Dvortsovaya (Palace) Embankment, 38 
1754-62. Architect B.Rastrelli
Now the |Hermitage|Custom1|W:173| museum

The Winter Palace is one of the most important 
architectural monuments in Petersburg, as well 
as the compositional center of the territory 
including the largest city 's ensembles. It belongs 
to the greatest achievements of Russian and 
world architecture of the 18th century, both from 
the point of view of art and that of urban design. 
The history of the construction is quite 
interesting. During Peter I's reign it was 
prohibited to allot land to people having no naval 
rank in the place now occupied by the palace. 
So Peter the Great, who wanted to build a 
palace for himself there, got a building permit as 
Peter Alekseyev, a shipbuilder. The first wooden 
Winter Palace was erected on the bank of the 
Zimniaya Kanavka (Winter Canal) in 1711. In 
1719 - 20 the second, stone Winter Palace, was 
built on the site of the modern |Hermitage|Custom1|O:4| 
|Theater|Custom1|O:4| to a design by G. Mattarnovi, where 
Peter I moved with his family from his |Summer|Custom1|O:54|