* The palace was built in 1741, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who had just ascended the throne. Mikhail Zemtsov, one of the very first architects of the new capital of the Russian Empire, was involved in the project. He wanted to build a multi-storey building in the shape of the letter "H". Two years later, in 1743, the project was closed. And he completed the construction of the palace in the high Elizabethan Baroque style by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. And today the palace is located in the center of St. Petersburg, on the Fontanka River embankment. This building was supposed to decorate the entrance to the capital and become the main decoration of the city.