other buildings. Together, the palaces offer different perspectives: on Oranienbaum’s oldest building, the surviving structures of Peterstadt, and the proportions and decoration of a particularly acclaimed building.

The History of the Name and the Picture House

The city of Lomonosov received its present name in 1948 in honour of the Russian scholar Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. In the village of Ust-Ruditsa near Oranienbaum, he founded a stained-glass factory in 1754. The factory’s founding adds a specific historical connection to the scholar to the story behind the name, while remaining part of the history of the village of Ust-Ruditsa.

The Picture House’s permanent exhibition comprises five rooms: the double-height hall, the painting gallery, the library-cabinet, and two rooms of the Kunstkamera. If you plan to include the Picture House as a set stop on your trip, check before visiting whether the exhibition is currently open.

Saint Petersburg as a Distinct Urban Context

The wider destination of Saint Petersburg offers a distinct urban perspective. Saint Petersburg’s cityscape rises from the mouth of the Neva, where the river meets the Gulf of Finland; the port city and former capital is regarded as the greatest urban-planning achievement of the 18th century. Its urban planning began in 1703 under Peter the Great. Numerous canals and more than 400 bridges shape the cityscape.

Saint Petersburg’s architectural heritage also has its own defining features: it brings together Baroque and Neoclassical styles, as seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage. In comparing these themes, park design and palace architecture take centre stage in Lomonosov, while the context of Saint Petersburg sets its urban history and architecture in perspective. This makes it possible to choose the cultural focus of a stay based on different interests, without treating the places or their respective features as interchangeable.

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