Menshikov Palace
This baroque palace on Vasilievsky Island is the first stone building that was ever built in Saint Petersburg. The construction took place between 1710 and 1720. It belonged to Alexander Menshikov, a close friend of Peter the Great’s and first governor of the city. He fell into disgrace under Peter II and was exiled to Siberia in 1727.
Bought by the crown, after some modifications the palace welcomed in 1731 the Cadet Corps. In Soviet times it welcomed a politico-military school and then the military transports Academy. After that it was rented for a while by the State University of Leningrad. It was restored between 1961 and 1981. Since then it became a branch of the Hermitage museum.