The Cottage Palace was designed to be a private retreat for Nicholas I and his family. As the name implies, the estate itself was designed in the English manner, more specifically the Gothic style of the 1820s. A simple, unassuming two story exterior, beautifully appointed with cast iron balconies and partitioned garden spaces, leads to equally low key interiors with low geometric patterned ceilings, elegant chandeliers and gleaming wooden panelling. So comparatively simple is it, it almost looks like you could still live there - provided you were a die-hard Victorian, of course.