Amongst the most elegant of Moscow buildings is the Great Kremlin Palace, built within the Kremlin's walls and completed in 1849. It was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas I in 1837 as the new Moscow residence for the royal family (when visiting from the capital, Saint Petersburg). His instructions to architect Konstantin Thon was "to emphasize the greatness of Russian autocracy."
The handsome marigold and white building conjoins and expands-upon the earlier royal residences—the Terem Palace (1637) and the Faceted Palace (1491)—and is attached to some of the nine cathedrals in the Kremlin. It has five sumptuously-appointed ball rooms, two of which were conjoined to form a large council chamber for the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In recent years, the two rooms were painstakingly restored to the original Konstantin Thon designs.
Alas, we can only imagine (and enjoy photos of) the Palace's interior; it is not open to the general public.
More from Moscow tomorrow.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248