Ropsha Palace

Thanks for the map and picture. Do you know who lived there just before the Revolution?

In the Baedeker travel book ( p. 185), it is said
" The beautiful park her contains an imperial Chateau..
permission to visit it may be obtained from the steward at Krasnoye Selo "

So I thing it is residence of Nicolas II like Krasnoye Selo
residence, so-called chateau built in the style of a Swiss chalet.

Ropsha palace in 2004

Great pictures, thanks.
It looks like restoration has started...............does anybody know what condition the interior is in?

It's frustrating that there is so little information available about Ropsha, isn't it, nigbil?

Ropsha, which was designed by Rastrelli, was Imperial property, but appears to have been used primarily by Grand Duke Valdimir and his family.  I think it was used for typical country pursuits.  As noted, Catherine II had Peter III imprisoned there until he was murdered.

The palace and the paper factory on the grounds (which I presume was built after the Revolution, but I may be wrong) was rebuilt after WWII.  Unfortunately, the palace again was gutted by fire some years back and is now in the condition we see it today.  

I am unaware of any restoration project going on.  I think the scaffolding is there merely to keep the building from falling.  With the horrendous lack of resources available to palaces of much more historical significance in Russia, I find it unlikely that Ropsha will be rebuilt and restored.

Yes I agree.
In the 3rd picture you can see its a ruin (you can look through the windows to sky behind) so I guess you are right about the scaffolding. Its a pity because it's a gem.

I wonder if someone has seen interior pictures from pre-revolutionary times? There are pictures (interior and exterior) of all the other palaces as photography was
of great interest to most of the Romanov's as well as other rich Russian families - so there must be pictures of Ropsha and its occupants.

For those of you who have visited the Ropsha Palace ruins, how did you get there?  The only information I have found thus far is as follows: "Transportation: 40 minutes by train on the Gatchina line to Krasnoye Selo, then take a #454 bus."  Is this correct?

train on the Gatchina line to Krasnoye Selo, then take a #454 bus."  Is this correct?

It is, but there're buses directly from Petersburg to Ropsha: #481 from Kirovsky Zavod bus terminal (runs every hour, more or less), or #486 from Prospekt Veteranov metro station. I would strongly recommend not to go on Sunday or other vacation day.

Mike - thank you very much for the information.  Other than the palace ruins, what else is there to see in Ropsha?

There are several (mostly ruined) historic places near Ropsha; the question is, how much time are you going to spend there. Moving around between villages without a car and a local guide might be cumbersome. I would suggest instead to go to Ropsha from SPb by bus #481, to spend there 1 to 2 hours, and to return via Strelna by bus #486. From Strelna (where is much to see) you will easily get back to the city - including by tram #36, which is a nice countryside ride. The whole tour would take you roughly half a day.

Mike,

Again thank you for your help.  I probably would spend only a few hours in Ropsha unless I discover that there are more locations to explore.

Also, the link you posted doesn't work for me.  I also tried going to the site's homepage and that doesn't work either.  Does it work for you?

 Does it work for you?

Not at the moment. It's a detailed description written by a local teacher, complete with a map. Let's try later, hopefully the site will come back to life.

Updates:
1. The Ropsha site works again.
2. Upon consulting knowledgeable guys from the SPb transport forum, the best way of getting to Ropsha and back seems to be either by minibus K-392 "Metro Prospekt Veteranov - Strelna - Ropsha" (runs frequently), or by minibus K-850AB "Metro Prospekt Veteranov - Kipen' - Ropsha- Strelna - Metro Prospekt Veteranov". This circular route runs at larger intervals, but drives you via Kipen' with its ancient (1807) postal station built by Luiggi Rusca.

Wonderful pictures of Ropsha!  Sad to see it in such ruins.  I believe that Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and her husband Grand Duke Alexander spent part of their honeymoon here.

Yes, Grand Duchess Ksenia Aleksandrovna and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich spent their wedding night there, and perhaps a couple more days before going to Ai-Todor, Sandro's estate in the Crimea. No one really 'lived' at Ropsha by this time--the IF went there occassionally for visits, but they never stayed long. None of them seemed to care for it much, perhaps because it was the place of Peter III's murder.