Mariinsky Palace, St. Petersburg

Just across the Blue Bridge from Saint Isaac's Cathedral, on the south side of Saint Isaac's Square, stands Mariinsky Palace. Also known as Marie Palace, this is the last Neoclassical Imperial residence built in Saint Petersburg. The palace was conceived as a gift from Emperor Nicholas I to his eldest daughter Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna on the occasion of her marriage to Maximilian de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg. The building was constructed between 1839 and 1844 to the design by the court architect Andrei Stackenschneider.

Consisting of a central block and two side wings, the palace has an elaborately rusticated, reddish-brown façade, and is decorated with French Baroque features and Corinthian columns arranged in a traditional Neoclassical fashion. The whole design was inspired by the 17th-century French Baroque messuages.

Throughout its history the building has served various purposes. Starting from 1884 it had housed consecutively the State Council of the Russian Empire, the Imperial Chancellery, and the Committee of Ministers, which after 1905 became known as the Council of Ministers.

In 1902 the Russian Minister of the Interior Dmitry Sipyagin was assassinated inside the palace's vestibule by the Socialist revolutionary Stepan Balmashov. In 1904, to commemorate the State Council's centenary, artist Ilya Repin created the painting called “Ceremonial Sitting of the State Council on 7 May 1901”, featuring 81 historic figures including Nicholas II.

The Russian Provisional Government took full possession of the palace in March 1917. Following the October Revolution, the building accommodated various Soviet institutions. During World War II it was converted to hospital and endured intense bombing.

After the war, the palace became residence of the Leningrad City Council, and in 1994 was handed over to the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly, in which capacity it continues to serve to this day.