Pella Palace

A veduta from c. 1796

Pella Palace (Пеллинский дворец) was a summer residence built during the reign of Catherine II of Russia for her grandson, future emperor Alexander. It was situated on the left bank of the Neva River, 30 km (19 mi) east of Saint Petersburg, where the town of Otradnoye now stands. If completed, it would have been Russia's largest imperial palace.[1] Pella, partially built in 1785–1789, has been razed to the ground by Catherine's son, Paul I of Russia. Not only the buildings disappeared, but very few images of it survived the Battle of the Palaces: existing knowledge of Pella relies on a few facade elevations and watercolors by Giacomo Quarenghi and an elaborate drawing on Catherine's fan, also based on Quarenghi's drafts.[2][3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference S286 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference V248 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ This fan, with two panoramic images of the planned palace, was stored in Hermitage Museum and disappeared without trace in 1920s – Voronov, p. 248