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Ramon
Palace,
also
known
as
Princess
Oldenburg's
Palace,
is
a
red-brick
neo-Gothic
palace
in
Ramon,
Russia.
It
was
built
in
1883–87
for
Princess
Eugenia
Maximilianovna
of
Leuchtenberg
and
her
husband
Duke
Alexander
Petrovich
of
Oldenburg.
It
is
registered
as
an
object
of
Russian
cultural
heritage.
In
1879
Tsar
Alexander
II
gave
the
estate
of
Ramon
to
his
niece
Princess
Eugenia
and
the
Duke
of
Oldenburg
as
a
wedding
gift.
In
1883
they
commissioned
construction
of
the
palace,
in
red
brick,
in
the
style
of
an
English
Gothic
castle
with
gatehouse.
The
architect
is
usually
said
to
have
been
Christopher
Neysler,
but
some
sources
attribute
the
design
to
Nicholas
Benois.
The
building
used
"foot
bricks"
manufactured
according
to
a
traditional
process
involving
peasants
treading
the
clay
into
wood
frames
for
firing.
The
building
is
decorated
with
wrought
iron
and
the
grounds
originally
had
fountains
and
a
menagerie,
including
bears
who
were
housed
in
the
cellars
in
winter.
The
grand
staircase
leading
to
the
first
floor,
where
there
was
originally
a
ballroom,
has
shallow
steps
to
accommodate
the
tight
skirts
then
in
vogue;
Princess
Eugenia
is
thought
to
have
had
input
into
this
and
other
aspects
of
the
interior
design.
There
appears
to
have
been
a
central
heating
system
of
air
ducts
in
the
walls,
and
the
Duke's
bath
was
lowered
into
the
cellar
through
a
trapdoor
to
be
filled
with
hot
water.
The
palace
was
completed
in
1887.
After
the
marriage
of
Duke
Peter
Alexandrovich
of
Oldenburg,
the
couple's
only
son,
to
Grand
Duchess
Olga
Alexandrovna,
the
young
couple
lived
at
the
palace
and
then
built
their
own
home,
Olgino,
next
to
it.
In
1902
the
palace
was
damaged
by
arson
in
connection
with
workers'
protests.
The
Oldenburg
family
went
into
exile
to
avoid
the
Russian
revolution;
the
estate
properties
were
confiscated
by
the
Bolshevik
government
in
1917
and
the
palace
was
subsequently
used
as
barracks,
a
school,
a
hospital,
and
housing
for
managers
of
the
nearby
factories
which
had
been
established
by
Princess
Eugenia.
The
palace
was
closed
for
restoration
in
the
late
1970s
but
instead
fell
into
disrepair.
Some
stabilisation
took
place
in
1999–2005,
including
reinforcement
of
the
main
stairway
and
installation
of
a
snow
melting
system
on
the
roof,
and
there
were
plans
to
lease
it
on
condition
the
architecture
was
preserved,
but
instead
in
2009
a
consortium
of
German
architects
proposed
plans
for
renovating
it,
and
in
2010
under
the
sponsorship
of
Duchess
Bibiane
of
Oldenburg,
Mrs.
Dorner,
a
€40
million
project
financed
by
German
investors
was
launched
to
preserve
the
palace
and
associated
buildings
as
a
museum
and
build
a
hotel.
During
the
restoration,
a
stone
was
found
in
the
grounds
with
an
inscription
confirming
that
the
estate
was
a
royal
gift.
The
restored
grounds
reopened
in
2013.
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