Catherine Palace

The present-day city of Pushkin was called Tsarskoye Selo from its foundation in 1710 and until 1918. Despite the fact that there was the residence of Russian emperors, the name of the city is not connected to the tsars. A hundred years earlier those lands belonged to the Swedes and a small estate there was called Saritsa, then Sarskaya Mysa (estate) and later Saarskoye Selo that easily transformed into Tsarskoye.

Russian emperors were known for their desire for luxury. The first building of the summer palace in Tsarskoye Selo was laid in 1717 during the reign of Catherine I.

The Catherine Palace got its present view under the reign of the empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Rebuilding and decoration of the palace was made by prominent architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. A huge building with more than 300-meter-long facade was presented in 1756.

The Great Catherine Palace is an invaluable masterpiece of art, architecture and history. It was highly appreciated even in the Soviet period, then the palace was immediately turned into a museum.

The Catherine Palace has suffered in World War II. It was greatly damaged by the fascists and then pillaged, so all the valuables are gone. Foremost the Amber room of a marvelous beauty has disappeared. In last years many things were restored but the restoration process is still going on.

Restoration of the Amber room of the Catherine Palace began in 1981 and continued intermittently up to 2003. Restorers carried out an extremely difficult task both in arts and engineering (recipes and technology of amber processing). And on the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg the Amber room was reopened shining again with all its colors.