St. Michael Castle – Engineers Castle St. Petersburg

Former tsar residence in St. Petersburg (1801) with four strikingly different facades — now part of the Russian Museum.

St. Michael Castle, also known as the Mikhailovsky or Engineers Castle, is a former royal residence in the heart of St. Petersburg, built between 1797 and 1801 by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov for Tsar Paul I. The castle unusually combines elements of French Classicism, Italian Renaissance, and Gothic architecture — each of its four facades looks completely different. Tsar Paul I was assassinated here just 40 days after moving in. Today the building houses part of the Russian Museum collection and is open as a museum. The castle dramatic history makes it a fascinating place full of intrigue.