We have already explored the ceremonial halls of the Yusupov Palace on the Moika, its home theater, the prince's private quarters, and the "Murder of Rasputin" exhibition. Today, I will conclude the series of articles about this fascinating place with a description of the tour "19th Century. The Prince's Private Rooms." This tour covers the private rooms of the prince on the first floor, the princess's boudoirs, and the private chapel.
The cost of visiting the exhibition in the prince's private rooms is 450 rubles (winter 2019).
The tour begins in the music room, where you can see an unusual musical instrument—the mechanical organ. Mechanical rolls are placed inside, playing melodies. Some of these rolls date back to the 19th century, while others have been carefully restored by the staff. The palace offers a separate tour with a performance by the mechanical organ, but my visit only included viewing it.
Next, we move to the prince's private quarters. This part of the palace includes several rooms: the Henry II Drawing Room, the library office, the billiard room, the Moorish (Eastern) Drawing Room, the wardrobe, and the secretary's rooms. Each room is unique and has its own history. For example, in 1925, a safe was discovered in the office containing previously unknown letters by Alexander Pushkin. In the billiard room, you can see stained glass windows from the late 19th century.
However, probably the most unusual and interesting room in this part of the tour is the Moorish Drawing Room, also known as the Eastern Drawing Room. This room features an Eastern-style interior with many typical attributes. You can see Arabic inscriptions, intricate wall patterns, and ornate arches. Originally, there was a fountain in the center of the room, which was later converted into a pool with a surprise—a glass window in the center with changing colored lights. This exotic interior is fitting, as the Yusupov family descended from the Nogai ruler Yusuf (Yusup).
The next part of our historical journey takes us through the princess's boudoirs: the White Boudoir, the Porcelain Boudoir, and the Persian Boudoir. Strictly speaking, access is only open to the first two rooms, while the Persian Boudoir can only be viewed from a distance. But this does not diminish its merits. At first glance, it is clear that we are in the "female" part of the palace. The interiors are very elegant, with walls and furniture in delicate light tones.
After the boudoirs, we enter the princess’s bedroom, which I am already familiar with from the overview tour. From the first visit, I wondered about the mirrors on the ceiling of this room. It turns out they are called "lanterns." They allowed light to penetrate to the staircase located just behind the wall. We will ascend this staircase to the linen room.
The linen room is quite small in height. Anyone taller than 180 centimeters will have difficulty moving around. The organization of storage is enviable—there are numerous cabinets and drawers. Everything is very neat, with numbered cabinet doors. With such a convenient system, the staff likely did not often incur the wrath of the residents for their slowness.
The final part of the tour takes place in the private chapel, which was restored not long ago. During the Soviet era, it was converted into a lecture hall for the House of Teachers. The architecture of the room is interesting: the chapel’s dome is embedded in the rectangular palace interior and cannot be seen from the outside. The chapel is still active.
We pass through the former cloakroom areas and descend downstairs. This concludes the tour. My acquaintance with the palace was a great surprise. As I mentioned before, Yusupov Palace will likely remain high on my list of Petersburg attractions. But if you haven’t been there yet, I recommend starting with the overview tour. I am confident that after the first visit, you will be eager to explore the rest of the palace.
In summary:
- One of the best palaces in central Petersburg;
- The palace offers many tours; check the visiting times in advance;
- Self-guided tours or tours with an audio guide are available.
- Part 1: Yusupov Palace on the Moika. Tour of the State Rooms
- Part 2: Yusupov Palace on the Moika River: "The Murder of Grigory Rasputin" Tour
