26. Stroganov Palace
The Stroganov Palace, located on the southeast corner where Nevsky Prospekt intersects the Moyka River, is maintained as a branch of the State Russian Museum. Although right in the center of where tourists like to congregate on Nevsky Prospekt, this is a bit off the beaten path in the sense that it's a bit further down the list of what tourists might want to see when visiting St. Petersburg. It probably would not make the cut if someone is here for less than a week. So, there were few other visitors while I was there on a Sunday afternoon.
It says something about the profusion of palaces here in St. Petersburg that I consider Stroganov Palace to be a relatively modest home by the standards of other city palaces. In fact, there are approximately 16 ornately-decorated rooms, with several more listed in the brochure but currently closed to the public. Some of the rooms were largely empty of furnishings, decoration, or artwork. Although, the wood parquet floors, sumptuously decorated walls, and ceiling paintings were more than enough to maintain my interest. Other rooms displayed porcelain objects or other fine art. Some areas held furniture original to the Palace, having been used in those spaces for hundreds of years (with periodic reupholstering, I'm sure). The first floor had an interesting (but only cursorily interpreted) assortment of artifacts that had been excavated from an interior courtyard during some recent work on the palace grounds.
In case you were wondering: yes, the well-known Russian dish "beef stroganoff" is named after the Stroganov family, dating back to the mid-19th century. I've enjoyed Beef Stroganov in several restaurants here in St. Petersburg. The version familiar to me from my youth in the United States (primarily via one of my (non-Russian) mother's recipes) features a base of egg noodles, but here in St. Petersburg, Beef Stroganov is typically served over mashed potatoes. It's tasty either way!
It says something about the profusion of palaces here in St. Petersburg that I consider Stroganov Palace to be a relatively modest home by the standards of other city palaces. In fact, there are approximately 16 ornately-decorated rooms, with several more listed in the brochure but currently closed to the public. Some of the rooms were largely empty of furnishings, decoration, or artwork. Although, the wood parquet floors, sumptuously decorated walls, and ceiling paintings were more than enough to maintain my interest. Other rooms displayed porcelain objects or other fine art. Some areas held furniture original to the Palace, having been used in those spaces for hundreds of years (with periodic reupholstering, I'm sure). The first floor had an interesting (but only cursorily interpreted) assortment of artifacts that had been excavated from an interior courtyard during some recent work on the palace grounds.
In case you were wondering: yes, the well-known Russian dish "beef stroganoff" is named after the Stroganov family, dating back to the mid-19th century. I've enjoyed Beef Stroganov in several restaurants here in St. Petersburg. The version familiar to me from my youth in the United States (primarily via one of my (non-Russian) mother's recipes) features a base of egg noodles, but here in St. Petersburg, Beef Stroganov is typically served over mashed potatoes. It's tasty either way!
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