Which neoclassical palace in Tsarskoye Selo was the favorite residence of Nicholas II?

The Alexander Palace was the Neoclassical palace in Tsarskoye Selo that became Nicholas II’s favorite and preferred residence.

Empress Catherine the Great commissioned the palace in 1792 for her grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future Alexander I. Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi designed the building, which was completed between 1792 and 1796. Its restrained classical composition contrasted with the more elaborate Catherine Palace nearby.

Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna valued the palace for its privacy and security. In the years before the Russian Revolution, they preferred its seclusion to the more exposed Winter Palace in central St. Petersburg. The palace also became the Romanov family’s initial place of imprisonment after the February Revolution of 1917.

A common misconception is that every interior is Neoclassical. Although Quarenghi’s building is Neoclassical, Alexandra later commissioned Art Nouveau, or Jugendstil, rooms such as the Mauve Room. That blend of imperial architecture and modern interiors is central to the palace’s history.