In the mid-18th century, the fascination with the Middle Ages, associated with the beginning of the Romantic movement in England, quickly spread worldwide and gave rise to a new style – Neo-Gothic. The cottage—the main building of the "Alexandria" park—is built precisely in this style.

The culture of the noble estate, developed during the era of Russian Classicism, evolved in the Nicholas era into a lifestyle whose worldview was typically Biedermeier, with romantic forms stylized in Gothic fashion. Menelas used some motifs of Neo-Tudor architecture but supplemented them with new techniques of free building layout, open to the surrounding landscape. Large windows, numerous balconies, open and closed verandas, well-lit by the sun at different times of the day, created coziness, relative independence, and at the same time ease of communication among the residents. The cottage is not a ceremonial residence but a private home. Numerous technical innovations made the building modern and comfortable for family life.

Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Nicholas I commissioned the Scottish architect Menelas to build a "country house" near the ceremonial Peterhof in the spirit of English country villas. It was created for Alexandra Feodorovna, the beloved wife of the Tsar, who could not stand pompous ceremonial interiors, and became a personal, intimate space for the imperial family, whose gates were closed to outsiders.

The knightly celebration continued in the Gothic atmosphere of the Cottage. The palace building is constructed in the style of English Gothic. However, its appearance and especially the interiors reflect not only Gothic but also the so-called Old English style of the Victorian era in Great Britain, also known as the Scottish Baronial style or "cottage style." This eclectic neo-style developed in England in the 1820s in connection with a fascination with national antiquity, partly influenced by the romantic works of Walter Scott (1771–1832), who was from Scotland. In the Peterhof Cottage, Gothic decorations framed the bourgeois ideal of a "happy life within the family circle," which brought "Nicholas Gothic" closer to the ideology of Biedermeier.

The building turned out to be unusual for its time. It is surrounded on all sides by balconies, terraces with delicate cast-iron arcades entwined with greenery. Bay windows with pointed arch mullions protrude from the wall surfaces. In front of the picturesque house lies a charming garden.

In 1829, the emperor gifted the estate to Alexandra Feodorovna and named the estate "Alexandria" in her honor. The white rose was the empress's favorite flower, so roses in "Alexandria" were represented by countless varieties, forms, and shades. In memory of the "White Rose" celebration in Potsdam, the coat of arms of "Alexandria," designed at Nicholas I's request by the poet Zhukovsky, also included roses—a sword in a wreath of white roses on a blue background with the motto: "For Faith, Tsar, and Fatherland." This coat of arms is depicted on the palace facades, in the interiors, and on many items that are still preserved in the Cottage today.

In the early 1840s, architect Stakenschneider added a dining room with an open terrace to the Cottage, decorated with an elegant marble fountain made by Felicia de Fovo. In a niche on the northern wall of the palace is the sculpture "Madonna with Child" by Vitali.

The Neo-Gothic style manifested not only in the architecture but also in the interior decoration. Characteristic Gothic ornamentation in the form of pointed arches, rosettes, trefoils, and cross flowers was used in stucco decoration, paintings, furniture design, and decorative arts. The palace's painting collection includes works by outstanding Russian artists: Aivazovsky, Kiprensky, Shchedrin, Vorobyov, Neff, and Moller.

The Cottage is also interesting for its numerous family relics that preserve the memory of its owners and historical events of the era. A stone with the monogram of the Turkish Sultan, brought by Nicholas I from Varna, where he participated in the siege, is embedded in the vestibule wall. The silver chandelier in the Great Reception Room was a gift for the couple’s silver wedding anniversary from the empress’s German relatives. The chandelier is a delicate basket entwined with a garland of 25 roses, representing the number of happy years spent together. Sculptural portraits of the wife and children in the emperor’s study remind visitors that family held an important place in his life.

The Cottage is a unique monument of the Romantic era, preserved to this day without reconstructions or later additions. The palace interiors, filled with authentic items, revive the atmosphere of family comfort and warmth. In Nicholas I’s own words, he wanted to be here not an emperor but "the husband of a Peterhof landowner," and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna admitted that here she "was happier than anywhere else." In 1839, Marquis de Custine left a fairly detailed description of the residence, which was shown to him as a special favor by the Tsarevich Alexander himself:

“Life in the Peterhof palace is unbearable for me. To rest from its heavy gilding, I begged the sovereign for this modest abode,” Empress Alexandra Feodorovna told her guest. “I have never been as happy as here. But the cottage is already becoming too large for us: one of my daughters has married, and my sons are studying in Petersburg.”

The center of the palace layout is the cast-iron staircase. On the first floor were Alexandra Feodorovna’s rooms: the entrance hall, chamberlain’s room, dressing room, bedroom, study, living room, library, reception room, small reception room, dining hall with a buffet. On the second floor: Nicholas I’s study, children’s rooms, bathroom, and two covered balconies. The attic floor housed the marine study with a balcony, dressing rooms, and staff quarters. The most interesting and richly decorated rooms are on the first floor. The interiors of the second-floor rooms, except for Nicholas I’s study, are more restrained and relatively small. After the October Socialist Revolution, the Cottage palace was turned into a historical and art museum. The exhibition materials, created on a scientific basis, allowed guided tours introducing visitors to Russian and Western European art of the second quarter of the 19th century.

During the Great Patriotic War, most of the palace exhibits were evacuated (out of 2,500 items in the exhibition, 1,980 were saved). The building housed a medical post of the Hitler army. A significant part of the furniture was lost, stucco decoration was damaged, many carved oak panels and wall paintings were affected. The building itself sustained some damage.

The palace restoration was carried out under the guidance of architect Irina Nikolaevna Benois and was completed in 1978. In 1979, the palace was reopened to visitors.

At the same time, the mansion was used for filming Igor Maslennikov’s movie “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson,” in which the Cottage “played” the role of Milverton’s mansion.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Коттедж_(дворец_в_Петергофе)

https://peterhofmuseum.ru/objects/aleksandriya/dvorets_kottedz

https://www.221b.ru/geo.htm

 https://www.liveinternet.ru/community/petersburg/post94765471