Three ceremonial halls of the Alexander Palace reopened after restoration

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum

The restoration of the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo continues . . . on 19th July 2025, the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve opened three ceremonial halls of the Alexander Palace, after additional restoration work was carried out.

The Semi-circular, Portrait Hall and Marble Drawing Room are once again open to visitors and guided tours. The visitor route through the Alexander Palace now includes 17 interiors, which include the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, as well as the interiors of the State Enfilade.

NOTE: the photos show the interiors as they looked following the recent restoration. They lack many of the decorative and applied art pieces, which have now since been returned to their original places – PG

Recall that in 2012, “cosmetic repairs” were carried out in the Portrait Hall, the Semi-Circular Hall and the Marble Drawing (the former Billiard) Room. In June 2010, the State Halls, which are situated in the central part of the palace – between the east and west wings – were solemnly opened to visitors, as part of events marking the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo.

However, despite the best efforts of curators, limited funds for restoration, and dispersed collections, meant that the presentations were somewhat sparse and of varying quality. The State Halls were closed again in the Autumn of 2015 for additional restoration work. The State Enfilade reopened in 2021.

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum

The State Halls were closed yet again in 2023, and during the next year+, craftsmen carried out additional restoration work in the interiors. During this time, engineering and technical support systems (heat and power supplies, exposure lighting, ventilation, air conditioning) and low-current systems (security and alarm systems, video surveillance systems, warning and evacuation control, automatic fire alarms) were completely updated.

Specialists carried out large-scale restoration work which included repairs on the parquet floors, ceilings and window fittings. In addition, the mahogany doors with gilded bronze décor were also restored.

About 70 original works of paintings and decorative and applied art are showcased in the State Halls, including two portraits transferred “on loan“ from the Pavlovsk State Museum: the first, of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Emperor Nicholas I) and the second, of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. The works were returned to their historical places in the Marble Drawing Room [not to be confused with the Marble (Mountain) Hall.

Note: in 1951, thousands of items from the Alexander Palace were transferred to Pavlovsk. To date, they have not been returned – PG.

© Tsarskoye Selo State Museum

Visitors can also see three 18th-century chandeliers, created according to drawings by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817). They are made of bronze, glass and crystal and impress with their size: 3.5 meters high, each weighing more than 240 kilograms. The chandeliers were restored in March 2025.

Complementing the halls are four marble fireplaces, two of which are decorated with large vases created at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the second quarter of the 19th century. On eleven consoles there are vases and candelabra. On the walls there are portraits of emperors and members of their families by artists Alexander Roslin, Franz Krüger, Timofey Neff, as well as urban and seascapes by Ivan Aivazovsky, Fyodor Alexeev, Maxim Vorobyov and Franz Ludwig Katel. In addition, are two large floor vases made of cloisonné enamel on copper, which were presented to Emperor Nicholas II in 1916 by Prince Kotohito on behalf of Emperor Yoshihito of Japan.

The Semi-Circular Hall (pictured above) is associated with an important event in early 20th century Russian history. It was from this hall, on the night of 31st July / 1st August 1917, that Emperor Nicholas II, along with his family and an enormous retinue left the Alexander Palace and went into exile to Tobolsk, Siberia. They passed through the doors (seen in the photo above), and never saw their beloved home again. From 1905, the Alexander Palace had been the preferred Imperial residence of Nicholas and his family.

At the time of this writing, the restoration of the Alexander Palace continues, funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and philanthropists, and the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum. The restoration of the Western Wing of the palace is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Work is now underway to recreate the famous Crimson [aka Raspberry] Drawing Room. The work is planned to be completed in 2027.

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