Palace Embankment, which used to be called Millionnaya, Verkhnyaya and Pochtovaya, was wooden until the middle of the 18th century, however, like most of the St. Petersburg embankments of that era. Only after Empress Catherine II set out to “renew” the capital, the embankment was faced with granite, a parapet and piers in the form of stairs were built on it, and the bank of the Neva was “pushed back” to twenty meters.

Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the territory adjacent to Palace Embankment was gradually improved, and its intensive development was carried out. For a couple of decades, St. Petersburg has acquired a number of magnificent buildings that are still the pride of citizens to this day.

Under the strict guidance of architects Rastrelli, Rossi, Felten and Rinaldi, architectural ensembles of the [Marble] (http://kudago.com/spb/place/mramornyj-dvorec/) Palace, [Hermitage] ( http://kudago.com/spb/place/ermitazh/), [Hermitage Theater] (http://kudago.com/spb/place/ermitazhnyj-teatr/), [Palace Square] (). http://kudago.com/spb/place/dvorcovaya-ploshad/ Around the same time, the Trinity, Hermitage and Laundry Bridges appeared, and a few decades later, the magnificent Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace was built, in the eclectic architecture of which stylistic shades of different eras and peoples are intertwined.

Interestingly, for the construction of the famous [Alexander Column] (http://kudago.com/spb/place/aleksandrovskya-kolonna/), the most important architectural element of Palace Square, on one of the quarries a colossal granite block weighing about 600 tons was mined. In order to deliver the monolith to its destination, a special pier and a heavy truck ship capable of transporting goods weighing more than 1,100 tons were built.