Travel Palace of Peter I in Strelna

The Travel Palace of Peter I is located in Strelna, a suburb of St. Petersburg. Tsar Peter I ordered the construction of a Travel palace in the middle of the road between the city center and Kronstadt, where a fortress was being built to protect the city from the sea. Peter`s Travel Palace has been preserved to this day in its original form and now it houses a museum. 

The Travelling Palace of Peter I in Strelna was built in 1711-1712. There is a version that it was built in 1716, however, by that time the construction of the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof, where Peter I loved to visit, had already been completed. 

The appearance of the Travel Palace of Peter I in 1711 looks more logical, since the distance between Monplaisir and the Travel Palace is only 9 kilometers. If there was already a luxurious Monplaisir, then there was no need to build a wooden Travelling Palace. In addition, in 1711, the Tsar wanted to build his Grand Palace in Strelna, and not in Peterhof, so he decided to build a Travel palace here. 

After the death of Peter I, no tsar spent the night in this palace. This was no longer necessary, since huge stone palaces were erected nearby: the Grand Palace in Peterhof and the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna. 

However, already in the 18th century, Peter `s Travel Palace actually became the Museum of Peter I. Considering that it is wooden, the palace has been restored many times. The Travel Palace of Peter the Great miraculously survived during the WWII, despite the fierce fighting in these places. 

Now it houses a museum where you can see the interiors that have been preserved since the time of Peter I. Among the exhibits there is a lifetime portrait of Peter I, painted by his servant Ivan Balakirev, an impression of the emperor`s hand, a patchwork quilt sewn personally by Peter I`s wife Catherine.