The Home of the Last Tsar - Romanov and Russian History

Time Machine Photo Tours

This is a new feature we have added to the Alexander Time Machine. Here you can select from a list of photo tours that will show you recent visits to the Alexander Palace, collections of historic photographs or special events. We invite you to send us your photographs and captions so we can expand the number of photo tours we offer.

Bob Atchison

  • Alexander Palace Facade Pictures
    Alexander Palace Facade Pictures
    This photo tour shows the dreadful state of the palace today. It is amazing to see one of the world's great monuments in such a pathetic condition. There are many shocking pictures here. Something needs to be done now to save the palace. There are 19 pictures in this Photo-Tour.
  • Alexander Palace Interiors Today
    Alexander Palace Interiors Today
    If you love the palace this tour will break your heart. The pathetic condition of the palace rooms - in comparison with their former luxury and glory - should shame someone! Much has been done with little money and the curators struggle to do the best they can do; but a major donor - an angel - is needed to contribute the money to restore the palace. There are 27 pictures in this Photo-Tour and we can thank Preston for sharing them here and in the forum.
  • Photos of the Exterior of the Palace
    Photos of the Exterior of the Palace
    Preston has taken some great pictures with show the dangerous condition of the facade. One can imagine what the Alexander Palace, the greatest Neo-classical monument in Russia and one of the most important in the world must have looked like before WWII and the past 50 years of neglect. I hope some government official in Russia will see this and get something done. to save the palace. There are 19 pictures in this Photo-Tour.
  • The Feodorovsky Cathedral and Village
    The Feodorovsky Cathedral and Village

    This complex is one of the most amazing architectural wonders of Russia and it is hardly known outside a small circle of Russophiles. The complex is a deporable state of disrepair, but the Russian people have rallied to save it. Preston's photos are an amazing tour of the Cathedral and surrounding complex which was built as a miniature mediaeval Russian Kremlin. Look for pictures of the Imperial Crypt Church. There are 30 images in this tour.

  • Last Resting Place of the Imperial Family
    Last Resting Place of the Imperial Family
    On July 17, 1998 the remains of the last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family were laid to rest at Peter and Paul Fortress in a special chapel.  This Photo-Tour shows the chapel and tomb.  There are three pictures.
  • The Cameron Gallery
    The Cameron Gallery
    Thanks to Preston we have a Photo-Tour of his visit to the Cameron Gallery. The Gallery was designed by the Scottish Architect Charles Cameron for Catherine the Great. It is one of the chief attractions of the Great Catherine Palace - just up Palace Street from the Alexander Palace. There's also a bonus picture of the Agate Pavillion. This Photo-Tour has 7 images.
  • Alexander Palace In Winter
    Alexander Palace In Winter
    This a beautiful series of the exterior of the palace in winter. This is how I first saw it years ago, cloaked in a heavy layer of snow, a symphony in yellow and white, with the trunks and gnarled branches of ancient trees surrounding the palace like Sleeping Beauty's castle. There are 13 pictures in this series and they come to us from Igor in St. Petersburg.
  • The Arsenal in the Park
    The Arsenal in the Park
    Preston bravely pulled himself through an iron fence and broken masonry to get us these sad pictures showing the ruined state of the Arsenal today. This building is just a short distance from the Alexander Palace and was a part of the palace complex. There are 12 pictures in this Photo-Tour.

Zooms of Hagia Sophia and other Monuments

Here's a great page of ZOOM views of Byzantine monuments in Constantinople - Tsargrad - and elsewhere.

Vestibule Mosaic of Constantine and Justinian

Everone when visits Hagia Sophia as a tourist today enters from the vestibule on the south side of the building.  Here was discovered a beautiful mosaic.

Memories of Aleksei Volkov
I Visit the Soviets by E. M. Delafield
Alexander Palace Book Finder