Address: Russia, St. Petersburg, Pushkin, Tsarskoe Selo
Architect, builder: Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli
Building: 1752 - 1756
Coordinates: 59 ° 42'57.9 "N 30 ° 23'43.9" E
Object of the cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation
Content:
The magnificent Baroque monument attracts many Russian and foreign tourists to the modern city of Pushkin. The Catherine Palace has preserved the memory of all its owners and today has the status of a state museum. Of the 58 halls that were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War, 32 were restored (2019). The unique Amber Room is considered the pearl of the exposition.
The Great Catherine Palace from a bird's eye view
The history of the palace
In 1710, Peter I presented his wife Catherine with the Saar manor estate. Tsarskoe Selo bore this name at the beginning of the 18th century. The future empress liked the gift, therefore, simultaneously with the construction of St. Petersburg, a new palace began to be erected here.
The building was constructed by the architect I.-F. Braunstein. In the summer of 1724, the first palace was ready. It was a two-storey building in the "Dutch" style, in which there were 16 rooms.
Rear view of the Catherine Palace
Under Tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna, it was decided to expand the "stone chambers" of Catherine I. Several architects worked on the implementation of the large-scale project, and it was completed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. In 1756, the ingenious architect led the empress, her retinue and foreign ambassadors through the new palace.
He enlarged the building by one floor and applied a new layout. Small rooms and spacious halls passed into each other and formed a long Grand suite. 100 kg of gold were spent on the gilding of decorative elements. By order of Elizabeth, the facades were painted in a bright azure color, and a decorative monogram of the hostess appeared on the pediment.
View of the facade of the Catherine Palace
Under Catherine II, the talented architect from Scotland Charles Cameron was engaged in the design of the palace premises. Thanks to him, the palace received the features of antique architecture fashionable at that time. The severity of the design was harmoniously combined with the grace of the decoration.
Emperor Alexander I ordered new interiors to Vasily Petrovich Stasov. The court architect created a ceremonial office and several rooms in the palace, which were dedicated to the victory of the Russian troops over the army of Napoleon.
Big hall
During the Great Patriotic War, the city of Pushkin was in the zone of Nazi occupation. The royal palace was turned into a huge garage, and its priceless interiors were ransacked and partially destroyed by fires. The famous Amber Room was dismantled and taken out of the country. Her trace was finally lost in Konigsberg. The restoration of the architectural monument took many years.
Palace today
The palace building was built in the Baroque style and has a length of over 300 m. The building looks very elegant. The blue and white facades are decorated with rich gilding, snow-white columns, statues of caryatids, Atlanteans and lion heads. Inside you can see collections of paintings, arts and crafts, sculptures, antique dishes and furniture.
Arabesque hall
The main staircase is located in the southern part of the building. It is carved from white marble and decorated with balustrades and large ornamental vases. The steps covered with red carpets are illuminated by three tiers of windows. The walls are decorated with exquisite stucco moldings. They are decorated with vases and dishes of Japanese and Chinese porcelain from the 18th - 19th centuries. On the platforms between the aisles, you can see marble sculptures from the mid-19th century.
The Throne Hall or the Great Hall covers an area of 800 sq. m. Inside it, the feeling is created that the room has no end. In tsarist times, masquerades and formal receptions were held here. The spacious hall attracts attention with a huge painted plafond on the ceiling, openwork gilding, mirrors and beautiful parquet flooring made of light and stained oak.
White front dining room
After the Great Hall, tourists are led through the Cavalry Dining Room, designed by Rastrelli. This room is dominated by a gilded ornament of shells and flowers. There are served tables with porcelain dishes from the late 18th century.
All rooms of the Golden Suite of the palace are decorated with multi-tiered tiled stoves, which were made according to Rastrelli's sketches. Antique heaters are made like real works of art! The stoves are covered with tiles, columns and niches with blue cobalt painting.
Picture hall
Fans of painting are very fond of the Picture Hall, along the perimeter of which canvases by Western European artists of the 17th - 18th centuries are hung. Despite the artistic value of the collection gathered here, the paintings played only the role of a “colorful carpet”. They are placed close to each other and are separated by thin gilded frames according to the principle of "trellis" hanging. Under Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II, musical evenings, meals and diplomatic receptions were held in the hall.
One of the most spectacular premises of the palace is considered the personal apartments of Catherine II - the Arabesque Hall. The chambers are decorated with mirrors in gilded frames, elaborate stucco molding, ceremonial portraits of the hostess and her entourage. The ceiling depicts scenes from the ancient myths beloved by the empress.
Cavalry dining room
The Amber Room
An unusual room appeared in the palace under Peter I. It was made by the Prussian master Andreas Schlüter and presented to the Russian Tsar by the Elector of Prussia in 1716. During Peter's lifetime, amber decorations, panels and panels lay in the human rooms of the Summer Palace. In 1746 they were mounted in the Winter Palace, and after 9 years they were transferred to Tsarskoe Selo.
The recognized masterpiece of decorative art of the 18th century was lost during the Great Patriotic War. Attempts to find the Amber Room have been made over the years, but they have never been successful.
the Amber Room
In 2000, Germany handed over to Russia several of the fragments found - an amber chest of drawers and a Florentine mosaic. The rest of the interiors had to be rebuilt from scratch. The complex and expensive work lasted 23 years and was completed in 2003. Today, visitors to the palace see the magnificent result of the work of Russian restorers and artists, they heartily admire their skill and beauty of amber.
The room has a height of 7.8 m. The area of the walls is 86 sq. m, and the floor is 100 sq. For the restoration, 6 tons of "sun stone" from the Kaliningrad deposit were used. The largest nugget used in the decoration weighed 1 kg. It was specially bought from one of the Moscow collectors.
Resurrection Church
View of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ
In the northern part of the palace, the domes of the Orthodox Church of the Resurrection of Christ rise. The history of the house church began under Catherine I in 1713. The temple, which has survived to this day, was built during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and consecrated in 1756.
In 1820, the Great Catherine Palace survived a severe fire. A significant part of the church interiors burned down. True, in just two years the architect V.P. Stasov completely restored the temple.
Domes of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ
After the 1917 revolution, the palace church was closed, and the premises were given over to a museum. During the years of occupation, the Germans used the building as a garage. When Soviet troops liberated Pushkin, the temple was completely looted, and its roof was broken. In the postwar years, the church served as a warehouse.
The restoration of the temple interiors was completed in 2010. It was possible to return the former decoration only partially. The restorers have gilded five domes and part of the frames. Only three images have survived from the rich iconostasis.
Useful information for visitors
Second Anti-chamber
For tourists, the palace is open on any day, except Tuesday, from 12:00 to 18:00. Tickets are sold until 16:45. On Mondays, the museum is open from 10:00 to 21:00. Ticket offices close at 20:00.
Children under 16 are admitted here free of charge. Schoolchildren and pensioners pay 350 rubles, and adult tourists - 700 rubles. You can buy an audio guide - 150 rubles (2019).
There are a lot of people who want to get to the unique museum, so queues line up and sometimes you have to wait 2-3 hours. Participants of bus excursions get inside faster than others. It should be borne in mind that taking pictures and filming videos is not allowed everywhere.
Portrait hall
How to get there
The palace stands on the territory of the Catherine Park, in Pushkin. The city, which is located 25 km south of St. Petersburg, is easily accessible by train. By trains from Vitebsk and Baltiysky railway stations they get to Tsarskoe Selo station. Then, by any bus or fixed-route taxi, they get to the Sadovaya Ulitsa stop. From there to the palace-museum 450 m on foot.
You can use regular buses that run to Pushkin from the metro stations Kupchino, Moskovskaya and Zvezdnaya. You need to get to the stop "Sadovaya Ulitsa" and walk to the palace.
