Grand Courtyard of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg — Live Webcam

The Grand Courtyard of the Winter Palace is a space where history can be felt beneath your feet. The cobblestone pavement, where golden carriages once rolled, now welcomes thousands of Hermitage visitors. Our live webcam allows you to see this place in real time — a spacious courtyard surrounded by green facades with white columns, where every stone holds memories of imperial ceremonies.

Architectural Ensemble of the Grand Courtyard

The Winter Palace is a monument of Russian Baroque, built in three stories with four facades forming a closed quadrilateral. This is exactly how architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli conceived it, creating a residence for the imperial court. The Grand Courtyard became the heart of this grand structure — an extensive open space framed by a rhythmic colonnade and decorative elements.

The facades are executed in the color scheme characteristic of Rastrelli: green walls with white columns and stucco. To the right of the central axis is the entrance with an arched window and wrought-iron railing — it is through this that visitors enter the museum complex. The ornate cast-iron gates frame the main entrance from Palace Square, creating a solemn threshold between the city and the imperial chambers.

History of Creation: From Elizabeth of Russia to the Present Day

The construction of the Winter Palace with its grand courtyard began in 1754 by decree of Empress Elizabeth of Russia and was completed in 1762. It was one of the most ambitious architectural projects of the era — a residence rose on the banks of the Neva, designed to symbolize the might of the Russian Empire.

The Grand Courtyard was conceived as a space for ceremonial events. Magnificent processions of gilded carriages drawn by 12 pairs of horses in a train unfolded here. Six white horses in a row — that's how the imperial family's departure looked, when the courtyard was filled with courtiers and guardsmen in ceremonial uniforms.

Originally, the Winter Palace had seven entrances — grand entryways located around the entire perimeter of the building. Three of them faced the northern facade overlooking the Neva, two faced the southern one toward Palace Square. Each entrance had its own purpose and was used depending on the status of guests and the nature of the ceremony.

How to Get to the Grand Courtyard: Entrance Through the Arch

Today, the Grand Courtyard serves as one of the regular routes for entering the State Hermitage Museum. The entrance is located through the arch opposite the Alexander Column — it is from here that most visitors begin their acquaintance with the museum complex.

In the center of the Large Grand Courtyard is a fountain, creating a special atmosphere in this space. Visitor flow is organized around it — barrier gates have been installed to manage the flow, along with information stands and street lamps. In the background, a row of tall trees forms a green alley along the building.

St. Petersburg is famous for its courtyard-wells and grand ensembles, but the Grand Courtyard of the Winter Palace stands apart. It is not just a passage to the museum — it is an independent architectural object, where every detail was designed by Rastrelli to create an effect of solemnity and grandeur.

Secrets of the Winter Palace: Underground Passages and Secret Rooms

There are legends about underground passages that supposedly connected the Winter Palace with the Peter and Paul Fortress, the apartments of ballerina Kshesinskaya, and the Mariinsky Theatre. These stories are passed down from generation to generation, accumulating new details. What is reliably known is that inside the building there are actual hidden passages and secret rooms with practical functions, inaccessible to ordinary visitors.

In the cellars of the Winter Palace was located a unique air heating system, and reserves of fine wines and cognacs were stored. The basement premises were a true city beneath a city — servants worked here, dishes were prepared for serving, and engineering communications functioned, providing for the life of the enormous palace.

The Grand Courtyard Today: Museum Life

Today, the Grand Courtyard is a multifunctional open space serving as one of the regular routes for entering the Hermitage museum complex. Thousands of tourists from around the world come here to touch history and see with their own eyes what was hidden from outside view for centuries.

The live webcam allows you to appreciate the scale of this space even for those who are thousands of kilometers away from St. Petersburg. The broadcast shows how the lighting of the courtyard changes, how visitors walk along the cobblestone pavement, how the green alley creates shadows on the facades.

The State Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world, and the Grand Courtyard is an integral part of it. From here begins the journey through the Raphael Halls, the Matisse Hall, and the state rooms of the imperial family. The live webcam provides an opportunity to peek behind the scenes of this great museum — to where the footsteps of courtiers and the creak of imperial carriage wheels once sounded.

What's Visible on the Camera

The webcam broadcast shows a spacious paved courtyard with cobblestone pavement, surrounded by facades of a neoclassical green building with white columns and decorative elements. On the right is the entrance with an arched window and wrought-iron railing — it is through this that visitors enter the Hermitage.

Barrier gates for managing visitor flow, information stands, and street lamps are installed in the courtyard. In the background is a row of tall trees forming a green alley along the building. The architectural ensemble is part of a comprehensive historical site — the Winter Palace, which is the main building of the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

The live broadcast allows you to observe the life of the Grand Courtyard in real time — to see how the flow of visitors changes, how sunlight falls on the facades, how the fountain creates reflections in the center of the space. This is a window into history, available to anyone who wants to touch the heritage of the Russian Empire without leaving home.