Oranienbaum

Oranienbaum is located on the Gulf of Finland, forty kilometers from St. Petersburg. It is also known by its post-war name Lomonosov.

Originally the city was called Oranienbaum which means “an orange tree” in German. It is considered that Alexander Menshikov named this place after English king William of Orange whom Peter the Great respected a lot.

The history of Oranienbaum goes back to the beginning of the XVIII century, when the closest friend and associate of Peter the Great, Alexander Menshikov constructed a country estate with a palace and a regular park. After exile of  Menshikov Oranienbaum it was the residence of the Imperial family until 1917 and afterwards became a museum complex.

During the great Patriotic war Oranienbaum was the only suburb of Leningrad that German army didn’t occupy. Certainly palaces and parks were damaged but not destroyed. That is why palaces and gardens of Lomonosov have a great cultural and artistic value.

The residence is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.