Rundales pils parks
The Park of Rundale Palace
Парк Рундальского дворца
Rundāle Palace (also: Schloss Ruhenthal, Schloss Ruhental and Schloss Ruhendahl, Latvian Rundāles pils) is a baroque palace in the Latvian region of Semigallia, 10 kilometers west of the city of Bauska, that has been in state ownership since 1920. It is often referred to as the Versailles of the Baltics.
The construction of the palace was commissioned by the Russian Tsarina Anna Ivanovna and was intended to serve as the summer residence of the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johann Biron. The Russian-Italian architect and master builder at the Tsar's court, Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, who had already drawn up the plans for the Winter Palace of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, was commissioned to design it. The foundation stone was laid in 1735, and construction work initially lasted until 1740. The palace park was also designed in the French style according to Rastrelli's specifications and planted with 328,185 linden trees.