Lomonosov, Russia

Lomonosov (Ломоно́сов; before 1948: Oranienbaum, Ораниенба́ум) is a town under the jurisdiction of St. Petersburg, Russia, situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 40 km west of St. Petersburg itself. Population: 37,776 (2002 Census). It is the site of an 18th century park and palace complex (see Oranienbaum). The palace is the only one of the famous palaces in the vicinity of St. Petersburg that was not captured by the Germans during the Second World War.

Name

The original name of the town is Oranienbaum, which means "orange tree" in German (in modern German, the word is Orangenbaum). It was initially applied to the palace complex, which had greenhouses for exotic plants. Its present name honors the scientist, poet and glassblower Mikhail Lomonosov. In 1754, Lomonosov founded a colored-glass factory near Oranienbaum, in the village of Ust-Ruditsa.

Transportation

The Great Palace with the Lower Park is an outstanding artistic complex of the first quarter of the eighteenth century. It was built in 1710-25 opposite Kronstadt, in the neighbourhood of the royal residence Peterhof, by the architects Giovanni Mario Fontana and Gotfried Johann Schadel and was intended for Alexander Menshikov, a close associate of Peter the Great.

Miscellaneous

Sister Cities

• Mariehamn, Åland
• Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
• Anacortes, Washington, USA

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