ST. PETERSBURG, December 22 (RIA Novosti, Anna Novak) - Firefighting teams have contained the fire at the 19th-century palace near St. Petersburg that caught fire Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the local department of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said.
"The fire was contained at 6:30 p.m. Moscow time (3:30 p.m. GMT)," the spokesman said. "The fire destroyed 600 sq m on the first floor, 300 sq m on the second floor and 300 sq m in the attic."
Six firefighting teams are continuing to fight the blaze, which left no one injured, the spokesman said.
Farmer's Palace, built in 1829, was the summer residence of Emperor Alexander II.
The single-story building was undergoing restoration work.
