Palaces

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop.

The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, the hill which housed the Imperial residences in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy. Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions.

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    Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), Potsdam

    The Marmorpalais (or Marble Palace) is a former royal residence in Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive Neuer Garten on the shores of the Heiliger See (lake).

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    Menshikov Palace

    The Menshikov Palace is a Petrine Baroque edifice in Saint Petersburg, situated on Universitetskaya Embankment of the Bolshaya Neva on Vasilyevsky Island. It was the first stone building in the city. Since 1981, it has served as a public museum, a branch of the Hermitage Museum.

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    Milotice Chateau

    Milotice Chateau. A strongly fortified Gothic water fortified house, possibly erected by Jan of Moravany after 1412, has probably been partly preserved in the southern wing of the current house.

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    Mukden Palace

    The Mukden Palace or Shenyang Gugong, also known as the Shenyang Imperial Palace, was the former imperial palace of the early Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China.

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    New Palace, Potsdam

    The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) and was completed in 1769.

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    Niederweiden Palace

    Palace Niederweiden is a baroque palace in Engelhartstetten in Marchfeld in District Ganserndorf (Lower Austria).

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    Novy Svetlov Chateau

    Castle Novy Svetlov: the original fort was built in the 1480s to protect the town from the attacks of Hungarians. Later it was converted into a castle in the Neo-gothic style.

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    Oranienbaum

    Oranienbaum is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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    Palace of Catalan Music

    The Palace of Catalan Music is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeo Catala.

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    Palace, Mar’ino

    Palace in Mar’ino village in Kursk region, Russia. Palace in Mar'ino appeared at the beginning of the XIX century.

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    Palacio de Nava

    Located opposite Plaza del Adelantado, this palace is a blend of Baroque style, Neo-classical features and Mannerist touches.

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    Pavlovsk Palace

    Pavlovsk Palace is an 18th-century Russian Imperial residence built by Catherine the Great for her son, Grand Duke Paul, in Pavlovsk, within Saint Petersburg. After his death, it became the home of his widow, Maria Feodorovna. The palace and the large English garden surrounding it are now a Russian state museum and public park.

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    Pena National Palace

    The Pena National Palace is a Romanticist palace in Sao Pedro de Penaferrim, in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal. The palace stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area.

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    Peterhof Grand Palace

    The Peterhof Grand Palace is actually a part of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles".

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    Pidhirtsi Castle

    Pidhirtsi Castle is a residential castle-fortress located in the village of Pidhirtsi in Lviv Oblast (province) western Ukraine, located eighty kilometers east of Lviv. It was constructed by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan between 1635–1640 by order of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, on the place of the older fortress.

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    Potala Palace

    The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It is now a museum and World Heritage Site.

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    Radziwillow Castle Complex, Biala Podlaska

    The remainings of the baroque palace house the district museum. Originally there was a castle here, built by the Radziwill family in the 16th century. It was surrounded by the earth fortifications with a moat in the shape of a star.

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    Ramon Palace (Princess Oldenburg's Palace)

    Ramon Palace, also known as Princess Oldenburg's Palace, is a red-brick neo-Gothic palace in Ramon, Russia. It was built in 1883–87 for Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg and her husband Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. It is registered as an object of Russian cultural heritage.

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    Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik

    The Rector's Palace is a palace in the city of Dubrovnik that used to serve as the seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa between the 14th century and 1808. It was also the seat of the Minor Council and the state administration. Furthermore it housed an armoury, the powder magazine, the watch house and a prison.

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    Salazar Palace

    The Count of Valle Salazar ordered the construction of this palace in 1681. This two-storey palace has a central gable on the façade, as well as a coat of arms, gargoyles and animal-like figures.

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    Sancrai Castle (Kemeny)

    The castle from Sancrai, Alba County, was built in 1805 by the Kemeny family and it is located 30 kilometers away from Alba Iulia. The castle was built in a mixture of styles, respecting the mainly baroque principles.

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    Sanssouci Palace

    Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles.

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    Savarsin Castle

    Savarsin Castle is a large Country house situated in Savarsin Park, a 6.5 hectare private land owned by former King Michael I of Romania in Savarsin, Arad County, Transylvania, Romania. It is King Michael's official country residence in Romania where the statutes defining the role and powers of the Royal Family are signed.

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    Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna

    Schonbrunn Palace is a former imperial summer residence located in Vienna, Austria. The 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural and historical monuments in the country.