An exhibition related to the journeys of the last Russian Imperial family onboard their beloved yacht Standart has opened at the Livadia Palace, situated near Yalta .

According to contemporaries, the Imperial yacht Standart evoked admiration by all who saw or sailed on her, and was hailed as the world's largest and most luxurious yacht of its time. 

The photo exhibition shows Tsar Nicholas II and his family during their journeys across the Baltic and Black Seas to visit relatives in Denmark and Britain, or for stays at their residence of Livadia on the sunny coast of the Crimea.

The exhibition is part of the ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the palace, which was built by Krasnov between 1910-1911.

It is important to note that a monument to the Imperial yacht Standart was unveiled at Sevastopol in early October of this year.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 14 November, 2011

Many visitors to Peterhof are unaware of the many smaller Romanov-related museums situated within the palace grounds or the town of Peterhof itself.

The Imperial Yacht Museum is situated in a tiny building near the pier overlooking the Gulf of Finland.

The museum features models of the yachts dating from the 18th to the early 20th century (including the Shtandart), porcelain and fine china dinner services, crystal, vintage photographs, uniforms and other items associated with Russian Imperial yachts.

The museum is open daily from 10.30 to 18.00.

© Royal Russia. 20 May, 2011

The following is an excerpt from an article published by CNN;

Before luxury yachting was the preserve of Russian tycoons and Silicon Valley moguls, it was only the world's wealthiest royals who built palaces on the sea.

There have been and continue to be a fleet of imperial yachts used to transport royals, from Russian czars to princes of Monaco, in the opulent fashion to which they are accustomed.

"Shtandart"

If you thought that Abramovich and his fellow billionaires were the first of their countrymen to build ultra-ostentatious pleasure boats, then think again.

The Russian imperial yacht "Shtandart," built according to the specifications of Emperor Alexander III and his son Nicholas, was the largest imperial yacht on the oceans during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Completed in 1895, the opulent vessel was 401 feet long -- about the length of a soccer pitch -- colossal even by today's immodest standards.

Indeed, "Shtandart" was a veritable floating palace, adorned with mahogany-paneled drawing rooms, formal salons with polished floors, brass fittings, crystal chandeliers and velvet drapes.

The czar's private study was furnished in dark leather and elegant wooden furniture, while the czarina's drawing room and boudoir were bedecked in her favorite English chintz. The imperial yacht even had its own chapel for the private use of the family.

However, Russia's largest royal yacht was also her last. After the revolution in 1917, the ship was stripped of all its elegance, renamed "Vosemnadtsate Martza" and refitted as a drab, gray minelayer for service in the Soviet Navy. The boat was scrapped at Tallinn in Estonia in 1963.

© CNN. 10 March, 2011

The Russian Imperial family enjoying a summer cruise onboard the Imperial yacht, Shtandart.

The painting portrays Tsar Nicholas I (reigned 1825-55), his German-born wife the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and at least some - if not all - of their seven children, Alexander (the future Tsar Alexander II, reigned 1855-81), Nicholas, Michael, Constantine, Maria, Olga and Alexandra. The vessel depicted is presumably the Shtandart, the second imperial yacht of this name but about which very little is known.

This charming watercolour by Andrei Stackenschneider sold at Christie's (London) for £8,963 ($16,616) in 2004.

© Christie's. 10 March, 2011