First Winter PalaceOriginal “winter house” was a small single-storey wooden building created for
Peter the Great on the bank of the River Neva (1708). Dismantled (1711) to make way for the Winter Palace by Domenico Trezzini (1711–12). When the palace was being built, the
Winter Canal was dug between the
River Moika and the River Neva to drain the territory. Peter celebrated his wedding to
Catherine I on the ground floor of the building (19 February 1712).
Second Winter PalaceGeorg Johann Mattarnovi built a second Winter Palace alongside the Winter Canal (1716–20). Peter the Great died in this building (1725). Domenico Trezzini reconstructed and widened the palace (1727).
Third Winter PalaceAfter reconstruction by Domenico Trezzini (1732),
Empress Anna Ioannovna settled in the
palace of Admiral Fyodor Apraxin, reconstructed by
Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Le Blond and situated approximately on the site of the current building.
Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli added a new wing (1732–36).
Fourth Winter PalaceCreated by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli at the request of
Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1754–62). The Apraxin Palace was rebuilt and included in the building. Rectangular in shape, the fourth Winter Palace had an inner courtyard and faced
Palace Square, the River Neva and the
Admiralty. After
the fire of December 1837, the Winter Palace was restored by
Vasily Stasov,
Auguste de Montferrand and
Alexander Brullov and consecrated (1839).