Great Catherine Palace style. State halls of the Catherine Palace

Great Catherine Palace, Pushkin city.The exhibition of the Catherine Palace (until 1910 - the Great Tsarskoye Selo) Palace Museum covers the almost 300-year history of the outstanding monument and introduces the work of the architects who participated in its construction and decoration in XVIII-XIX centuries, as well as with the achievements of restorers who revived the palace after the Great Patriotic War. Of the 58 halls of the palace destroyed during the war, 32 have been recreated.

In 1717, when St. Petersburg was created on the banks of the Neva, in Tsarskoe Selo under the leadership of the architect I.-F. Braunstein began the construction of the first stone royal house, which went down in history under the name “stone chambers” of Catherine I. In August 1724, to signify the completion of construction, a festival was held in the palace, during which “13 cannons were fired three times.” The Tsar and major statesmen were present at the celebration. At that time, the palace was a small two-story building typical of Russian architecture of the early 18th century.

Adolsky I-B.G. "Portrait of Catherine I with a Little Arab". 1725 or 1726. The portrait was repeated and copied several times. A similar version, attributed to the master, is kept in the collection of the Catherine Palace.

During the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, at the end of 1742 - beginning of 1743, it was decided to expand the building according to the design of M. G. Zemtsov (1688-1743), but the death of the architect prevented the implementation of the plan. After Zemtsov, work in Tsarskoye Selo was carried out by A. V. Kvasov (1720 - after 1770) and his assistant G. Trezzini (1697-1768), but already in May 1745 Trezzini was replaced by the famous architect S. I. Chevakinsky (1713-1780) , who supervised construction in Tsarskoye Selo until the early 1750s.

From the end of 1748 to 1756, the construction of the Tsarskoye Selo residence was headed by the chief architect of the imperial court, F.-B. Rastrelli (1700-1761). On May 10, 1752, Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on a major reconstruction of the old building, and already on July 30, 1756, Rastrelli demonstrated his new creation to the crowned customer and foreign ambassadors.

Portrait of Empress Elizabeth from Tsarskoye Selo in the Historical Museum

Friedrich Hartmann Barisien. Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna 1760-1761

The palace, built in the Baroque style, delighted with its size, powerful spatial dynamics and “picturesque” decor. The wide azure ribbon of the facade with snow-white columns and gilded ornaments looked festive.

Rastrelli decorated the palace facades with figures of Atlanteans, caryatids, lion masks and other stucco decorations made according to models by the sculptor I.-F. Duncker (1718-1795). The five gilded domes of the Palace Church rose above the northern building, and above the southern one, where the front porch was located, a dome with a multi-pointed star on the spire.

About 100 kilograms of red gold were spent on gilding the external and internal decorations. At the same time, the parade ground was finally decorated, fenced with palace wings and single-story service buildings located in a semicircle - circumferences. Rastrelli decorated the palace apartments just as luxuriously. The Front Enfilade he created, decorated with gilded carvings, was called “golden”. The enfilade arrangement of halls, unknown in Russia until the mid-18th century, was introduced by Rastrelli in other palaces, but only in Tsarskoye Selo the length of the front rooms was equal to the length of the entire building - from the Main Staircase to the Palace Church.

Rotary - Portrait of the Architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli

The next stage in the design of the ceremonial and residential halls of the palace dates back to the 1770s. The new owner of the residence, Empress Catherine II, who was passionate about ancient art, wanted to decorate her apartments in accordance with fashionable tastes and entrusted their decoration to the Scottish architect, an expert on ancient architecture, Charles Cameron (1743-1812).

The interiors he created - the Arabesque and Lyon living rooms, the Chinese Hall, the Domed Dining Room, the Silver Cabinet, the Blue Study (Snuffbox) and the Bedchamber - were distinguished by their refined beauty, severity of decorative design and special elegance of decoration. Unfortunately, these halls were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War and have not yet been restored.

The rooms intended for Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (the future Emperor Paul I) and his wife Maria Feodorovna, decorated by Charles Cameron in the same years, have now been recreated: the Green Dining Room, the Waiter's Room, the State Blue Living Room, the Chinese Blue Living Room and the Bedchamber allow you to get acquainted with the unique interiors , created by a Scottish architect, whose work was so loved by Catherine II.

Edward Gau. Catherine Palace. Blue office (Snuffbox) (Zubovsky wing)

In 1817, by order of Emperor Alexander I, the architect V. P. Stasov (1769-1848) created the State Office and several adjacent rooms, decorated in the same style - all of these rooms were dedicated to the glorification of the brilliant victories won by the Russian army in the Patriotic War 1812. The Asian room became the embodiment of the theme of the art of the Middle East in the transcription of the era of historicism. The Asian, or Turkish, room of the Zubovsky building of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace was remodeled in “oriental taste” in 1851 -1853 from the Raspberry Room according to the design of the architect I.A. Monighetti with the participation of Professor of St. Petersburg University Sheikh Muhamsla Ayad Tantawi and artist I.G. Meyer.
In this, one of the most interesting exotic interiors of Monighetti, the decoration of the room was built with the expectation of displaying the collection of royal weapons. But it was here, in the room created for Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Emperor Alexander II, that the architect managed to rise above the narrowly applied task and create one of the brightest and most complete artistic interiors.

Gau, Eduard Petrovich - Turkish room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo

The final chord in the palace enfilade was the Grand Staircase, created in 1860-1863 by I. A. Monighetti (1819-1878) in the “second Rococo” style.

Bust of F.-B. Rastrelli

Golden Gate

Grille of the Front Courtyard.

Main staircase.

The main staircase occupies the entire height and width of the palace and is illuminated from the east and west by windows located in three tiers. White marble steps rise on both sides to the middle platform, from which four flights lead to the second floor, to the state rooms. On the walls of the interior, decorated with stucco ornaments, there are decorative vases and dishes of Chinese and Japanese porcelain of the 18th-19th centuries - in memory of the Chinese Hall located here in the mid-18th century.

Exhibition rooms.

Two rooms of the Catherine Palace, which can be entered by climbing the Grand Staircase, are now used as exhibition rooms.

Big hall.

The Great Hall, or the Bright Gallery, as it was called in the 18th century, is the largest ceremonial room of the palace, designed by the architect F.-B. Rastrelli in 1752-1756. This elegant hall with an area of more than 800 square meters was intended for official receptions and celebrations, formal dinners, balls and masquerades.

Anti-cameras.

Guests who came to Tsarskoe Selo in the 18th century first of all found themselves in the anticameras (Italian anticamera - front, hallway), located near the Grand Staircase in the southern wing of the building. These rooms got their name because they were located in front of the Great Hall and were intended to await receptions and the appearance of the Empress. As a result of reconstruction at the end of the 18th century, when the Arabesque and Lyon halls appeared in place of two anti-chambers, only three remained.

"First Anti-Camera"

“First Anti-Chamber”. Plafond “Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne”

First Anti-Chamber of the Catherine Palace 1940

"Second Anti-Chamber"

"Third Anti-Chamber"

Arabesque Hall.

The Arabesque Hall is one of the most spectacular state halls created by Charles Cameron in the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace for Empress Catherine II.

Arabesque Hall in the Catherine Palace. Around 1850. E. Gau.

Cavalier's dining room.

Next to the Great Hall is the Cavalier Dining Room, also designed by F.-B. Rastrelli. Its dimensions are small, so the architect placed mirrors and false mirror windows on the walls, which made the room more spacious and brighter. The interior design is typical of the Baroque style: it is dominated by gilded carved ornaments of stylized flowers and shells; magnificent gilded compositions above the doors - desudeportes.

White State Dining Room.

Having passed the Main Staircase, we find ourselves in the White Main Dining Room, which was once intended for ceremonial dinners and “evening meals” of the Empress in a narrow circle of those close to her.

Raspberry and Green Pillar.

Decorating the halls of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace, F.-B. Rastrelli strove for the maximum variety of architectural and decorative solutions for his interiors. In the decoration of the two Raspberry and Green Pillars located one after the other, the architect used materials that were original for that time: he decorated the walls covered with white damask with transparent glass pilasters - “pillars”, with crimson and green foil placed under the glass, which gave the name to the rooms.

Raspberry canteen

Green dining room

Portrait Hall.

In the Portrait Hall of the Catherine Palace, decorated according to Rastrelli's design and preserving its original decoration for two centuries, ceremonial images of royal persons have long been displayed. Completely destroyed during the war, the interior was recreated from photographs and surviving fragments of decoration.

The Amber Room.

From the Portrait Hall you can go to the Amber Room - the pearl of the Catherine Palace, quite rightly called one of the wonders of the world.

Picture hall.

The main part of the Tsarskoye Selo collection of paintings presented in the hall was acquired by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1745-1746 in Prague and Hamburg by the artist G.-H. Groot.

Small white dining room.

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.

Chinese living room of Alexander I.

Created according to the design of the architect F.-B. Rastrelli in 1752-1756 The Chinese living room of Alexander I belonged to the personal imperial chambers. Its interior stood out among the rooms of the Golden Enfilade of the palace with its silk upholstery walls painted with watercolors in the Chinese style. The rest of the decoration followed the general style of the state rooms: a picturesque ceiling, carved gilded desudéportes based on the models of the sculptor I.-F. Dunkers, mirrors between the windows, stoves made of “Hamburg” tiles and inlaid parquet.

Pantry.

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.

The front office of Alexander I.

From the Vaulted Entrance Hall you can go to the Emperor’s Front (Marble) Office, created according to the design of V.P. Stasov in 1817 and intended for important official audiences.

Green dining room.

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 (the future Emperor Paul I) and his first wife Natalya Alekseevna.

Waitress.

The waitress is one of the office premises Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace of the 18th century.

Stately blue living room.

The largest and most elegant room in the apartments created by Charles Cameron in 1779-1783 is the State Blue Living Room. Its ceremonial purpose is emphasized by the rich and varied decor: the walls are covered in silk with blue flowers on a white background and completed with a gilded frieze of alternating vases and oval pictorial medallions; paired fireplaces made of Carrara marble are decorated with bas-reliefs and caryatids; on the western wall between the windows there are large mirrors in carved gilded frames, completed with medallions, and gilded consoles. The door panels are painted with motifs from antique grotesques. In the workshop of G. Stahlmeer, inlaid parquet was made from valuable wood species with a predominance of rosewood and rosewood.

Chinese blue living room.

From the State Blue Living Room you can go to the Chinese Blue Living Room, the name of which is due to the fact that its walls were covered with blue Chinese silk, decorated with landscapes and genre scenes, for a century and a half.

Prehorn.

The Prechoir Room, the last room of the Front Enfilade of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace, got its name due to its proximity to the choir of the Palace Church.

Palace Church.

The court Resurrection Church of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace was founded on August 8, 1745 in the presence of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the Catherine Palace

Kamer-Jungferskaya.

Another passage room leads to the Chamber of Jungfers, in which you can examine porcelain products from the famous English manufactory D. Wedgwood and English painted engravings of the second half of the 18th century from the collection of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve.

Against the backdrop of the green-painted walls of the Jungfer Chamber - a room with one window overlooking Catherine Park, which was originally intended for palace maids - the stucco gilded frieze and door leaves with colorful ornamental paintings stand out.

Bedchamber.

Decorated in the early 1770s by V. I. Neelov, the room with two windows, two doorways and an alcove niche served as the bedchamber of Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna.

Zubovsky outbuilding.

The outbuilding, named Zubovsky after one of the favorites of Empress Catherine II, was added to the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace in 1779-1785.

Original taken from bolivar_s to the Great Catherine Palace, the city of Pushkin.

Great Catherine Palace, Pushkin city.The exhibition of the Catherine Palace (until 1910 - the Great Tsarskoye Selo) Palace Museum covers the almost 300-year history of the outstanding monument and introduces the work of the architects who participated in its construction and decoration in the 18th-19th centuries, as well as the achievements of the restorers who revived the palace after the Great Patriotic War. Of the 58 halls of the palace destroyed during the war, 32 have been recreated.

Portrait of Empress Elizabeth from Tsarskoye Selo in the Historical Museum

Friedrich Hartmann Barisien. Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna 1760-1761

Rotary - Portrait of the Architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli

Edward Gau. Catherine Palace. Blue office (Snuffbox) (Zubovsky wing)

Gau, Eduard Petrovich - Turkish room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo

The final chord in the palace enfilade was the Grand Staircase, created in 1860-1863 by I. A. Monighetti (1819-1878) in the “second Rococo” style.

Bust of F.-B. Rastrelli

Golden Gate

Grille of the Front Courtyard.

Main staircase.

Exhibition rooms.

Two rooms of the Catherine Palace, which can be entered by climbing the Grand Staircase, are now used as exhibition rooms.

Big hall.

Anti-cameras.

"First Anti-Camera"

“First Anti-Chamber”. Plafond “Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne”

First Anti-Chamber of the Catherine Palace 1940

"Second Anti-Chamber"

"Third Anti-Chamber"

Arabesque Hall.

The Arabesque Hall is one of the most spectacular state halls created by Charles Cameron in the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace for Empress Catherine II.

Arabesque Hall in the Catherine Palace. Around 1850. E. Gau.

Cavalier's dining room.

White State Dining Room.

Raspberry and Green Pillar.

Raspberry canteen

Green dining room

Portrait Hall.

The Amber Room.

From the Portrait Hall you can go to the Amber Room - the pearl of the Catherine Palace, quite rightly called one of the wonders of the world.

Picture hall.

The main part of the Tsarskoye Selo collection of paintings presented in the hall was acquired by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1745-1746 in Prague and Hamburg by the artist G.-H. Groot.

Small white dining room.

Chinese living room of Alexander I.

Pantry.

The front office of Alexander I.

From the Vaulted Entrance Hall you can go to the Emperor’s Front (Marble) Office, created according to the design of V.P. Stasov in 1817 and intended for important official audiences.

Green dining room.

Waitress.

The waiter's room is one of the service rooms of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace of the 18th century.

Stately blue living room.

Chinese blue living room.

Prehorn.

The Prechoir Room, the last room of the Front Enfilade of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace, got its name due to its proximity to the choir of the Palace Church.

Palace Church.

The court Resurrection Church of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace was founded on August 8, 1745 in the presence of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the Catherine Palace

Kamer-Jungferskaya.

Against the background of the green-painted walls of the Jungfer Chamber - a room with one window overlooking Catherine Park, which was originally intended for palace maids - a stucco gilded frieze and door leaves with colorful ornamental paintings stand out.

Bedchamber.

Decorated in the early 1770s by V. I. Neelov, the room with two windows, two doorways and an alcove niche served as the bedchamber of Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna.

Zubovsky outbuilding.

The outbuilding, named Zubovsky after one of the favorites of Empress Catherine II, was added to the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace in 1779-1785.

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 Historical building, destroyed during the years of occupation by German troops of the city of Pushkin. 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 admission ticket to the park! 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. Total for gilding external and internal elements Almost 100 kilograms of red gold went into 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 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 drawing room and Chinese hall, Domed dining room and Silver cabinet, Blue cabinet (Snuffbox) and 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 Tsarskoe 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. This is currently an object cultural heritage Federal significance, part of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve.

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 Tsarskoe 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 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.

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.