Chesme Palace, Gothic palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Chesme Palace is a pseudo-Gothic imperial travel palace on the former Tsarskoye Selo tract, now Moskovsky Prospekt. Its plan is an equilateral triangle with sides of about 40 m, its corners resolved as round towers topped by lanterns with hemispherical domes. The pale yellow walls rise above the building mass as a crenellated crown, pierced by two tiers of pointed-arch windows.

The palace was built between 1774 and 1777 at Catherine II's direction to commemorate a major Russian naval victory. The structure served as a monument to this important military triumph of the era.

The palace was first called Kekerikeksinen, Finnish for "frog swamp", after the marshy ground Catherine II chose for it. It received the name Chesme only in 1780, on the tenth anniversary of the naval victory. The empress came here for the feast of Saint John the Baptist at the neighbouring church, and the Round Hall hosted ceremonies of the Order of St George, where Kutuzov and Suvorov received the order.

The palace is located in a quiet residential area and is reachable by public transport, specifically the metro to Moskovskaya station followed by bus or tram. The setting is calm and typically has fewer visitors than central attractions.

The palace stands on the site of a marsh whose Finnish name, Kekerikeksinen ("frog swamp"), so amused Catherine II that she first called it the Kekerikeksinen (Frog) Palace. It was renamed Chesme only in 1780, on the tenth anniversary of the naval victory.