Specialists on the staff of Oranienbaum, the state museum-preserve at nearby Lomonosov, in conjunction with the Saint Petersburg Committee for the Protection of Monuments, have produced a long-term plan to revive the park-palace complex at a cost of more than USD 66.6 million.Completion of the work is earmarked for 2011, the 300th anniversary of the complex.

Viktor Gribanov, Oranienbaum's director, gave these details on expected costs: restoration of the Chinese Palace and adjacent grounds, approximately USD 8.3 million; the Menshikov Palace, including interior, approximately USD 6.7 million; the palace of Peter III, approximately USD 670,000. Restoration of the grounds will cost the most, more than USD 13 million, not including the cost of new infrastructure.

Oranienbaum is the only palace-park ensemble to have survived the Great Fatherland War intact. Nonetheless, experts say the Menshikov Palace is on the verge of being lost, the water system dates from 1948 and the electrical system from the early 1960s and sewage is handled by 10 cesspools.

News source: www.rosbaltnews.com
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