The magnificent and brilliant Catherine Palace is a visiting card of Tsarskoe Selo, located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg . The palace impresses with its splendor both inside and outside. A worthy frame of the historical memorial is the adjacent Catherine Park. We will tell you more about the palace itself, get acquainted with its history and explain how to get to the Catherine Palace from St. Petersburg.
History of the Catherine Palace in Pushkin
There was a palace on the map in 1717. It was at this time that construction began of the residence of Catherine I, who received the village as a gift from Peter I. At that time the palace was only a typical two-story structure without any special delicacies in the form of expensive furniture.
The palace acquired its modern appearance during the reign of Empress Elizabeth. She several times ordered to expand the area of the palace and beautify it. In 1756, thanks to the efforts of the architect Francesco Rastrelli, the Catherine Palace received an azure facade, white columns and gilded stucco. He also remodeled the internal space of the rooms, so the front rooms formed the whole enfilade.
Subsequently, the interiors of the palace were changed several times under Elizabeth and under Alexander II. The decoration of some of the rooms became more laconic, and a grand staircase appeared.
Halls of the Catherine Palace
The throne room of the Catherine Palace
The throne room is the largest room of the palace. The height of its ceilings is seven meters, and the area is about 1000 m2. Visually an already large room is expanded by numerous windows and mirrors. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with paintings of artists Wunderlich and Francuoli.
Traditionally, receptions, balls and formal dinners were held in the Throne Room.
Arabesque Hall
For a long time the Arabesque Hall was closed to tourists. Opening it occurred in 2010, after the completion of the restoration work.
Initially, this room was one of the anti-cameras, which traditionally expected the appearance of the empress during the celebration. Subsequently, under the leadership of Cameron, the room began to be landscaped as a solemn hall. Despite the presence of mirrors and gilding, the hall was more restrained than most of the premises of the great Catherine Palace. The name of the Arabesque Hall was due to the basic style of wall painting - arabesques.
the Amber Room
Called "the eighth wonder of the world" Amber room appeared on the territory of the Catherine Palace in Tsaritsyno in 1775. It was during this period that amber panels from the Winter Palace were transported to a suburban residence by order of Elizabeth.
Panels for the entire room was not enough, and therefore the architect Rastrelli decided to hang mirrors and decorate part of the room with canvases painted to amber. Over time, some of the canvases were replaced by new amber panels.
The originals of that time have not reached our time, since during the war the palace was plundered by invaders. It was not possible to find the trace of the valuables that were taken away, and therefore the Amber Room had to be recreated by the restorers.
Restoration touched many halls of the palace, in some it goes even now. Nevertheless, tourists have the opportunity to visit the Cavalier Dining Room, the Portrait Room, the Green Living Room, the Waiter's, the Blue Room of China, etc.
Park of the Catherine Palace
The park area of the Catherine Palace began to be landscaped together with the construction of the first version of the residence. In parallel with the garden and park work, the creation of artificial lakes and small rivers was boiling. Gradually the park grew, changed its appearance depending on the vision of the heirs of the throne and the leaders of the park works.
The park became a kind of clear historical memorial of that time. Sculptures, columns and obelisks were brought to its territory, and entire districts were destroyed, dedicated to the victories of the Russian troops in battles. The park did not pass by and fashion trends, just like the Gothic gates, the Hermitage forge, the Chinese gazebo, etc. appeared here.
How to get to the Catherine Palace?
You can get to the palace yourself. To do this, you need to arrive at the railway station of Pushkin from the metro station "Moskovskaya" or from Vitebsk railway station in St. Petersburg. Next, you need to transfer to a bus or a shuttle bus that goes to the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve.
Without a transfer, you can get to the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve from the metro stations Kupchino or Zvezdnaya. From them departs bus number 186.
Catherine Palace is located at Pushkin, ul. Garden 7, opening hours:
From May to September
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday - from 10.00 to 18.00.
- Monday - from 10.00 to 21.00.
- Tuesday - closed.
- From 12.00 - 16.00 and from 18.00 - 19.00 / 20.00 (on Mondays) - take visitors by ticket. In the rest of the time there are excursions for tourist groups.
October to April
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday - from 10.00 to 18.00.
- Monday - from 10.00 to 21.00.
- Tuesday, the last Monday of the month is a day off.
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