Yusupov Palace

The Yusupov Palace on the Moika Embankment is an outstanding historic and architectural monument of the late 18th - early 20th centuries. It preserves the memory of its noble owners, the Yusupov Princes. The Yusupov, whose lineage traces back to the powerful princes of the Nogai horde, entered the service of the Russian court during Ivan the Terrible.

The Palace had always been one of the centers of aristocratic social life of imperial Saint Petersburg. The balls at the Yusupov's were so wonderful and exuberant that they were long remembered by the contemporaries. Franz Liszt, Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Feodor Chaliapin and Anna Pavlova performed at concerts in the palace's home theatre, a genuine gem of the Palace.

Not only is the Palace a remarkable architectural monument, but it is also a historical site, tied to the fall of imperial Russia. It was here that Grigory Rasputin, a favorite of the last Russian Tsar, was murdered by the young count, Felix Yusupov.. The exhibit shows two rooms where it all happened. In the first room one can see wax figures of the conspirators - the Russian noblemen who participated in the drama. In the cellar where the assassination took place there are two wax figures at the table - Felix Yusupov and Rasputin. The exhibition devoted to this tragic event has been recently opened in 2 rooms of the Yusupov Palace.

The Yusupovs were great collectors of art, and their collection was known well beyond Russia. After the revolution most of the collection was moved to the Hermitage , though traces of the incredible wealth that once kept this palace pulsating with life still remain: the various sitting rooms, the intricate chandeliers and candelabras that adorn every room and corridor, and the beautiful private theater that looks like a cozy version of the Mariinsky. The palace has been registered in the catalogue named "European Private Mansions of Interest" by the British "Weidenfeld and Nicholson" Company.

Wandering around the halls of the Yusupov Palace which preserve a sense of the past, one can learn about the refined luxury, exquisite taste, splendor of the high life, family happiness and human tragedies of the past.


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