Oranienbaum  was the name of the estate of Alexander Menshikov, trusted friend of Peter I. The name of this estate can be translated as "Orange Tree" (Orangenbaum in German). Alexander Menshikov, following Peter I's example, sought to create his own "paradise" here and filled extensive hothouses with orange trees. 

Today Oranienbaum is a huge estate with numerous small palaces open as the museums. You can visit the main palace of Alexander Menshikov or The Coasting Hill pavilion - an exquisite palace with several elegant rooms, or the Palace of Peter III which was a center of a small bastion fortress built in the middle of the 18th century; or Oranienbaum's most romantic palace - Chinese palace, perhaps, the only Rococo monument in Russia. 

Oranienbaum is the only residence in the environs of St. Petersburg that was not under Nazi occupation during the war: the estate was part of the famous Oranienbaumsky piatachok - a small patch of land on the coast of the Gulf of Finland that was covered by the batteries of Kronstadt. 

Closed : on Tuesdays and the last Monday of the month

Duration of a tour : 5-6 hours (including driving threre and back)

Please contact us if you would like to arrange a tour. It's a good idea to combine the tour of Oranienbaum with Peterhof tour as the towns are only 20 minutes apart.