Catherine Palace
Located on the banks of Yauza River, Catherine Palace is the only imperial residence in Moscow that could compete with those of Saint Petersburg and its surroundings.
It was built where another palace used to stand. It was called “Annenhof” (Anne’s palace). Empress Anna Ivanovna asked Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build it. Damaged by a fire in 1746, the palace was abandoned.
Later, Catherine II ordered for the demolition of the remaining buildings and employed three architects for the construction of a new palace. Giacomo Quarenghi was one of them. After his mother’s death Paul I turned the palace into barracks.
After 1812, the neoclassical palace was restored and hosted military schools. Nowadays it is the home of a military hospital.