Ivan Starov designed the city residence for Prince Grigory Potemkin in a strict Palladian style, and construction began in 1783 and lasted six years. Potemkin hosted a lavish ball there on April 28, 1791, shortly before his death. Catherine II bought it and had Fyodor Volkov convert it into her summer townhouse.
The exterior is plain, in contrast to the lavish interiors. The 13-bay front has a Tuscan portico and a shallow dome. A vestibule leads to an octagonal hall and the Catherine Hall, which has eighteen Ionic columns on each side, and a 246-foot (75 m) columned gallery leads to an enclosed winter garden.
Emperor Paul gave the palace to a cavalry regiment in 1799, and the interior decoration was destroyed. Carlo Rossi and Vasily Stasov refurbished it in the 19th century. It became the seat of the State Duma in 1906, and in 1918 the Constituent Assembly met there.
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