Smolny Palace

Smolny Palace

Introduction Smolny Palace is an elegantly designed three-story Baroque building of extreme luxury. Part of the building once housed a boarding school, but it was relocated because the monastery's premises were unsuitable for classrooms. This school was a noblewomen's academy established in the early 19th century by order of Catherine the Great. During the armed uprising of the October Revolution in 1917, Lenin set up the revolutionary headquarters at Smolny Palace. On October 25 (Old Style), the declaration of the establishment of the Soviet government was made here. It remained the center of the Soviet government until the capital was moved to Moscow in 1918.

In the 1960s, eight magnificent columns and seven arched porticos were added to the main entrance. The former boarding school now serves as the current city hall.

There is a statue of Lenin in front of the building.

St. Petersburg, Russia