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The Catherine Palace is located. Grand Catherine Palace, Pushkin city

July 4th, 2014 , 10:32 am

The Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace is a Baroque masterpiece created by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli for Elizabeth Petrovna. During the Great Patriotic War, the palace was destroyed; to date, 32 of the 58 halls have been restored, including the Amber Room. Perhaps this is the most impressive Russian “remake”.

1. The central part of the palace is based on two-story “stone chambers” built in 1717-1724 by the architect Braunstein for Catherine I.

2. The modern palace was erected in 1748-1756 by the chief architect of the imperial court, F.-B. Rastrelli.

3. Now on the side of the building there is a monument to the famous architect.

4. The facade of the palace is presented in the form of a wide azure ribbon with snow-white columns and gilded ornaments, giving the building a special chic.

5. In the north-eastern part of the building is the Palace Church of the Resurrection.

6. There is a building nearby Imperial Lyceum, connected to the palace by an arch.

7. The front courtyard of the residence is limited by two circumferences and contains a parade ground. At the edges there are two yellow service (kitchen) buildings.

8. To get inside the palace in the summer, you need to stand in a forty-minute line in the heat.

9. While waiting, look at the details of the building.

10. The last large-scale restoration of the building was more than ten years ago, now the facades need cosmetic repairs.

11. The blue and gold paints have faded.

12. The columns of the palace support sculptures of Atlanteans; their faces can only be seen if you come close to the building.

13. First of all, we get to Grand staircase , decorated with the sculpture “Waking Cupid” from 1860.

14. The staircase was created under Catherine II by Charles Cameron on the site of the Chinese Hall. In memory of this, the interior is decorated with vases and dishes made of Chinese porcelain.

15. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with paintings “Aeneas and Venus”, “Jupiter and Callisto” and “The Judgment of Paris”. They replaced canvases that were destroyed by collapsed ceilings during the war.

16. The stucco decoration of the walls and the caryatids framing the doorways were restored based on the discovered details and pre-war images.

17. The large clock was also recreated.

18. Green dining room- part of the personal chambers of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and his first wife Natalya Alekseevna, built under Catherine II on the site of an open terrace - a “hanging” garden.

19. Interior Waitress decorated with mahogany chairs, a Swedish chest of drawers from the second half of the 18th century and a sculpture by M.-A. Collot "Head of a Girl" from 1769.

20. Small White dining room in the personal chambers of Elizabeth, Catherine II and Alexander I. Its interior was formed after the fire of 1820.

21. In the ceiling lamp there is a copy of the painting “The Bathing of Venus” by K. Vanloo.

22. Located next door Chinese living room of Alexander I.

23. Its interior is distinguished by silk upholstery of the walls painted with watercolors in the Chinese style.

24. On the walls are portraits, including those of Emperor Peter II, painted by I.-P. Ludena.

25. Next - Pantry, which until 1761 formed part of the Dressing Room on Elizabeth Petrovna’s half.

26. For the lampshade, a painting by the 17th century Italian artist P. da Cortona “Fishing Corals”, donated from the Hermitage collections, was used.

27. Cavalier's dining room- a small hall, visually enlarged by mirrors and false mirror windows.

28. On the tables are items of the famous “Order” services, decorated with signs and ribbons of Russian orders.

29. The picturesque ceiling in the center of the ceiling is decorated with a painting by an unknown Russian master of the mid-18th century based on the ancient myth of the sun god Helios and the goddess of the dawn Eos, obtained from the funds of the Russian Museum.

30. White formal dining room intended for ceremonial dinners and “evening dishes” of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in a narrow circle of those close to her.

31. Green Pillar under Catherine II, it served as a pantry, in which silverware and porcelain were stored. Here is one of the multi-tiered tiled stoves with cobalt painting, columns and niches. Similar stoves, created according to Rastrelli’s sketches, were an integral part of all the halls front suite palace

32.

33. B Portrait Hall ceremonial images of royalty were displayed. Nowadays, in addition to portraits, you can see one of the empress’s dresses.

34. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with transferred from Yusupov Palace picturesque lampshade “Mercury and Glory”.

35. The first in a series of the most impressive halls of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace - Picture hall with an area of 180 m².

36. Paintings are placed in it according to the principle of trellis hanging. When placing works on the wall, Rastrelli took into account, first of all, their size and color scheme: separated from each other by a narrow gilded baguette, the paintings merge into a single colorful “carpet”.

37. The “Olympus” lampshade, a copy of the lampshade of the Jordan Staircase of the Winter Palace, is in harmony with the overall color of the walls.

38. Big hall, or the Light Gallery - the most significant ceremonial room of the palace, created according to the design of the architect F.-B. Rastrelli in 1752-1756.

39. Its area is more than 800 m².

40. Alternating large windows with mirrors visually expands the boundaries of the room.

41. The sculptural and ornamental carvings, covering the planes of the walls with a continuous pattern, were made according to the sketches of Rastrelli and the models of the sculptor-decorator Dunker by 130 Russian carvers.

42. The original pictorial ceiling was painted in 1752-1754 according to a sketch by the Venetian artist D. Valeriani. It consisted of three independent compositions depicting the “Allegory of Russia”, “Allegory of the World” and “Allegory of Victory”.

43. In the 1790s, due to the deformation of the ceilings, Valeriani’s ceiling was removed to the palace storerooms, and in 1856-1858, the artists F. Wunderlich and E. Franciuoli created a new composition “Allegorical image of Science, Art and Diligence.” This lamp was destroyed during the war.

44. In the 1950s during restoration Mikhailovsky Castle The side parts of the old lampshade, “Allegory of Peace” and “Allegory of Victory”, which were considered lost, were discovered. It was decided to recreate Valeriani’s ceiling, returning the surviving compositions to Tsarskoye Selo. The central part was restored according to sketches and descriptions made by Valeriani himself, as well as according to a drawing by Stackenschneider from 1857.

45. Amber room rightly called one of the wonders of the world. Initially, this interior was created for the Prussian queen Miria-Charlotte, but in 1716 it was presented to Peter the Great by Frederick William I, but only under Elizabeth did it find a place in the old Winter Palace. With her, the precious panels were carried in her arms (!) to Tsarskoe Selo. Rastrelli installed them in the middle tier of the walls, separating them with pilasters and mirrors, and decorated the room with gilded carvings. Where there was not enough amber, fragments of the walls were covered with canvas and painted “to look like amber” by the artist Belsky. After the capture of Pushkin by German troops, the panels were taken away by the Kunstkomission team and until 1944 were exhibited at Königsberg Castle. When the Germans retreated, the panels were again dismantled, packed into boxes and taken to an unknown destination.

46. Restoration of the room began in 1979. In 2000, a Russian typesetting chest of drawers from the late 18th century and a Florentine mosaic “Touch and Smell,” which were part of the room’s original decoration, were returned to the museum, discovered in Germany. By 2003, the decoration of the hall was completely restored.

47. In an inconspicuous corridor of the palace hangs a painting depicting the palace in a terrible state in 1944. It reminds us of the enormous damage war can do to history and culture.

Tsarskoe Selo is a museum-reserve located near St. Petersburg in the city of Pushkin. Tsarskoye Selo is one of the three most visited attractions in St. Petersburg, not counting the northern capital. The other two attractions are of course the Hermitage and Peterhof. During our short acquaintance with St. Petersburg, among other things, we visited two of them. And today we will talk about Tsarskoye Selo, a museum with a rich and complex history.

How to get to Tsarskoye Selo

The easiest, most convenient and fastest way to get to Tsarskoe Selo is minibus. To do this, you need to take the metro to Moskovskaya station. There is a parking lot here between Moskovskaya Square and the House of Soviets commuter buses and minibuses. If you find it difficult to find your way, just ask the commuter bus stop or the House of Soviets. From this stop they go to Tsarskoe Selo minibuses No. 287, 342, 545. You can see in detail the route of minibuses with stops using the application. There is another option by train from Vitebsky station, but in Pushkin you will still have to change to a minibus. We left for Tsarskoe Selo from the Moskovskaya metro station and were there within 30 minutes.

Having arrived in Pushkin only after lunch and having analyzed the queue to the palace, we decided to limit ourselves to a walk in the park. It is worth mentioning that a ticket to the park, for which you also need to stand in line, is not an entrance ticket to the palace, where you need to stand additionally after entering the park. There are several pavilions in the park, and several exhibitions in the palace. Prices for visiting museum exhibitions can be found on the official website of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve.

There is an arch next to the ticket office. This arch connects the Church wing to the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin studied from 1811 to 1817 and graduated from it among the first cohort.

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Great Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo

Catherine Palace named after Empress Catherine I, by whose order the building was founded in 1717. The Saarskaya Manor estate was a gift from Peter I to his wife, now it is Tsarskoe Selo. The palace was the country residence of three Russian empresses: Catherine I, Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II. Each of the empresses contributed something different to the appearance of the Great Catherine Palace. The current appearance of the palace is the work of the famous architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, whose bust is installed on the north side of the palace.

By order of Elizabeth Petrovna, Rastrelli rebuilt and significantly enlarged the Catherine Palace. So in 1756, a 325-meter palace with a gilded facade appeared before the stunned guests. After the death of her predecessor, the Palace and the park passed into the possession of Catherine the Great, who until the end of her reign made adjustments to the appearance of the park and the palace, but nothing changed significantly in the palace.

The palace building was badly damaged during the Nazi occupation during the Great Patriotic War. In addition to the burnt building, the palace lost its main relic - the Amber Room, which was taken from Russia. Now the Amber Room, meticulously recreated by restorers, is open to the public in the Grand Catherine Palace. And the palace itself is included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

Catherine Park in Tsarskoe Selo

IN Catherine Park, like the Catherine Palace, you can only get through one entrance, although there are more of them. It is located on Sadovaya Street, not far from the minibus stop; they deliver you to the very entrance and pick you up from there. Catherine Park is fabulously rich. You can walk around the park for more than one day and it will still be difficult to leave here after seeing all its attractions. On an area of more than 100 hectares, in addition to the palace itself, there are many pavilions, bridges and monuments built in different time and in different architectural styles.

Cameron Gallery

You can start exploring the park's pavilions not far from Grand Palace, from the southern wing. The southern wing of the palace, or as it is correctly called Zubovsky, is named after the last favorite of Catherine II, Platon Zubov, for whom it was erected. The Cold Bath and Cameron Gallery are also located here. All three pavilions are connected by a ramp with the faces of Roman emperors.

The Cameron Gallery is named after the architect Cameron, who built this pavilion. The upper tier is decorated with busts of idols of Catherine the Great, and the pavilion itself was intended for philosophical walks and conversations.

From here they open beautiful views the entire park and the Maid of Honor garden.

Cameron's commitment to ancient art is visible to the naked eye.

Mirror Ponds and Upper Bath

Opposite the Great Catherine Palace there is a regular park, one of the main places in which is occupied by two Mirror Ponds. On the north side of the pond farthest from the Cameron Gallery is the Upper Bath.

As the name suggests, this building served as a steam room for members imperial family. Currently, admission to this pavilion is free; it features an exhibition dedicated to cinematic art, or more precisely to all Russian films filmed on the territory of Tsarskoye Selo. In one of the rooms, equipment from the Anna Karenina film set is displayed as exhibits.

Not far from the Upper Bath, there is the Lower Bath pavilion, where entry is paid.

The only thing that can ruin a walk is the rainy St. Petersburg weather, otherwise it’s very pleasant to walk along the cozy paths, shady alleys and symmetrically cut lawns and it’s easy to forget about time.

Pavilion Grotto, Tsarskoe Selo

The regular park can be divided into the Old Garden and the Hermitage Grove. The Old Garden includes two Mirror Ponds, the Upper and Lower Baths and the Grotto Pavilion.

The grotto, built by Rastrelli himself, was decorated in accordance with its name. Patrons of the seas, dolphins and shells create the mood of the sea. The interior decoration of the Grotto was changed many times, so the tuff disappeared from the walls, making the room even more like a grotto. Many sculptures and paintings from the Grotto are currently in the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum.

Hermitage Pavilion, Tsarskoe Selo

The old garden is separated from the Hermitage Grove by the Fishing Canal, through which several stone bridges are thrown. The bridges fit very colorfully into the created landscape.

The Hermitage Grove is named after the main building in this part of the park. The Hermitage Pavilion is also the main attraction of the entire regular park.

The Hermitage is one of the classic examples of Russian Baroque. Typically, the project was developed by Zemtsov, and Rastrelli only executed it, adding some details, such as columns. The interior decoration is also typical architectural style Baroque, as you can easily see by purchasing a ticket to the Hermitage pavilion. By paying a little more and arriving at a certain time, you will be given a tour of the internal halls of the Hermitage with a demonstration of the lifting table mechanism. The lifting mechanism allowed the reigning persons to receive replacement dishes without seeing the servants. The mechanism lowered the table into the kitchen, located on the ground floor, and the already set table rose into the refectory hall.

Lower ponds and their attractions

The northeastern border of the park is conditionally limited by the lower ponds. Behind the last third there is a symbolic gate.

The gate “To my dear colleagues” was built in 1817 in honor of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. The text engraved on the gate belongs to the hand of Alexander I.

Nearby there is a cast-iron gazebo where you can relax from the hustle and bustle of the regular park. It should be noted that almost no one comes to this part of the park.

The cascade bridge separates the Second Lower Pond and the Third Lower Pond.

The same cascade bridge separates the First and Second Lower Ponds. Next to this cascade bridge is the Morean Column, which is a monument to Russia’s victory in the Russian-Turkish War.

So, moving from the Third Pond to the First, we reached Big Lake, on the shores of which, and on the lake itself, there are many attractions. The first thing we saw was Rabbit Island, there is a ferry nearby that takes everyone to the Big Island. The ferry has a schedule and cost. And on Big Island there is a concert hall “On the Island” and the Chesmenskaya (Oryol) Column, works of the famous architect Antonio Rinaldi. It was erected in honor of the naval victories of Count Orlov.

Admiralty and Turkish Bath

Here, on the shores of the Big Lake, already at the end of the 18th century, three brick buildings were built under the common name of the Admiralty. These buildings are no longer built in the Russian Baroque style, but closer to Gothic.

On the opposite bank of the Big Lake from the Grotto pavilion, there is a Turkish bath. The pavilion conceived by Alexander I was brought to life by the architect Monighetti. The Turkish bath was built in memory of the Russian-Turkish war. During the Great Patriotic War, the pavilion was destroyed and later restored. Entrance to the Turkish Bath pavilion is paid.

Landscape Park, Tsarskoe Selo

Behind Big lake Landscape Park begins. Many canals with bridges, paths, hills and trees make the walk unforgettable. While here, you can easily lose your sense of reality and fall into a real fairy tale.

Walking through the Landscape Park, we crossed Ramp Alley, which leads to the Cameron Gallery. And on the way we will see the Granite Terrace. I would like to admit that we looked up all the names and locations of pavilions and alleys in the free map that is issued at the ticket office along with a ticket to the park, so you will not be left without a life-saving landmark.

The Granite Terrace, decorated with exact copies of ancient statues, overlooks the Admiralty.

And if we look straight from the terrace, we will see the same Concert hall on the Big Island, in front of it is the sculpture “Nerves, Caesar of Rome”, and even closer to us is the statue “Venus with Cupid”.

In the southwestern part of the park there are Upper Ponds, which became the main element of the landscape design of this part of the park.

In the very depths of the islands, surrounded by a pond, is the Ruin Kitchen Pavilion.

Nearby is the Concert Hall pavilion.

Already quite on the border with the Alexander Garden is the Creaking (Chinese) gazebo, conceived by the architect Rastrelli and embodied by Neelov.

From here you can already move towards the exit from the park, that is, towards the Great Catherine Palace. On the way we came across another pavilion, the Evening Hall. One of the latest structures of the Catherine Park, built already in the 19th century.

Already almost next to the Zubovsky outbuilding, to which we came out, there is a colorful Pergola (Trellis gazebo), a favorite place for photo sessions of newlyweds.

The perlog is the conditional boundary of the so-called Own Garden. It is easy to recognize by its marble fountain and the “Nymph” sculpture.

We left the territory of the Catherine Park not through the main entrance, but through Triangular Square, past the Golden Gate of the Catherine Palace. We showed this side of the palace at the very beginning of the article. By the way, entrance to the inner territory of the palace is allowed only as part of excursion group by passes.

Opposite the Golden Gate to the Catherine Palace is the entrance to the Alexander Garden. Having gone around the palace buildings, we again find ourselves on Sadovaya Street, next to the arch. Next to the Lyceum is the first stone church in Pushkin.

Tsarskoe Selo - review

There are some tips for everyone who decides to visit Tsarskoe Selo in St. Petersburg. If your trip coincides with the tourist season, which is May-September, then be prepared for a huge number of people. As mentioned above, Tsarskoe Selo is one of the most visited attractions of the northern capital. The visitors here are very diverse and not only our compatriots, but also many foreigners, and delegations from China are very numerous. Therefore, if you want to walk not only in the Catherine Park, but also visit the Catherine Palace itself, you should come here early in the morning and take sandwiches with you, because standing in line and walking through the park can last the whole day.

As for us personally, the road from St. Petersburg is not at all tiring. It only tires a large number of of people. But not everything is so bad here, there are large crowds only at the Catherine Palace itself (the queue for the palace) and at the Cameron Gallery. The rest of the park is almost empty, so it will be comfortable to walk around even at rush hour and in the peak season. As for entering the palace, if you still intend to get inside, be prepared to stand in a 2-3 hour queue. But the inconvenience will not end there. Due to the large flow of tourists, you will not be allowed to walk freely through the halls of the palace. The excursion is very limited in time, and you will see the Amber Room almost without stopping. So if you still want to see the legendary Amber Room, be patient.

Grand Catherine Palace April 1st, 2013

The main attraction of Tsarskoe Selo (now known as Pushkin) is, without a doubt, the Great Catherine Palace - one of the largest in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. Millions of tourists visit it every year, so don't visit the former imperial residence it was simply impossible. We will not just look at the palace from the outside, but also look inside, where the simply luxurious royal living rooms and halls have been restored.

The palace was founded in 1717 under the leadership of the German architect I.F. Braunstein as the summer residence of Empress Catherine I.

In 1743, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna commissioned Russian architects M. Zemtsov and A. V. Kvasov to expand and improve the palace. It was under Elizabeth Petrovna that the palace acquired its current appearance and style.

In 1752, she commissioned the architect B.F. Rastrelli to rebuild the palace again, because she considered it too old-fashioned and small.

After dismantling, a grandiose reconstruction and construction work that lasted 4 years, a modern palace appeared, made in the Russian Baroque style.

On July 30, 1756, a presentation of the palace to Russian nobles and foreign guests took place.

During the German occupation, the palace and surrounding buildings were badly damaged, many were looted. Now millions of tourists from all over the world come to see the restored palace and park ensemble. On a summer day there are unusually many of them here. To get inside, I had to stand in line for a couple of hours.

Price entrance ticket is 320 rubles - in addition to the excursion, which is offered for this money, this also includes photography.

A group of Asian tourists are photographed in front of the palace:

The first place we come to after passing through the turnstiles is the Grand Staircase. It occupies the entire height and width of the palace and is illuminated from the east and west by windows located in three tiers.

The main staircase divides the recreated halls into two parts. First we will go to the Great Hall. In front of it is the Cavalier Dining Room:

Multi-tiered tiled stove in the Cavalier's dining room. Similar stoves, created according to sketches by F.B. Rastrelli, were an integral part of all the halls of the palace’s front suite.

The Great Hall, or the Light Gallery, as it was called in the 18th century, is the largest front room of the palace. It was intended for official receptions and celebrations, ceremonial dinners, balls and masquerades. One way view:

And the view in the opposite direction:

The windows of the Great Hall, which occupies the entire width of the palace, overlook both sides. From this window you can see the courtyard:

Let's go again through the Grand Staircase to the other half of the palace.

The White State Dining Room was once intended for ceremonial dinners and “evening meals” of the Empress in a narrow circle of those close to her.

A string of doorways typical of palaces of those times:

Raspberry and Green Column:

In the Portrait Hall:

Next is the famous Amber Room. Since filming was strictly prohibited there, we only managed to take a shot from the next room. Yes, everything glitters there, everything is great, but there was nothing supernatural there:

The painting hall serves its intended purpose - there are a large number of paintings from the 18th century.

Adjacent to the Picture Hall is the Small White Dining Room, from which the personal chambers of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and later Catherine II, began, who in turn passed them on to her beloved grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future Emperor Alexander I.

The Chinese living room of Alexander I belonged to the personal imperial chambers.

Portrait of Alexander I himself by the artist D. Dow:

The pantry belonged to the personal chambers of the Empress and until 1761 formed part of the Dressing Room on the half of Elizabeth Petrovna. In the middle of the 19th century, the room was divided by a white damask partition, behind which a service buffet was set up for serving tables during receptions.

A table similar in shape to the bean in the Pantry:

The Green Dining Room begins the private chambers in the northern part of the palace, created in the 1770s by decree of Catherine II for Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (future Emperor Paul I) and his first wife Natalya Alekseevna:

The tour of the palace ends in the Waiter's Room - one of the service rooms of the building:

From the Waiter's Room I got to the Church (Stasovskaya) staircase, which was built in 1843-1846 by the architect V.P. Stasov. It received the name Tserkovnaya due to its proximity to the hall leading to the Palace Church. But they didn’t take me there - I just went down to the first floor, where the exit was.

But before we left, we were taken through a gallery with photographs of the palace in different eras of its history:

This is what the Great Catherine Palace looked like after the defeat by the German occupiers:

And the palace looks so magnificent after more than half a century, which cannot but rejoice:

The palace itself is located in a fairly large park, which we will look at in the next part of my story.

To be continued...

Catherine Palace is one of the largest palaces in the vicinity of St. Petersburg.

Catherine Palace- former imperial palace. Is located in modern city Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoe Selo), 25 kilometers south of St. Petersburg. The city of Pushkin itself is part of the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg.

Gate of the Catherine Palace

Let's come closer..=)

The building was founded in 1717 by order of the Russian Empress Catherine I. The palace was built in the late Baroque style.

IN Soviet time A museum was opened in the palace. During the war, the palace was severely destroyed. Its restoration took many years and is continued by the Leningrad School of Restorers on a strictly scientific basis.

The history and architecture of the palace reflect both the architectural trends of each of the eras that the palace experienced, as well as the personal preferences of the Russian rulers of that time.

The palace was founded in 1717 under the leadership of the German architect Johann Friedrich Braunstein as the summer residence of Empress Catherine I.

In 1743, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who had just ascended the throne, commissioned Russian architects Mikhail Zemtsov and Andrei Vasilyevich Kvasov to expand and improve the palace. It was under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna that the palace acquired its current appearance and style. In May 1752, she commissioned the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (whose most famous building is the Winter Palace on Palace Square) to rebuild the palace again because she considered it too old-fashioned and small.

After dismantling, a grandiose reconstruction and construction work that lasted four years, a modern palace appeared, made in the Russian Baroque style. On July 30, 1756, a presentation of the 325-meter palace took place to shocked Russian nobles and foreign guests.

In 1752-1756, Rastrelli rebuilt the Catherine Palace as follows. The longitudinal axis of the building became the main spatial coordinate in its plan; the enormous length of two parallel enfilades of the main rooms, the scale of which increases towards the center - the Great Hall and the Picture Gallery, is emphasized by the removal of the main staircase to the south-western end of the building. The rhythmic variety of the order system of the facade, the large projections of the colonnades with the entablature braces above them, deep depressions windows creating a rich play of chiaroscuro, an abundance of stucco molding and decorative sculpture, multi-colored facades (blue and golden colors) give the building an emotional, rich, festive and very solemn appearance.

The huge volume of the Grand Palace is immediately noticeable. In addition, the symmetrical axial system of overhead porticoes of the palace facade corresponds to the main spatial coordinates of the park plan.

Catherine Park in Tsarskoye Selo is one of five parks in the city of Pushkin. Catherine Park directly surrounds the Great Catherine Palace, forming a palace and park ensemble with it. It consists of a regular Old Garden and a landscaped English Park. The park is part of the State Artistic and Architectural Palace and Park Museum-Reserve “Tsarskoye Selo”.

One of the most memorable buildings in Catherine Park is undoubtedly Cameron Gallery. Conceived by Empress Catherine II for walks and philosophical conversations and implemented by Charles Cameron, the gallery is located on the slope of a hill, on the border of the regular and landscape parts of Catherine Park. In terms of height, the Cameron Gallery coincides with the Catherine Palace, but due to the fact that it stands on a gentle slope, the height of its lower floor increases significantly with distance from the palace due to the gradual rise of the base, made of hewn blocks of the Syask slab. The walls of the first floor of the gallery are cut through by three-part window openings, the walls between which are lined with roughly processed Pudost stone. The lower floor serves as the base of the second tier colonnade, consisting of 44 white fluted columns with Ionic capitals.

Departing from the accepted proportions in the ratio of the height of the columns and the intervals between them, Charles Cameron slightly increased the latter, giving the colonnade special lightness and grace. The enlarged window openings of the glazed hall in the central part of the second floor of the building give it complete transparency. The juxtaposition of the powerful arcades of the lower and light upper floors defines the artistic image of the Cameron Gallery, embodying the philosophical idea of the eternal contrast of existence.

The architect repeated the motif of four-column porticos several times: at the two main entrances - on the eastern and western sides they support the pediments of the colonnade, and on the elongated northern and southern facades they are repeated for decorative purposes.

The frieze and cornice encircling the gallery are interpreted in the strict classical tradition: the frieze is decorated with elegant wreaths, the cornice with lion masks.

The grotto, a garden pavilion decorated inside with shells and tuff, was a mandatory part of regular parks in the 18th century.

The project to build a Grotto in a regular part of Catherine Park on the shore of the Big Pond was also developed by the architect Rastrelli.

The main work on the construction of the pavilion was carried out in 1755-1756, under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and was completed under Catherine II in the 1760s. Rastrelli's plan - to decorate the interiors with multi-colored sea shells and porous tuff - was not realized.

During the German occupation, the ensemble was badly damaged, the palaces were looted, and many exhibits were burned. Now the ensemble has been completely restored.

One of the most famous rooms of the Catherine Palace is the Amber Cabinet or the Amber Room.

The amber cabinet was created by master Gottfried Tussaud for the Prussian king Frederick I. Amber was mainly used in decoration. The masterpiece consisted of amber panels, decorations and panels. In 1717, his son, King Frederick William I, presented the office to Peter I as a gift. The Amber Cabinet was packed and, with great precautions, transported to St. Petersburg in 1717.

In 1743, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna instructed master Alexander Martelli, under the supervision of chief architect F. B. Rastrelli, to “fix” the cabinet. And by 1770, under the supervision of Rastrelli, the office was transformed into the famous Amber Room of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, significantly increasing in size and luxury. And so much so that it is still sometimes called the “eighth wonder of the world.”

Sudden temperature changes, stove heating and drafts destroyed the amber decoration. Restoration was carried out in 1833, 1865, 1893-1897, 1933-1935. Serious restoration was planned for 1941.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, museum valuables from the Catherine Palace were taken to Novosibirsk. They decided not to touch the Amber Room due to its fragility; they preserved it on site. The panel was covered first with paper, then with gauze and cotton wool. This became a fatal mistake that predetermined the tragic fate of the masterpiece, since the Nazis, having robbed the Catherine Palace, stole the Amber Room.

From 1942 to the spring of 1944 it was exhibited for review in Royal castle Koenigsberg. In August 1944, as a result of a massive British air raid, a fire broke out here, but it is believed that the panels were not damaged, and the room was packed and hidden in the dungeons of the castle. Boxes with panels were stored in the basements of the castle until the storming of the city began. Soviet troops.

After the Soviet troops stormed Königsberg in April 1945, the Amber Room disappeared without a trace. Her further fate still remains a mystery.

The search for the Amber Room, organized immediately after the end of the war, did not yield results. At first it was believed that it burned down in the ruins of Königsberg Castle, but already from 1946, opinions were increasingly expressed that the Amber Room survived the fire. Many hypotheses have been put forward where it could be located today: from Königsberg to Coburg, from the salt mines of East Germany to secret vaults and American bank safes. It was even assumed that the Amber Room was on the ship that was sunk by Marinesko.” Wilhelm Gustloff”, or on the cruiser “Prinz Eugen” transferred to the United States as reparations.

Since 1979, Russian specialists from the specially created “Tsarskoye Selo Amber Workshop” have been working on the reconstruction of the disappeared treasure. For the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg in May 2003, it was restored in full from Kaliningrad amber.