Palaces, Villas and Castles

Alcalá del Júcar Castle, locally known as Castillo de Alcalá del Júcar, lies next to the town of the same name, in the province of Albacete in Spain.… Read the rest

The first castle at this site, a Norman motte and bailey castle, was mentioned in 1148 as being owned by the Bigod family. It was destroyed in 1174 on… Read the rest

Demidov requested Auguste de Montferrand, the architect of St. Isaac’s Cathedral who had the year before moved into the house next-door and had… Read the rest

ersailles was, however, the inspiration for Peter the Great’s desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city and, after an ab… Read the rest

Before its construction, the Senate had occupied the dilapidated Bestuzhev-Ryumin Palace, which was also far too small. The decision was taken to comp… Read the rest

If any proof is needed for the extravagance of Russia’s Imperial rulers, then it can be found in the fact that, in less than two centuries, the… Read the rest

First appearing in records in 1499, Khotchino – the old name for Gatchina – was a Russian village under the rule of Novgorod the Great. Wo… Read the rest

Named in honour of Tsar Pavel, this fine neo-classical palace and its extensive landscaped gardens are stamped with his taste and even more so with th… Read the rest

Bendery is a city which is part of the historic region of Bessarabia, and today is officially known as Bender. Out of all the cities in Transdniestr,… Read the rest

The “Seven Sisters” are the seven high-rise buildings: the house on Kotelnicheskaya Naberezhnaya, the Hotel “Ukraina”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… Read the rest