Despite the external modesty Shuvalovsky Palace can be called one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the Northern capital. This house is of great cultural significance, since it is connected with many historical personalities of our country. Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka River embankment was built by an unknown architect in the late 18th century and first belonged to Count Vorontsov. A little later, at the beginning of the 19th century, the family of Count Naryshkin settled here.

New owners loved a secular way of life and immediately began to rebuild the mansion for themselves. So in the Shuvalov Palace there was a museum and a huge dance hall. This mansion was famous for its balls. Such magnificent balls and masquerades as the Naryshkins, in Petersburg there was nowhere else. The most famous people of the city - Derzhavin, Pushkin, Krylov - came to dance here.

The main guest here was always Emperor Alexander I . The fact is that Maria Antonovna, the wife of Dmitry Naryshkin, was a favorite of the emperor . About this piquant fact everyone knew, including the owner of the house . In fact, Maria Antonovna lived in two houses .Naryshkin had six children, but only one daughter Dmitry Lvovich considered his own. . The father of the rest of the guys was Alexander I . It is interesting that Naryshkin and Alexander I were not enemies . Dmitry Lvovich loved all children equally, and the emperor in his turn left the head of the family a decent amount for the upbringing of the younger generation .

Afterwards the Naryshkins left the northern capital and their relatives settled in the house, continuing the tradition of noisy balls. It is interesting that it was in the Shuvalov Palace that Alexander II celebrated his majority. On that day, almost a thousand people came to the ball.

A little later, Sofya Lvovna Naryshkina married Peter Shuvalov. Since that time, the building has been called by the name of the new owner. At the request of the head of the family, architect Yefimov began reconstruction of the house. It is worth noting that during the whole of its existence the palace was rebuilt so often that now it is not known how it looked at the beginning.

After the revolution the palace was nationalized and opened here a museum of everyday life. A few years later it was abolished, and the fine collections of painting, porcelain, silver and faience were handed over to the Hermitage. Later in the building of the Shuvalov Palace there were various organizations, including the Press House, the House of Engineering and Technical Workers and the House of Friendship and Peace with the Peoples of Foreign Countries. Now here is the Center for International Cooperation.

Address: emb. The Fontanka River, 21.