Crown prince of Spain promised to come back to Mikhailovsky castle of St. Petersburg

Crown prince of Spain Felipe of Asturias, who arrived in St. Petersburg on the night before visited Mikhailovsky (Inzhenerny) castle.

As manager of Mikhailovsky castle Yelena Kalnitskaya said, the idea of visiting this one of the most vivid monuments of Petersburg architecture belonged to the prince himself. The guest spent about an hour in the castle built in the centre of Petersburg by a decree of Emperor Paul I within a mere three years.

Prince Felipe of Asturias inspected the inner yard of the castle and displayed interest in the monument to Paul by Petersburg sculptor Vladimir Gorev which is placed there. Then he passed by the main staircase to the restored halls of the castle - the Rafael gallery, the Antiques Hall, the Throne hall of Empress Maria Fedorovna, and the bedroom of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. The exhibition Petersburg in Children's Creative Activity, placed in the restored halls of the castle, also roused the prince's interest.

Yelena Kalnitskaya stressed that the crown prince had shown such great interest in Mikhailovsky castle that asked to show to him also the premises, in which the restoration work has not been completed yet. He saw the main bedroom where Paul I was killed by the plotters on March 12, 1801. In the course of the excursion the distinguished guest was told also of the further stage of restoration works on the territory of Mikhailovsky castle - the restoration of the fortification facilities and of the interior.

"The prince is a very interesting interlocutor, he showed sincere interest in, and knowledge of Russian history", Yelena Kalnitskaya noted. According to her, the Spanish crown prince promised to return to Petersburg and to visit Mikhailovsky castle again.