# Romanov Palace, Tashkent > The Romanov Palace is the 1891 mansion of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, a Romanov exiled to Tashkent. You can’t go inside: it has been closed for restoration since 2021, with no reopening date. Seeing it from the railings is free at any hour and takes about 15 minutes. It stands by Mustaqillik Maydoni metro, one stop from Amir Timur Square. Web page: https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/romanov-palace - City: [Tashkent](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent), Uzbekistan - YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 15 min - Entry: Free, outside only - Opening hours: Interior closed for restoration since 2021; the façade can be seen from the street at any time - With kids: Fine with kids - Going inside: Closed for restoration, no reopening date announced - Outside: Free — façade and deer visible through the railings - Current use: Foreign Ministry reception house; a branch of the State Museum of Arts is planned - Metro: Mustaqillik Maydoni, Chilanzar line — a couple of minutes’ walk - Where: City centre, by Mustaqillik (Independence) Square at the west end of Sayilgoh Street - Time needed: 10–15 minutes - Coordinates: 41.31431, 69.27051 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **1891** — the palace was completed for Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Uzbekistan.travel; Eurasia.travel) - **Since 2021** — closed to visitors for restoration, with no reopening date (source: Podrobno.uz, May 2026; Kursiv Uzbekistan, October 2026) - **Bronze deer** — life-size, flank the entrance steps, with hunting dogs beside them (source: Russian Wikipedia; Podrobno.uz; Eurasia.travel) - **Benois & Geintselman** — the architects, Alexei Benois and Wilhelm Geintselman (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Eurasia.travel) - **Grandson of Nicholas I** — the owner was the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1874** — diamonds vanished from a family icon and the grand duke was banished from St Petersburg (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **January 1918** — he died in Tashkent and left the palace to the city as a museum (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1919** — his painting collection became the core of the State Museum of Arts (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **Palace of Pioneers** — occupied the building in Soviet times, followed by a jewellery museum (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **Since 1993** — a reception house of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry (source: English Wikipedia; Uzbekistan.travel) > **You can’t go inside right now** The palace has been closed to the public since 2021 for a long restoration; a museum is promised afterwards, but no date has been set. Local press has said not before 2026–2027. A “Romanov Palace tour” today means a story told at the railings, so check what is included before you pay. ## Can you visit the Romanov Palace in Tashkent? **Only from the outside.** The building belongs to the Foreign Ministry as a reception house and is under restoration, so the gates stay shut. What you can do is walk along the wrought-iron railings, look at the bronze deer by the steps and photograph the brick façade and dome. That takes 10–15 minutes and costs nothing. Is it worth it? **Yes, if you are already in the centre** — it sits on the walk between Amir Timur Square and Independence Square, and the story behind it is the most unusual of any building in Tashkent. Don’t make a special trip: there is nothing more to see than the view from the street. ## The exiled grand duke and his palace The owner was **Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich**, a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I. In 1874 three diamonds disappeared from an icon in his parents’ Marble Palace in St Petersburg, and the blame fell on him. The family had him declared insane and sent him away from the capital; he ended up in Turkestan, the Russian Empire’s Central Asian frontier. In Tashkent he reinvented himself as a businessman and an irrigation pioneer, digging canals to bring water to the Hungry Steppe. His palace, designed by **Alexei Benois and Wilhelm Geintselman**, was finished in 1891, with a round domed hall, a winter garden of palms and citrus trees, a small Japanese garden, a library and a billiard room. He died in January 1918 and left the palace to the city on condition that it became a museum. In 1919 his European and Russian paintings became the core of Tashkent’s art museum. The building later served as a Palace of Pioneers and a jewellery museum, and since 1993 it has been the Foreign Ministry’s reception house. ## What to see from the street - **The bronze deer** — life-size, on marble plinths by the entrance steps. The grand duke was a keen hunter, and bronze hunting dogs stand nearby. - **The fired-brick façade** in yellow-grey, with lacy ironwork, shaped windows and round towers at the corners. - **The central dome** above the old round hall, where doors led to the grand duke’s and his wife’s apartments. - **The wrought-iron railings** — you photograph through them; you can’t get closer. - The front garden with its round fountain and lantern — the view in the photo on this page. ## What will the museum be? After restoration the building is due to open as **a branch of the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan**, showing the grand duke’s own collection. Reports differ on its size — about 300 objects in some, more than 500, including 120 paintings and 75 sculptures, in another. The project is run by Uzbekistan’s Art and Culture Development Foundation with the Tashkent city authority. Until it opens, you can see the paintings he collected at the [State Museum of Arts](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-art-museum). If you want to step inside a pre-revolutionary Tashkent mansion today, go to the [Museum of Applied Arts](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-applied-arts-museum), the former home of the Russian diplomat Alexander Polovtsov. ## How to get to the Romanov Palace 1. From Amir Timur Square, walking is easiest: head west along pedestrianised Sayilgoh Street (locals still call it Broadway) to Independence Square — 15–20 minutes past plenty of cafés. 2. By metro: take the Chilanzar line from Amir Temur Xiyoboni one stop west to Mustaqillik Maydoni — about 2 minutes. 3. Paying: buy a QR ticket at the station machine, use an ATTO transport card or tap a contactless bank card at the gate. Foreign cards don’t always go through, so carry a little cash in Uzbek som; card payment is widespread in the centre, but not universal. 4. Exit towards Mustaqillik Square: the palace is a couple of minutes away, behind railings next to the Foreign Ministry. 5. Carry on on foot to Independence Square or the [Navoi Theatre](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/navoi-theatre), 10–15 minutes away. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I know it’s outside only — no entry - [ ] It’s on my walk from Amir Timur Square to Independence Square - [ ] QR ticket, ATTO card or some som for the metro - [ ] Allowed 10–15 minutes - [ ] Camera with zoom — the deer are behind railings - [ ] State Museum of Arts on my list to see the collection ## Romanov Palace vs Museum of Applied Arts vs Navoi Theatre | | Romanov Palace | Museum of Applied Arts | Navoi Theatre | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | A grand duke’s 1890s mansion | A Russian diplomat’s house with carved plaster | 1940s opera and ballet house | | Inside | No — under restoration | Yes, it’s a museum | With a show ticket | | Time needed | 10–15 min | ≈ 1 h | An evening | | Why go | Façade, deer, the exile’s story | Interiors and crafts | The auditorium and a night out | For a historic interior you can actually enter, pick the Museum of Applied Arts. The Romanov Palace is a free photo stop on the way. ## Tashkent history sights compared Every historic sight in Tashkent rated by YesGo. - [Tashkent Metro](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-metro) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 2,500 som by card, 3,000 cash - [Romanov Palace](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/romanov-palace) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 15 min · Free, outside only - [Navoi Theatre](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/navoi-theatre) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Shows from 77,000 som - [Hazrati Imam Complex](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/hazrati-imam) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free; Quran museum has a small fee - [Chorsu Bazaar](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/chorsu-bazaar) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-art-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Closed for reconstruction - [Museum of Applied Arts](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-applied-arts-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ UZS 30,000–40,000, unofficial ## Central Tashkent in half a day Ride the decorated metro, pass the grand duke’s palace, see the Navoi Theatre and finish with his paintings at the State Museum of Arts. YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Tashkent Metro](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-metro) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 2,500 som by card, 3,000 cash 2. [Romanov Palace](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/romanov-palace) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 15 min · Free, outside only 3. [Navoi Theatre](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/navoi-theatre) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Shows from 77,000 som 4. [State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/tashkent/tashkent-art-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Closed for reconstruction ## Good to know This is not a palace of the last tsar’s family, and it has nothing to do with Livadia in Crimea. Only one Romanov lived in Tashkent — the exiled Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich — and this was his private home. Hotels called Romanov Palace are unrelated. ## Tips - Walk Sayilgoh (Broadway) from Amir Timur Square and the palace comes free at the far end, by Independence Square. - Morning and late-afternoon light suits the brick façade best; at midday in summer there is little shade by the railings. - Bring a zoom lens or use your phone’s telephoto — the railings keep you at a distance from the deer. - Follow up at the State Museum of Arts, whose collection began with the grand duke’s paintings. - The story comes alive with a guide; most central Tashkent walking tours include a stop here. ## Questions ### Can you go inside the Romanov Palace in Tashkent? Not at the moment. It has been closed for restoration since 2021, and no reopening date has been announced. You can only see it from the street. ### Is the Romanov Palace worth visiting? As a 10–15-minute stop on a walk through the centre, yes — the deer, the façade and the story are memorable. It isn’t worth a separate trip. ### How much does it cost to see the Romanov Palace? Nothing. The façade, deer and front garden are visible from the street for free at any time. ### Who lived in the Romanov Palace in Tashkent? Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, a grandson of Nicholas I, exiled after a diamond scandal in 1874. He lived in Tashkent until his death in January 1918. ### When was the Romanov Palace built? It was completed in 1891 to designs by Alexei Benois and Wilhelm Geintselman. ### What is the Romanov Palace used for now? Officially it is a reception house of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, and it is under restoration. A branch of the State Museum of Arts is planned. ### How do I get to the Romanov Palace? Walk 15–20 minutes west along Sayilgoh Street from Amir Timur Square, or take the metro one stop to Mustaqillik Maydoni. ### Where can I see the grand duke’s art collection? At the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan — his collection became its core in 1919. ### What is near the Romanov Palace? Independence Square, the Navoi Theatre and pedestrian Sayilgoh Street, which leads to Amir Timur Square. ## How we checked The construction date, architects and history are checked against English and Russian Wikipedia and travel references. The closure for restoration is reported by Podrobno.uz (May 2026) and Kursiv Uzbekistan (October 2026); there is no official visitor page for the palace, so access and the timeline are marked “checking”. The size of the future museum differs — about 300 objects according to Anhor.uz and WE project, over 500 according to Kursiv — so we give both. Sources disagree on the year the grand duke arrived in Tashkent (1878 or 1881) and on the exact day he died, so we give neither the year nor the day. Wikipedia places the building on Sayilgoh Street, OpenStreetMap on Sharaf Rashidov Street. We could not confirm whether scaffolding currently hides part of the façade. We give no metro fare because it changed on 1 October 2026. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Romanov Palace; Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia - Russian Wikipedia: Palace of Nikolai Konstantinovich; Nikolai Konstantinovich; Wikidata Q3361191 - Podrobno.uz, 19.05.2026 — closure for restoration since 2021 and the timeline - Kursiv Uzbekistan, 05.10.2026 — restoration progress and the planned museum - Anhor.uz and WE project, July 2026 — the planned branch of the State Museum of Arts - Uzbekistan.travel — the national tourism portal - Eurasia.travel; Lonely Planet — the façade and sculptures - OpenStreetMap — the building and metro station - Kun.uz, 2025; Daryo, 2026 — paying for the Tashkent metro --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.