The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
Obverse
the two-headed eagle designed by artist I. Bilibin. The inscriptions along the rim: at the top — «3 РУБЛЯ 1996 г.» (3 RUBLES 1996), at the bottom — «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA). T The letters below indicate the metal sign, the fineness, the mint trademark and the fine metal content.
Reverse
a view of the Winter Palace, the Alexander Column and the arch of the General Headquarters. The inscriptions along the rim: at the top - "АНСАМБЛЬ ДВОРЦОВОЙ ПЛОЩАДИ" (THE ENSEMBLE OF THE PALACE SQUARE), at the bottom in two lines - "САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ XVIII-XIX вв." (ST. PETERSBURG XVIIITH - XIXTH centuries).
Authors
The artist: A.V. Baklanov..
The sculptors: S.A. Kornilov, I.S. Komshilov
St.Petersburg Mint (ЛМД).
The edge: 300 corrugations
The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-1762, is an example of Russian baroque architecture. Formerly the residence of Russian emperors, since 1922 it has housed the Hermitage, one of the world's largest art and historical museums. The Alexander Column was built by August Montferrand in 1830-1834 in the Empire style to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon's army in the Patriotic War of 1812. The General Headquarters building, erected by Carlo Rossi in 1819-1829, is another architectural monument of the Palace Square.