The Yusupov Palace on the Fontanka River embankment and the surrounding Yusupov Gardens are remarkable architectural monuments of the 18th — 19th centuries. On November 1, 1810, this place hosted first classes of the country’s first transport engineering higher educational institution — Institute of the Transport Engineers Corps — now Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University. Today, the Yusupov Palace is a part of the campus, as well as a historical, cultural and social center of the transport university.

The founder of the University, the Federal Rail Transport Agency (Roszheldor), understands the great responsibility of an educational institution working in historical buildings with their unfading cultural value.

The next stage of the grandiose palace restoration work, which has been going on since the 1990s, is the overhaul of the Yusupov Palace northern porch balustrade, overlooking the Yusupov Garden. The view of the Palace’s six-column portico on the terrace with a wide staircase leading to the garden, captured in 19th century engravings, has become the hallmark of the educational institution.

With funds allocated by Roszheldor, under close attention by the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, professional builders and restorers began a planned overhaul of the Yusupov Palace northern porch balustrade, so that for many decades to come the magnificent palace would delight the citizens of Saint Petersburg and the community the first Russian transport university.

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