The Nicholas Palace in Saint Petersburg dominated Blagoveshchenskaya Square, now Labour Square. Andreas Stackensneider designed it for the children of Nicholas I of Russia. The palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaievich formed part of a larger complex with a palatial church, a manege and outbuildings, separated from the square by a cast-iron fence. The facade uses Italian Renaissance techniques.
The vestibule used bricks and stone left over from St. Isaac's Cathedral. The staircase held seventeen paintings by Nikolai Tikhobrazov. The first floor included the White Drawing Room, the Chinese Drawing Room and the Rose Drawing Room, whose ceiling bore a painting titled The Judgement of Paris.
In 1894 the building reverted to the crown and became the Kseninsky Institute for Noble Young Ladies. After 1917 it became the Palace of Labour. As of 2004 a large part was leased to commercial offices.
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