The Winter Palace was built and rebuilt for a long time. The more or less final variant is the work by Rastrelli. The palace looks beautiful no matter what side one looks at it from (Neva, the Admiralty or standing in front of its façade). The palace is beautiful, but the Palace Square looks nice as well. Everybody knows that the king is played by his entourage and the square tones off the palace in the same manner. For over half a century, it was not possible to enjoy the view of the palace from the south. No, the palace did not face the meadow where Empress Anna prohibited hunting hairs, or the one serving as pasture for cows in the rule of Elizabeth I. It was a square already, yet housing the structures that were far from being beautiful. So on March 28 (March 16 under the Julian calendar), 1819, the reconstruction of Palace Square began. Carlo Rossi closed it from the south with a single building. The arc-shaped building of the General Headquarters direct one’s attention to the Winter Palace like a hyperboloid. Dive into the arch and enjoy the view! The hyperboloid’s beam is focused on Alexander’s Column. However, the column was built by Auguste Montferrand after the completion of 10-year-long reconstruction project.