Great Catherine in Tsarskoye Selo. Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Chinese blue living room

One of the most famous attractions of the suburbs of St. Petersburg is the Tsarskoye Selo Palace Park Ensemble in the city of Pushkin. Its pearl is the Catherine Palace. This place receives a huge number of tourists every year. After all, visiting St. Petersburg and not seeing its most famous palace is a big omission for a guest of the city. Let me tell you a little about the Catherine Palace. I am sure that the views of the palace and its famous halls will inspire you to visit this place.

A little history

The palace was founded in 1710. In this year, Tsar Peter I gave his wife Martha Skavronskaya, the future Empress Catherine I, the Sarskaya manor with the surrounding villages. A few years later, the architect Friedrich Braunstein built a small two-story palace. After the death of Catherine I, it passed to I’s daughter, Elizaveta Petrovna.

Since 1741, Tsarskoe Selo has become the official residence of Russian monarchs. Under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the palace underwent significant changes. By order of the Empress, it was decided to expand the palace building. Many famous architects worked on this: M. G. Zemtsov, A. V. Kvasov, G. Trezzini, S. I. Chevakinsky. F.B. was invited to refine the interior decoration and appearance of the palace. Shot. He began work in 1756. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​decorating the palace in the Baroque style. Subsequently, each emperor living here brought something of his own.

The palace greets its visitor with a gilded grille of the front gate. The facade is made with special chic in the Baroque style. An azure ribbon in combination with snow-white columns, gilded ornaments, and figures of atlans is business card palace He is unique! The luxury and splendor of the building leaves an indescribable feeling of awe and admiration. The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, being the official residence of Russian monarchs, hosted the most magnificent balls and masquerades. Here, in the northern wing of the palace, is the Palace Resurrection Church. Nearby, the building of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum is connected by an arch, about which you can read. Around the parade ground there are service buildings - circumferences.

State halls of the Catherine Palace

The first thing that greets you is the Grand (Main) staircase of the palace, made of white marble. This is a magnificent creation by the architect I. A. Monighetti. It was built on the site of the Chinese Hall. The walls are decorated with vases and dishes made of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, and a large clock and barometer also hang on the wall.

The staircase is decorated with sculptures “Waking Cupid”, and on the opposite side - “Sleeping Cupid”. The walls and ceilings are decorated with carved stucco. On the ceiling there are paintings “The Judgment of Paris”, “Jupiter and Callisto” and “Aeneas and Venus”. The first two were obtained from the collection of the State Hermitage. The third was donated to the museum by a Leningrad resident.

The staircase leads its visitors to the halls of the palace.

Big hall

The first hall you enter leaves the most exciting impression, because you find yourself in the Great Hall of the palace. It was also called the Light Gallery - the largest room. It was intended for official receptions and gala balls. The hall still amazes with its wealth and beauty. Gilded carvings, lampshades and mirrors all around - all this takes your breath away, and you want to examine and remember every bit of the decoration of the hall.

Thanks to 13 large windows on each side and mirrors between them, the architect F.-B Rastrelli was able to achieve such an effect that the hall seems huge and endless. Any sound is repeated 32 times. This was necessary so that the empress’s voice would be more menacing and powerful.

When restoring the hall after the war, architects spent a long time trying to restore this acoustic effect. A few years later he appeared on his own. During the day the entire hall is occupied sunlight, reflected in gold, and in the evening and at night it is buried in candles. The picture is completed by a parquet floor made of stained and lightened oak and a lampshade decorating the ceiling with images of soaring figures. Here you want to remember and hum a few notes from the waltz and dance, spin to the beat of the music.

At the ball in Ekaterininsky Far East The guests were eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Empress. And when the doors of the hall opened, their gaze was struck by the golden ceremonial enfilade of the courtyard tsa stretching along the entire building. The Empress walked through this enfilade, completely surrounded by gold, like a living portrait in a golden frame.

This was another brilliant plan of the architect F. -B. Rastrelli, embodied in the Catherine Palace. We heard a lot about balls and masquerades of that time, when festivities began in the evening and continued until the morning. The magnificent decoration of the palace made an indelible impression on foreign guests.

It is a well-known fact that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was an unrivaled fashionista. She forbade appearing at the ball in the same suit twice. The empress herself had about 15 thousand dresses in her wardrobe. The balls were held on a grand scale. Her courtiers had to comply in everything.

Cavalier's dining room

Next to the Great Hall is the Cavalier Dining Room. Its walls are decorated with paintings and carved gold patterns. The dining table is in the center of the room. It is draped with a tablecloth and gracefully decorated with ribbons. Here are items from the famous order services. The Cavalier Dining Room hosted receptions for small groups of guests, as well as small balls. She is more modest and cozy.

White formal dining room

The white formal dining room served for dinners for the imperial family. Formal dinners and celebrations were held here with luxurious and elaborate table settings, fountains of wine and champagne. On the walls of the hall hang paintings by the court artist I.F. Groota. They depict hunting scenes and still lifes. It was I.F. Groot introduced such a direction in painting as “hunting still life”.

Picture hall

The Picture Hall of the Catherine Palace contains works by the most famous and talented Western European artists of the 17th-18th centuries. A special place is occupied by the painting " Battle of Poltava", made by order of I. The room was intended for diplomatic meetings and receptions. It was decorated by the above-mentioned architect F.-B. Rastrelli. The paintings were selected by size and color combination to ultimately create a single mosaic covering all the walls of the hall During the Great Patriotic War, the room was completely destroyed.The paintings were taken out, preserved, and then returned.

Arabesque Hall

The Arabesque Hall is one of Catherine the Great's favorite state rooms. It was decorated by the architect C. Cameron. The panels with arabesques depicted scenes from the life of the ancient Romans: men and women, mythical monsters, subjects of myths and legends. Restraint and exquisite simplicity in details are the hallmark of the room.

Raspberry and Green Pillar

The Crimson and Green Pillar Rooms were named so because of the original design of the walls. Glass "pillars" decorated the walls. Under the glass there was colored foil imitating a precious stone. The rooms got their names in accordance with the color of the foil.

Raspberry Pillar was used for holding board games.

There was previously a pantry in Green Stolbovaya. Silverware and porcelain were stored here.

Portrait Hall

In the Portrait Hall of the palace there are paintings with ceremonial images of imperial persons. Presented here the most famous image of Empress Catherine I in her ceremonial dress and with the ribbon of St. Andrew the First-Called, as well as ceremonial portraits of Natalya Alekseevna (sister I), Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Empress Catherine II.

the Amber Room

The eighth wonder of the world - that’s what they call it. It was supposed to serve as an office where one could retire, or, for example, play cards. The amber panels were presented by the Prussian king Frederick William I as a diplomatic gift to Peter I. The Amber Room did not immediately take its rightful place.

Initially, a room in the Winter Palace was decorated with amber panels. Only after Empress Elizaveta Petrovna started reconstruction of the palace, the panels were transported to Tsarskoye Selo. They were carefully carried in their arms into the palace, into the room reserved for them. To room b It was completely filled with a delicate golden color, the architect F.B. Rastrelli applied the already tested illusory effect with mirrors. The fire of candles and the midday light of the sun was reflected in the mirrors and amber panels, enlivening the room, saturating it with warm amber light.

The Amber Room was completely lost during the Great Patriotic War. After the Nazis occupied Tsarskoye Selo, she was taken outside Russia. According to one version, in Koenigksberg. According to another, the room was hidden at the bottom Baltic Sea. Until now, this secret has not been revealed.

Scientists and amber craftsmen from Tsarskoye Selo have been working on restoring the room since 1979. They reconstructed the room from surviving photographs. The Amber Room was completely restored in 2003, for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

Work to restore the palace and interiors is still ongoing. Some of the rooms have been restored, but much more needs to be collected literally bit by bit. Architects meticulously, with the help of photographs and documents, create a layout (wooden model), and gilders cover each decorative element with gold leaf. A whole staff of professionals works painstakingly on every detail of the interior. Their work is difficult to overestimate.

When to visit

When is the best time to visit the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo? It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Visiting it in summer, you can admire the views of the palace and park, its wide alleys and the view of the Great Lake. A horse ride with a crew, an electric car through the park or a gondola ride on the Big Lake will make a visit to Tsarskoye Selo unforgettable. But in the summer there are so many visitors that you will have to sacrifice your time standing in line to get into the palace. This can last 20 or 40 minutes. Therefore, many advise visiting the palace in winter and the park in summer.

In my opinion, the most great time To visit it is early autumn. Period" Indian summer"Many writers and poets loved Tsarskoe Selo. The autumn sun is still warm like summer. The foliage on the trees amazes with a riot of colors and combinations. It is no longer as hot and stuffy as in summer, but not cold and rainy as in autumn or winter. Beauty The autumn decoration of the trees is in no way inferior to the beauty of the palace, but complements it.

How to get there

The State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo" is located at the address: , city, no. 7.

There are several ways to get to the museum:

• From Vitebsky station there is an electric train to the Tsarskoye Selo station. The cost of the beater will be about 40 rubles. Travel time is 30 minutes. Then you can get to the museum by minibus No. 371, 377, 382 or by bus No. 371, 382. You can walk. This will take approximately 30 minutes.
• From the Moskovskaya metro station there are minibuses No. 286, 287, 342, 347, 545. Their stop is located behind the “singing fountains” near the House of Soviets. Travel time will be less than an hour depending on traffic jams. The cost of the trip is about 40 rubles.
• Bus No. 187 goes to the railway station in Pushkin. Travel time will be approximately 75 minutes. The fare is 30 rubles. From the station you can take a minibus or bus to the museum.
• From the Kupchino metro station there are minibuses No. 545, 286, 287, 347, and bus No. 186. Travel time is less than an hour. The fare is 40 rubles.

In my opinion, the most convenient way to get to the museum is to take the minibus near the Moskovskaya metro station, quickly and comfortably get to the museum.

Opening hours and prices

Palace opening hours: 10.00 - 18.00. The ticket office is open until 16.45.

Closed: Tuesday and last Monday of the month.

To enter the palace, you need to buy a park ticket between April and October.

The cost of an adult ticket is 120 rubles.

For schoolchildren, students, military personnel, cadets, members of the unions of architects, artists, designers of Russia - 60 rubles.

For pensioners of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus - 30 rubles.

For visitors under 16 years old - free.

I hope my review was interesting and useful. I am sure you will get the most pleasant emotions from visiting the museum and will return there again and again!

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

Catherine Palace- former imperial palace. Located in the modern city of 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 façade, the large protrusions of the colonnades with the entablatures above them, the deep cavities of the windows creating a rich play of chiaroscuro, the abundance of stucco molding and decorative sculpture, the multicolored facades (blue and golden colors) give the building an emotional, rich, festive and very solemn appearance.

The huge volume Grand Palace noticeable immediately. 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 “Tsarskoe 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 comparison of the powerful arcades of the lower and light upper floors determines artistic image 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 Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, having significantly increased 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 tragic fate masterpiece, since the Nazis, having robbed the Catherine Palace, also 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 start of the assault on the city by 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 “Wilhelm Gustloff” sunk by Marinesko, 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.

Photo - Mary, 10.2015.

Catherine Park .

Grand Palace

Catherine Park, 1 - Sadovaya St., 9

Pam. arch. (feral)

The first two-story stone palace

1718-1724 arch. Johann Braunstein

New Palace

1743 - architect. Zemtsov M. G. - project

1743 - architect. Kvasov Andrey - reworked project

1745 - architect. Chevakinsky S.I. -

Grand Palace

1752-1756 - Rastrelli F.-B. baroque

Palace Church

State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo".

Catherine Palace

In the center of the architectural and park ensemble of the city of Pushkin there is a huge building of the Catherine Palace. In front of its eastern and western facades are the oldest parts of the Catherine and Alexander parks with a symmetrical layout. These rugular parks develop into extensive landscape parks created later. The palace and park complex was created over two centuries.

Grand Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.
Middle house superstructure project. 1st option.
Facade from the front yard.

2nd option. S.T. Chevakinsky according to the project
F.-B. Rastrelli. 1749-1750

Copy of the first page XIX century (.P.76-80.)

F.-B. Rastrelli.
Plan of the 1st and 2nd floors.

1st floor plan.

View. Great Palace.
kart. F. G. Barisien. 1760-1761.

Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

Facade of the Catherine Palace
(from the side of the square).
Hood. V. Sadovnikov. ([*].C.)

Old postcard.

1912

Church interior

E.P. Gau, "The Church in
Bolshoi
Tsarskoye Selo
palace", 1860s,
watercolor.

1911 Church choirs

• Pre-church hall

At the beginning of the 18th century. on a high hill 25 versts from St. Petersburg in the territory of what is now Catherine Park there was a small estate surrounded by forests. In Finnish it was called Saari mojs, Swedish. Sarishoff - “manor on an elevated place”, in Russian - Sarskaya manor. The estate stood on the former Novgorod land, captured in the 17th century. by the Swedes and returned at the beginning of the Northern War (1700-1712).

To develop the area around the construction of St. Petersburg, Peter I initially gave the Sarskaya manor to the governor-general of the liberated region A.D. Menshikov. Later, in 1710, by decree of the emperor, the Sarskaya manor (together with 43 assigned villages and lands) was donated to Martha Skavronskaya, who became his wife in 1712 under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna.

In 1718-1724. according to the project of the architect. Johann Braunstein built the first two-story stone palace here with rusticated corners and modest architraves - “stone chambers with sixteen rooms.” The palace was painted with red lead and covered with shingles. In front of the palace, a garden was laid out on raised earthen ledges. Behind the garden there were greenhouses and greenhouses. On the western side there was the Menagerie - a fenced area of ​​forest in which moose, cabbage and hares were kept for the royal hunt. A village, brick and tile factories, lime kiln sheds and other outbuildings appeared around the manor.
In 1724, a celebration was held in the new “chambers”, this emphasized the importance of the new palace estate, which soon began to be called Saarsky Selo, then Tsarskoye Selo.

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, large construction began in Tsarskoye Selo. In 1743, by order of Elizabeth, Arch. M. G. Zemtsov developed a project for a new, large palace, but it remained unfulfilled due to the death of the author. In the same year, the project was approved, revised by Andrei Kvasov, who had “a slight excess compared to the previous one.” The reconstruction of the Tsarskoye Selo palace according to this project began in 1744 and continued until 1748.

Since 1745, architect. S.I. Chevakinsky took part in the design and supervised the construction and finishing work. The task of the architect. complicating the order of the Empress to preserve the old house by making extensions to it. an old house was included in the central building of the palace, its facades received a new finish. The palace, created according to the design of Kavos and Chevakinsky, consisted of three buildings, a church and a greenhouse hall, connected by galleries. It was decorated with stucco on the outside and "plaster and carved work" on the inside.

The huge front courtyard on the western facade of the palace was surrounded by service wings located in a semicircle.

Further reconstruction of the palace was carried out by the architect. V.V. Rastrelli (1700-1771). In 1752, by decree of Elizabeth, relatively small palace buildings with discreet decorations were replaced by buildings of enormous size, with magnificent, ceremonial decoration of facades in the Baroque style. In 1752-1756, Rastrelli rebuilt the Grand Palace and, preserving the basic principles of the original layout of the entire ensemble as a whole, created a brilliant country residence.

The palace was built on. Its main facade, more than 300 m long, received a rich architectural treatment - a huge number of columns, pilasters and sculptures. The walls of the palace were painted azure, and the stucco decorations were covered with gilding. Between the palace church and the northern wing, Rastrelli left an open gallery, arranging a hanging garden there. The front yard was decorated with openwork gates, forged from iron by masters of the Sestroretsk factory and trimmed with gold. In 1751-1752 wooden lattice fences were replaced by a high stone fence with a gate according to Rasterelli's design. In 1754-1757. near the palace, on the site of the current Granite terrace, the building of the Rolling Hill was built according to the designs of A.K. Nartov and Rastrelli.

In 1746, the foundation of the palace church was founded, which was initially planned as a separate building. By the autumn of 1746, the circumferential wings were completed - one-story auxiliary premises located in an arc on the north-western side of the palace. The old stone chambers, topped with a new cornice and roof, increased in façade and height. From that time on, the chambers of Catherine I began to be called the Middle House.

Since 1748, construction work was headed by B.-F. Rastrelli, appointed chief architect of the palace. He developed his plan for the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace and Park and began a new reconstruction. All parts of the palace, previously connected by passage galleries, were united into an integral array. The middle house and side wings were built on a third floor, the facades of the palace received a new architectural treatment.

On July 30, 1756, a gala reception was held in Tsarskoe Selo to mark the completion of the construction of the Grand Palace.
The regular part of the Catherine Park went down the hill in terraces. In the 18th century this area of ​​the park was called the Old Garden.

Inside the palace, a suite of vast state halls with various artistic decorations appeared. To decorate the palace, 6 poods 17 pounds 2 spools of red gold (about 100 kg) were used.
The palace became the center of a huge royal estate. In addition to the Old Garden (later Catherine Park), between the front yard and the Menagerie, the New Garden was laid out at that time (on the territory of Alexander Park). The author of the garden project is unknown. Both parks had a regular layout. The arrangement of alleys, ponds, and bosquets was strictly symmetrical. Skillfully trimmed bushes and trees formed walls and niches in which statues were installed. There were many “garden ideas” in the park - figured ponds, sculptures, architectural structures, pavilions created according to the design of the architect. Rastrelli. Work on the creation of the palace and parks lasted 4 years. Rastrelli was helped by architect. assistants V.I. Neelov and A.I. Mylnikov, who made the drawings. Leaf gold was supplied by Moscow “leaf” craftsmen. The large sums of money needed for the construction of the royal residence were provided by the “salt commissariat” - the sale of salt taken into the treasury.

The new palace and park ensemble, built by the end of 1756, aroused universal admiration. In 1755, the Amber Cabinet was moved here from the Third Winter Palace. Tsarskoe Selo became the site of official ceremonial receptions for the Russian nobility and representatives of foreign states. Important issues were also decided here. government issues. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) meetings were held here.

Under Catherine II, Tsarskoe Selo retained its significance as a ceremonial residence. During this period, the appearance of the palace changed somewhat: due to the transfer of the main staircase to the center of the building, the dome that towered in the southern part of the palace was destroyed, the dilapidated gilded wooden statues were removed, and the gilded stucco decorations were painted over with ocher.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

The author of the palace church project was the architect S.I. Chevakinsky. The ceremonial foundation stone of the church, located in the northern part of the palace, took place on August 8, 1746 in the presence of Elizaveta Petrovna, the heir of Peter Fedorovich and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna.

The six-tiered carpentry iconostasis, decorated with gilded columns and pilasters, was created according to the design of F.-B. Rastrelli, and the carving work was entrusted to the best court master Johann Duncker. The picturesque ceiling depicting the Ascension of the Lord was executed by the artist Giuseppe Valeriani, who painted it for several years from 1749. In the same year, the Empress also established the color (dark blue Prussian blue) in which the church was to be painted in its final form.

The palace church, crowned with five gilded domes, was consecrated on July 30, 1756 in the name of the Resurrection of Christ by Archbishop of St. Petersburg and Shlisselburg Sylvester (Kulyabka) in the presence of the Empress. The unusually luxurious decoration of the temple was one of the best examples of the Elizabethan era. All the icons in the church, including those on the walls of the temple, in the altar and in the choir (there were 114 in total), were cut into the walls and covered with gilded frames. In the altar, above the altar, towered a huge carved gilded canopy on eight columns. The choirs and the rooms below them were separated from the church by a wall. The Empress and her Court were in the choir during services.

On May 12, 1820, the church burned down as a result of a fire, and most of the icons in it were destroyed. The domes restored after the fire by V.P. Stasov were somewhat different from the original ones and, as contemporaries noted, were less consistent with the appearance of the palace. The huge picturesque ceiling, repeating the work of Valeriyani, was painted anew by the artist V.K. Shebuev. The new lampshade in the altar, “The Glory of the Holy Spirit,” was painted in 1822 by the artist Dmitry Antonelli using plaster. In the choir room there is a new lampshade depicting St. Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia, was started in 1823 by the court painter Otto Ignatius, and completed due to the death of the latter by Gustavus Gippius. The restoration of most of the icons was undertaken by D. Antonelli. The remaining icons were painted anew by A. E. Egorov, professor Andrei Ivanov and painter I. F. Tupylev. During the fire, the frames were removed and saved. The church, restored after the fire, was re-consecrated on April 2, 1822 by Archbishop Jonah (Pavlinsky) of Tver and Kashin in the presence of Alexander I.

On the night of June 16, 1863, a fire occurred in the palace church again, completely destroying all the domes, but this time most of the images and church utensils were saved. Miraculously, the lampshade of the artist V.K. Shebuev also survived. Plafond in the altar of Dm. Antonelli died, but was re-painted on canvas by Academician Belloni. Restored within a year, the church was re-consecrated on October 27, 1864 by the confessor of the Imperial Family, Protopresbyter Vasily Bazhanov, in the presence of Alexander II. The domes of the palace church, restored by the architect Alexander Fomich Vidov, this time were more consistent with the style of “Elizabethan Baroque”.

Despite all the damage sustained during the fires, by the twentieth century the palace church had largely retained its original appearance, which it had during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna.

The church was officially closed on May 22, 1922, although services there ceased back in 1917. On June 9, 1918, a museum was opened in the Catherine Palace. During the Great Patriotic War, a garage was built in the church premises by German troops, and its interior decoration 98 icons remaining in the temple were looted or severely damaged. By 1944, only remnants of the famous lampshade remained. As a result of the counter-offensive Soviet troops The palace building was partially destroyed by direct hits from shells.

After the October social Revolution in 1918, Tsarskoye Selo palaces and parks were taken under state protection. They became historical and art museums and places of recreation. At the beginning of the Second World War, the most valuable exhibits were evacuated, and park sculptures were buried in the park. During the occupation, palaces and parks were badly damaged. After the liberation of the city in January 1944, work began almost immediately on clearing the park and conserving the Catherine Palace and pavilions. In June 1945, Catherine Park was opened, and in the spring of 1946, Alexandrovsky Park. After the war, thousands of trees were planted in the park, the Big Pond was cleaned, the facades of the pavilions of Catherine Park and a significant part of the park sculpture were restored.

Restoration work of the Catherine Palace began in 1957. The work was carried out by the Special Research and Restoration Production Workshops of the Main Architectural and Planning Department and the Fasadremstroy Trust. The author of the restoration project is architect. A. A. Kedrinsky. The facades of the palace were restored as close as possible to their appearance in the 18th century, later layers were removed. The destroyed porch of the front entrance from the side of the palace square, built in the mid-19th century, has been removed. In its place, a porch was recreated according to Rastrelli's drawings. The cartouches of the original design are reproduced in the pediments of the middle house. Already in 1958, part of the premises on the second floor was used for exhibitions. In 1959, the first restored palace halls opened. The regular part of the park in front of the palace has been recreated in its original form.

In the 1950s in the central part of the palace there was a museum; in the side wings there were: the All-Union Museum of A.S. Pushkin, a children's music school and a one-day recreation center. At this time, the park facade of the palace was partially hidden behind tall trees.

In January 1983, the palace and park ensemble of the city of Pushkin was given the status of a nature reserve, which in 1990 received its current name: the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum-Reserve.
In 1989, the palaces and parks of the ensembles of the city of Pushkin were included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

Restoration work continues in the halls of the Catherine Palace. From 2010 to 2013, restoration work was carried out at the Agate Companies, using conservation and restoration techniques with minimal replacement of losses (in accordance with the Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites).

The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is the central part of the architectural palace and park ensemble in Tsarskoe Selo. Thousands of tourists pass through the halls of this palace every day, and the most popular place here is the famous Amber Room, the restoration of which was completed just in time for the 300th anniversary of the northern capital of Russia. Photos and videos of the Amber Room can be seen below in the article.

During the military occupation of the city by the Germans, the building of the Catherine Palace was destroyed, but after the end of hostilities, ordinary people zealously began to restore it. But even now, more than 70 years after the end of the war, restoration work in some halls of the palace continues. A typical tour for tourists through the halls of the palace takes about an hour, and during the rest of the time tourists can take walks in Alexander or Catherine Park, look at the exhibitions in the museum named after. A.S. Pushkin.

Reconstruction

The construction of the Catherine Palace, located in Tsarskoye Selo, began in 1717, and it was led by good architect Johann Braunstein. During the same period of time, the Upper and Lower Gardens were created on the eastern side of the architectural structure, and components steel 3 terraces. In the western part of the palace, the Menagerie was built, on the site of which the Alexander Garden later spread out.

In 1744, extensions were made, and the main building was connected by spacious galleries with completed wings, consisting of two floors. Subsequently, the palace underwent changes more than once every time a new ruler came to power. But the largest reconstruction of the architectural structure was carried out during the reign of Empress Elizabeth. It was started in 1752 and was carried out under the leadership of the architect Francesco Rastrelli.

Recovery after the war

Catherine's palace in Tsarskoye Selo was completely destroyed during hostilities, and most of its interiors were lost. Many exhibits were lost even before the Second World War, when valuable sculptures, paintings and applied arts were sold for next to nothing. Some valuable works at that time went to the Hermitage. In 1959, the restoration of six halls of the destroyed Catherine Palace was completed, and they opened to visitors. In 2003, the main attraction of the palace, called the Amber Room, was completely restored. Photos and videos about which you can see in the article.

Palace architecture

The construction of a majestic architectural structure with a length of 306 m was carried out by a skilled master of the Baroque style - architect Rastrelli. Under his leadership, the dimensions of the architectural object, the interior decoration of the halls, the interiors and the decor of the palace facades were determined. The construction of the Catherine Palace took place from 1748 to 1756, and the interiors of the building reflect predominantly classical and Baroque styles.

The magnificence of this palace inside and out is simply amazing! The golden, bluish and white colors of the façade add solemnity to the appearance of the building. A worthy decoration white columns serve for the facades of the palace, beautiful figures atlases and stucco elements. The central part of the building is connected to the outbuildings by covered galleries. To the north of the central building is the palace church, decorated with 5 gilded domes. In the southern part of the building there used to be a front porch, but now there is a gilded dome, the spire of which is decorated with a star.

The interior design of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo was carried out by several outstanding masters, including Rastrelli, Vasily Stasov and Charles Cameron. According to their designs, the Great Hall of the palace, several halls for guest receptions, imperial chambers, a bright gallery (the largest palace hall), a Domed Dining Room, the Lyon Living Room, the Silver Cabinet, the Snuff Box, the Chinese Hall, and the Bedchambers were created.

How to get there?

You can get to the Catherine Palace on your own. Tourists need to get from Vitebsky railway station or Moskovskaya metro station to railway station city ​​of Pushkin. From here you can transfer to a bus or minibus, which takes passengers to the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve. You can get here without transfers from the Zvezdnaya or Kupchino metro stations, by bus 186. The location of the Catherine Palace is determined by the address Sadovaya Street, 7.

What tourists must see

While staying on the territory of the Catherine Palace, be sure to visit its beautiful halls, famous for their interiors.

The Amber Room. She was rightfully awarded the title of the Eighth Wonder of the World, and she appeared in the palace in 1775. At this time, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna ordered the natural amber panels that had previously decorated the Winter Palace to be transported to the residence. True, these panels were not enough to decorate the entire room, and therefore the architect Rastrelli, who led the process of transforming the room, decided to complement the decor with mirrors and amber painting. Subsequently, some canvases were replaced with panels made of real amber.

Throne room. The largest room in the Catherine Palace. Here are the highest ceilings, reaching 7 meters. Additional expansion of this room is given by numerous mirrors and huge windows. It was here that banquets, social events, balls, receptions and gala dinners were held in past centuries. On the ceiling of the Throne Room, visitors will be able to see beautiful paintings created by the artists Franciuoli and Wunderlich.

Arabesque Hall

Arabesque Hall. For a long time, restoration work was carried out here, so tourists were not able to visit the arabesque hall. However, it still opened in 2010, when the restoration was completed. Initially this room intended for ceremonial receptions on the occasion of the arrival of the empress. Subsequently, this room was converted for ordinary ceremonial receptions, and the name of the hall was given because its walls are decorated with arabesque paintings.

Video

Also everything listed above. You can look not only in photos, but also in small video films. Imagine truly the royal decoration and interior of the palace. Also, if you have visited the palace before, share your impressions with our readers. Or subscribe to one of our channels and receive the latest reviews about the Beauties of Russia.

The Catherine Palace occupies a central place in the palace and park ensemble of Tsarskoe Selo. Thousands of tourists visit its magnificent halls every day, and the most popular in the Catherine Palace is the famous Amber Room, restored for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

The Catherine Palace can be called a monument to the patience of the Russian people, who managed to restore a historical building destroyed during the years of occupation of the city of Pushkin by German troops. More than 70 years have passed since the end of the war, but restoration of some halls is still being carried out.

Opening hours of the Catherine Palace in 2019

The world famous Amber Room is located in the Catherine Palace. A tour of the Amber Room is included in the standard tour of the Catherine Palace. Visitors are gathered in the palace hall in small groups of 15-20 people. The group follows the halls of the palace with a guide. In my opinion, the inspection is too quick - the tour takes about 20 minutes. Therefore, you are unlikely to have time to look at the interiors, listen to the guide and take photographs at the same time. The group lingers in the Amber Room for just a couple of minutes. However, usually no one forbids you to break away from your group and calmly stroll through the halls of the Catherine Palace.

• In winter from 10:00 to 17:00
• During autumn, spring and winter holidays from 12:00 to 17:00
• Ticket offices close 15 minutes earlier
• Days off: Tuesday and last Monday of the month
• From May to September the only day off is Tuesday

It is recommended to start your walk from this palace, because... There may be significant queues and changes in opening hours for visitors without groups. The ticket indicates the time of visit (groups start every 20 minutes).

Photography is allowed in the Catherine Palace and Park, with the exception of the Amber Room.

Cost of tickets to the Catherine Palace in 2019.

• For adults - 700 rub.
• For children under 16 years old - free
• For students (from 16 years old) and students - 350 rubles.
• For pensioners in Russia and Belarus - 350 rubles.

• Save your park entrance ticket! A ticket to the palace is issued only upon presentation of a ticket to the park.
• Tickets to the Catherine Palace are valid for an hour after sale
• Excursion in Russian is included in the ticket price
• There is an audio guide in English, French, German, and Chinese. The cost of renting an audio guide is 200 rubles. You must leave 1000 rubles or an identity document as a deposit

Description

The construction of the majestic building, whose length is 306 meters, was carried out by the famous architect, master of the Baroque style, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. It was he who determined the main dimensions of the building, the decoration of its facades and interiors.

The construction of the building took place from 1748 to 1756; the interiors of the palace mainly reflect two styles - Baroque and Classicism. The Catherine Palace is magnificent, both outside and inside.

Exterior decoration

The blue, white and golden colors of the building give it a solemn and festive look. The facade is decorated with white columns, stucco elements and figures of Atlanteans. Outbuildings extend from the central part of the palace, connected by covered galleries. In the northern part of the building rises a five-domed palace church with gilded domes.

The south wing, where the front porch used to be, is topped with a gilded dome with a star on the spire. In total, almost 100 kilograms of red gold were spent on gilding the external and internal elements of the building.

Interior decoration

Such famous architects as Francesco Rastrelli and Charles Cameron, Vasily Stasov and Ippolit Monighetti took part in the design of the interior of the Catherine Palace.

• According to Rastrelli's design, reception halls were created on the second floor of the building; they were decorated with gold carvings and were located along one axis, making up the Golden Front Enfilade. He also designed the chambers intended for the residence of the royal family, the so-called Small Enfilade.

Based on the architect's drawings, the Great Hall or Light Gallery was created - this is the largest hall of the Catherine Palace. Often called the Throne Room and the Grand Gallery, it was intended for official receptions and ceremonial dinners, balls and masquerades. The area of ​​the hall, located across the entire width of the building, is 860 square meters. meters.

It should be noted that under Elizaveta Petrovna, court life in Russia acquired an incredible scope and the maintenance of the royal court, as well as court ceremonies, began to account for almost a large share of the state budget. Rastrelli took into account the scale of the events and invested all his skill, talent and engineering into the construction of the hall.

The hall, measuring 47 by 17 meters, has no ceilings, which creates a feeling of space and light. Through large windows facing both sides of the building, the sun's rays penetrate the entire room during the day, and in the evening the candles framing the mirrors are lit.

• During the reign of Catherine II, the palace was designed by the architect Charles Cameron. He created several rooms for the empress in the southern part of the palace. One of the most striking state rooms designed by Charles Cameron for Catherine II is the Arabesque Hall. The walls of the room were decorated with luxurious panels with ornaments (arabesques), which depicted men and women in Roman robes, priestesses at the altars and mythical creatures, dancing graces and cupids. This hall was completely destroyed during the war and was restored in 2010.

Also for Catherine II, who was passionate about ancient art, Cameron created the interiors of the Lyon Living Room and the Chinese Hall, the Domed Dining Room and the Silver Cabinet, the Blue Cabinet (Snuffbox) and the Bedchamber.

For Paul, the son of Catherine II, the architect designed the Green Dining Room, the Main Blue and Chinese Blue Living Room, the Waiter's Room and the Bedchamber.

• Under Alexander I, in 1817, the architect Vasily Petrovich Stasov, who also worked in the classicist style, created the State Office and several adjacent rooms.
• The final work on the reconstruction of the palace was carried out by the architect Ippolit Antonovich Monighetti, a representative of the eclecticism style, who built the Grand Staircase in 1862-63.

From the history

The Catherine Palace owes its beauty to three Russian empresses– Catherine I, Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II, who paid great attention to the country residence in Tsarskoe Selo.

Currently, it is difficult to imagine that three hundred years ago on the site of this majestic structure there was a modest two-story palace, consisting of 16 rooms and called the Stone Chambers.

Its construction began in 1717 under the direction of the architect Johann Braunstein. At the same time, on the slope on the eastern side, the Upper Garden, consisting of three terraces, and the Lower Garden were laid out. To the west, the Menagerie was built, later transformed into the Alexander Garden.

In 1744, according to the plan of the young architect Kvasov, the building was built on and connected by galleries with attached two-story outbuildings. Subsequently, each new Russian ruler also rebuilt the Catherine Palace.

A radical transformation took place under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1752. For four years, Francesco Rastrelli, a famous specialist in the Baroque style, supervised the reconstruction of the building and park.

During the Great Patriotic War, the territory of Tsarskoye Selo was occupied and the palace was almost completely destroyed, 80% of its interiors were lost. The Amber Room was taken by the Nazis from Pushkin and disappeared without a trace in Konigsberg before the entry of Soviet troops.

In addition, many of the museum's exhibits were lost even before the start of the war, in the 1930s, when the sale of many valuable objects of painting, sculpture and applied art began. The complex's employees did their best to protect the exhibits scheduled for sale. The curators tried to save the works of art by reducing the value of the painting, for example, instead of the Italian school, they indicated the Spanish one.

In addition, many valuable works went to the Hermitage: when a “gap” appeared there, works of art were taken from the museum in Tsarskoe Selo.

Valuable exhibits from the children's half of the palace were completely lost, including textbooks, transparencies and herbariums, pencils and notebooks. All this was given to children's colonies, where all the children of Petrograd who had lost their parents were brought.

In 1959, thanks to the painstaking work of restorers, historians and architects, six museum halls were opened. In 2003, visitors were able to see the pearl of the Catherine Palace - the Amber Room, the restoration of which took about 6 tons of amber.

Until 1910, the Catherine Palace was called the Great Tsarskoye Selo. It is currently a cultural heritage site Federal significance, part of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum-Reserve.