Grand Kremlin Palace, Presidential palace in the Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russia
The Grand Kremlin Palace is a 125-metre-long, 47-metre-high complex on Borovitsky Hill, built 1838–1849 under Konstantin Thon. Its pale yellow facade has white pilasters and arched windows, a green roof with a central green dome and gold spire, and a white tower with a gold onion dome at the right end. The buildings form a rectangle around an inner courtyard.
Nicholas I had Konstantin Thon lead a team of architects from 1838 to 1849 to build the palace on the site of the Grand Princes' 14th-century estate on Borovitsky Hill. The work demolished Rastrelli's Baroque palace and the 16th-century Church of St. John the Baptist. In 1918 it became the Soviet government's residence, and in 1934 it was partly rebuilt.
The five ceremonial halls are named after Russian imperial orders: St George, St Vladimir, St Alexander, St Andrew and St Catherine. The Georgievsky Hall now hosts state and diplomatic receptions, while international treaties are signed in the Vladimirsky Hall. The Aleksandrovsky and Andreyevsky halls were merged in Soviet times and restored to Thon's designs in the 1990s.
Entry to the building requires advance authorization from the Kremlin administration, as it serves as an official residence. Photography is not allowed inside the ceremonial rooms, though it may be permitted in certain public zones under specific conditions.
The marble walls of each ceremonial hall bear engraved names of all recipients of its respective order, turning the formal rooms into living records of Russian military history. Each hall honors its order holders with permanent inscriptions that line the walls.
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