Palace Square Live Webcam, Saint Petersburg

Palace Square is the main square of the city and the heart of Saint Petersburg’s historic center, Russia’s Northern Capital. This architectural ensemble, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, features numerous historical and architectural landmarks. Key attractions on Palace Square include the Winter Palace, the General Staff Building, the Guard Corps Headquarters, and the Triumphal Arch of the General Staff. Adjacent to the square is the Admiralty, a monument of Russian classicism on the banks of the Neva River. The Winter Palace houses the State Hermitage Museum, the largest museum in Saint Petersburg and one of the world’s premier art museums.

At the center of the square stands the Alexander Column, an architectural and historical monument in the Empire style. Unveiled on September 11, 1834, by decree of Emperor Nicholas I, it commemorates Emperor Alexander I’s victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812. Crafted from a single piece of pink granite quarried in Pyterlahti, Finland, near Vyborg, the column is topped with a 5-meter-tall angel sculpture. Weighing 600 tons and standing 47.5 meters tall, including its pedestal and statue, the Alexander Column is the third tallest column in the world.

To the southwest, Palace Square borders the 9-hectare Alexander Garden, established in 1874 in honor of Emperor Alexander II. The opposite side of the garden opens onto Senate Square. Within the Alexander Garden are the Admiralty Fountain and numerous monuments, including those dedicated to Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov, Alexander Gorchakov, Vasily Zhukovsky, and others. Adjacent to the square is the Winter Palace Garden, a small 1.09-hectare park located between the square, Palace Passage, Palace Embankment, and the Winter Palace.