Valet’s (Kамердинер) Room on the 2nd Floor in the Winter Palace

After the reconstruction of the Winter Palace in 1839, structural improvements continued to be made in the layout of the rooms.

A mezzanine was constructed in 1841 with ‘iron beams’ above Alexander II’s valet’s room.

Hau’s 1874 watercolor (below) of the valet’s room with the mezzanine.

The ceiling, designed by A. Bruillov in 1839, was hidden upstairs in the mezzanine, seen only by servants, for decades.

Today it is again visible to all (photo below).

In Hau’s painting, the narrow hallway in the center leads across the Dark Corridor to Alexander’s dressing room.

To the right of the hallway is the enclosed staircase to the mezzanine, 3^rd floor, and 1^st floor.

The small room on the opposite side, with its interesting history, will be described in my book.