Big Catherine Palace in Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo)

The Great Catherine Palace is also known as the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. Included in the list of objects cultural heritage RF. Architectural style: Elizabethan Baroque - a direction in architecture characteristic of 1741–1761, the era of the reign of Elizabeth I Petrovna. Its most famous representative was Bartolomeo Rastrelli, according to whose design this imperial residence in Tsarskoe Selo was built.

From a small building to a luxurious palace

The history of the palace dates back to 1717. But then it was not the Great Catherine that we know today. Initially, the royal residence was a modest-sized two-story building. The German architect Johann Braunstein worked on its construction. Then it was conceived as the summer residence of Catherine I.

In 1843, the new Empress Elizaveta Petrovna decided to expand and equip it. The task was entrusted to architects Andrei Kvasov and Mikhail Zemtsov.

This first building “lasted” until 1752, and it was rebuilt. So I saw the light luxurious palace, fully consistent with its high status. The palace included many service buildings and even a palace church. When decorating, they did not skimp on gold. The interiors were covered with gold, both inside and outside. The figures of Atlanteans on the main façade were even covered with gold.

The Grand Catherine Palace acquired its current appearance precisely under Elizabeth. Even after the reconstruction, she considered the previous building small and outdated. The dismantling of the old palace and the subsequent reconstruction lasted four years. And now the 325-meter palace is ready! When it was presented on July 30, 1756 to the royal nobles and guests from Europe, everyone was shocked by its splendor and scope.

Some features of the Catherine Palace

The azure facade was decorated with white columns, stucco moldings and figures of Atlanteans. Gilding gave the palace more solemnity. The wings, connected by covered galleries, extended from the central part of the palace. The five-domed palace church sparkled with gilded domes above its northern wing. Above the southern noble metal shone a dome, the spire of which was crowned with a multi-pointed star. Just imagine: about 100 kg of red gold were used for interior and exterior decor!

Under Elizabeth, the ceremonial rooms were located along the entire length of the palace - they formed the ceremonial golden enfilade. At the same time, the famous Amber Room and Picture Hall appeared. Famous foreign masters worked on the first one for more than five years. And in the hall there were collected more than a hundred masterpieces of Western European artists of the 17th – early 18th centuries.

Catherine the Great, who was partial to ancient architecture, also made her contribution to the arrangement of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. The Empress entrusted the work on further reconstruction of the palace to the Scottish architect Charles Cameron. Through his efforts, he acquired the Blue and Silver cabinets, the Domed dining room, two living rooms - Lyon and Arabesque, and Chinese hall. With her, the Agate Pavilion and the Cameron Gallery, the Cold Bath and the Zubovsky Building appeared. For Tsarevich Paul and his wife Maria Feodorovna, the State Blue and Chinese Blue Living Rooms, as well as the Waiter's Room, the Green Dining Room and the Bedchamber were created in the palace.

The front office and the adjacent rooms (architect V.P. Stasov) were created already under Alexander I Pavlovich in 1817. They were designed to commemorate the victory over Napoleon. In 1862–1863, the final stage of perestroika was the creation of the Grand Staircase.

In 1910, the palace changed its name from Bolshoi Tsarskoye Selo to Bolshoi Catherine Palace.

The Amber Room in the Catherine Palace

The authentic Amber Room, created by the German master Andreas Schlüter for the King of Prussia, Frederick I, and then presented by the monarch to Peter I, disappeared without a trace during the Great Patriotic War.

The Nazis who kidnapped her first exhibited this masterpiece in Royal castle Koenigsberg from 1942 to 1944. But in August 1944, after a raid by the British Air Force, a fire broke out in the castle. However, the amber panels were unlikely to be damaged: they were packed and hidden in the basements. When, in April 1945, the Red Army began to storm Koenigsberg, the Amber Room seemed to have sunk into oblivion. Since then, nothing has been known about her whereabouts: searches have yielded no results.

In 1981, work began on recreating the stone-cutting masterpiece of the 18th century. The reconstruction until 1997 was led by A. A. Zhuravlev. For this purpose, a special amber workshop was created in Pushkin. For the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg, celebrated in 2003, the Amber Room was completely restored. According to Baron Eduard von Falz-Fein, who saw the lost original at one time, the restored Amber Room is even better than the previous one.

Some halls and premises of the Catherine Palace

Main staircase. Luxurious marble staircase in Rococo style. Decorative elements: through carved balustrades and figured vases. The stucco decoration includes a large clock and a calendar.

Picture hall. Intended for diplomatic receptions. Contains a collection of paintings by Western European artists of the 17th–18th centuries. The most famous painting is “The Battle of Poltava”, commissioned by Peter I.

Big hall. In the 18th century it was called the Light Gallery. The front room is in the Elizabethan Baroque style. The hall is two-height, spanning the entire width of the palace. It has 13 windows on each side, its area is approximately 1000 sq. m. m.

Chinese living room of Alexander I. These were the emperor's personal chambers. The walls are decorated with portraits of Russian autocrats: Peter the Great, Catherine I, Catherine II, Elizaveta Petrovna, Anna Ioannovna and a large portrait of Alexander I himself.

The Great Catherine Palace, together with the Catherine Park, forms a single palace and park ensemble in the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve.

As a result of the restoration, 18 halls were restored in the palace, representing different eras in the development of the domestic interior.

The restoration of the palace is still ongoing, and on a strictly scientific basis, and its completion is still far away. But visitors can view exhibitions in rooms that have not yet been restored.

Address: 196601, St. Petersburg, Pushkin, st. Sadovaya, 7.

Opening hours: Monday - from 10:00 to 21:00, Wednesday - Sunday - from 12:00 to 18:00. Closed: Tuesday and every last Monday of the month.

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The history of Tsarskoe Selo begins from the moment Emperor Peter I gave the Saar manor to his wife Catherine in 1710. 7 years later, construction of the house begins under the leadership of the architect Braunstein, and after 7 years it ends, and the Empress awards it the name “Stone Chambers” "

The palace acquired its now famous appearance during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The facade of the building was painted azure, which wonderfully harmonized with the gilded decorative elements. The palace becomes three-story - the northern side is now crowned with the golden domes of the church, and a magnificent front porch adjoins the southern side. The monogram of its owner, Elizaveta Petrovna, appears on many elements of the jewelry. Changes also affected the interior. For the first time, a new layout was used here - the rooms moved from one to another along the entire length of the palace, forming the so-called Front Enfilade. The author of these changes was the famous architect Rastrelli, who also worked on the creation architectural complex Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

Beginning in 1770, during the era of Catherine II, the famous architect Charles Cameron worked in the palace. Under his leadership, the decoration of the residence acquired the features of ancient architecture. Under Alexander I, the architect V.P. Stasov was already in charge of decorating the rooms; during this period, the main theme of the interiors became the brilliant victory over Napoleon.

Halls and rooms of the palace

The main hall of the palace, the largest in all the palaces of St. Petersburg, is the Great Hall, or the Throne Hall. The ceilings reach about 47 m in height, and its width is approximately 18 m. Attention is immediately drawn to the magnificent parquet flooring and the majestic lampshade that covers the entire ceiling. The images on the ceiling symbolize Abundance, Science and Art, War and Victory.

Walking through the famous Front Enfilade with huge wall-length windows, you can see the Silver and Blue offices, the Lyon and Arabesque living rooms, the domed dining room and the Chinese room, the waiter's room, the bedchamber, and the front office. The famous Amber Room deserves special mention. In 1716, King Frederick William I of Prussia presented Peter I with amber panels. Since the cabinet area was slightly larger than the panels, we had to order the missing elements, which required approximately 450 kg of stone. Today every schoolchild knows the fate of this room; fortunately, after it was lost during World War II, it was restored.

Practical information

Address: Pushkin, st. Sadovaya, 7. Website.

Tsarskoe Selo is located just 25 km from St. Petersburg. The journey by car along the Pulkovskoye and Petersburgskoye highways will take from 30 minutes to an hour. By train: from Vitebsky railway station to the Tsarskoe Selo station, then from the Pushkin bus station by bus or minibus No. 382 to the Tsarskoe Selo Museum-Reserve stop. The total travel time is about an hour. In addition, buses and minibuses run from the Moskovskaya, Kupchino and Zvezdnaya metro stations to the museum.

Opening hours: from 10:00 to 18:00 (ticket sales until 16:45). Closed: Tuesday and last Monday of the month.

Under 16 years of age, admission is free, tickets for students, schoolchildren and pensioners of the Russian Federation - 350 RUB, adult tickets - 700 RUB. You can also buy an audio guide, it costs 200 RUB. Visa, MasterCard, UnionPlay and Maestro cards are accepted at the box office. Photography is prohibited in the Amber Room. Prices on the page are as of October 2018.

The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is the central part of the architectural palace and park ensemble in Tsarskoye 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 excursion for tourists through the halls of the palace takes about an hour, and during the rest of the time tourists can take walks along Aleksandrovsky or Catherine's Park, look at the exhibitions in the museum. A.S. Pushkin.

Reconstruction

The construction of the Catherine Palace, located in Tsarskoye Selo, began in 1717, and it was led by the 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 3 terraces became components. 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. White columns, beautiful figurines of Atlanteans and stucco elements serve as worthy decorations for the facades of the palace. 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 take a bus or minibus, which deliver passengers to the Tsarskoe 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 was 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 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, today 32 of the 58 halls have been restored, including the Amber Room. Perhaps this is the most impressive Russian “remake”.

// Part 27

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. Modern palace 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. Nearby there is a building 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”, transferred 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 on the subject ancient myth about the sun god Helios and the goddess morning 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 of the palace’s front suite.

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 a picturesque lampshade “Mercury and Glory” transferred from us.

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, 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, 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 Tsarskoye 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 location.

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.