Great Menshikov Palace is located in the palace and park ensemble "Oranienbaum" of Lomonosov. It represents the oldest and the central building of the park. Great Menshikov Palace, the Lower Garden, Picture House, Maritime Canal and Lower House to form a single set of Peter's time, kept until today compositional unity, stylistic integrity and completeness.

Oranienbaumsky Great Menshikov Palace as Peterhof, located on the edge of a natural hill. The length of the main facade, which faces the Gulf of Finland and the Lower Garden is 210 meters. The main part of the palace - a two-storey, single-storey join her gallery. They are deployed in an arc and end the Church and the Japanese pavilions. Perpendicular to the pavilions of the galleries abut two wings. Thus, in the planning of the palace is represented by the letter "P". The southern boundary of the courtyard of the palace wing form.

Great Menshikov Palace is a monument of the Petrine Baroque. It was built for the closest associate of Peter the Great - Alexander Menshikov. Construction was started in 1711 by the architect Francesco Fontana, in 1713 he was replaced by Johann Gottfried Schedel. In addition, work on the palace attended by Johann Friedrich Braunstein, Andreas Schlüter and Nicolas Pineau. It was he who coined the rounded gallery, connecting the palace and side pavilions. Interior finishing lasted until 1727, until the disgrace AD Menshikov. But to date the original finish was unable to maintain, over the XVIII-XIX centuries the interior was changed repeatedly.

Contemporaries noted the unprecedented luxury country residence Serene Prince. In its scope while it exceeded Peterhof. Abri de la Motrais, French explorer, described it this way: "Oranienbaum - a great pleasure palace ... Nothing can go in comparison with him, either in splendor or in other ways."

From the Gulf to the gates of the Lower Garden approached the Sea Canal, in Peterhof, ending curly harbor wharf.

As for the origin of a peculiar name Oranienbaum (translated from German - "of orange tree"), there are several assumptions. The most famous, more like a legend, is that in the lands of the future residence Menshikov was broken with a greenhouse of orange trees. Above each tree he had the inscription «Oranienbaum». According to another version, the name was borrowed from the German city of Oranienbaum. The third assumption is to ensure that, when choosing a name for their estates, Aleksandrov wanted to do something nice to Peter I and used a slightly modified name of Oranienburg, which the Emperor in 1703 gave a new name Menshikov near Voronezh. Finally, according to the latest version, Oranienbaum was named in honor of King William of Orange. King caused a deep respect and sympathy for Peter the Great, bordering a youth worship.

In the 1750s under the direction of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was completed work on finishing the front yard on the south side of the palace. In the 1760s-1770s, Antonio Rinaldi has been restructuring the terraces of the palace and the creation of curved staircases leading to the Lower Gardens.

Repair and restoration activities over the Grand Menshikov Palace, the active phase of which was launched from the beginning of the 1990s, carried out by the architect-restorer Dmitry Alexandrovich Butyrina.

In 2010, the restoration of the facades of the palace was completed, and in the early autumn of 2011, the palace has been a museum.