Although after 7 years the 300th anniversary of the opening of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo will be celebrated, he has not lost his beauty and grandeur. This truly magnificent building has been built and rebuilt many times before taking on its final form. Seekers of impressions from all over the world come to see the palace.
The Catherine Palace, the mode of operation of which depends on the time of the year, is visited daily by hundreds of guests of St. Petersburg. Of particular interest to them is the secret of the Amber Room.
The history of the palace of the times of Catherine I
Residences of kings, kings and emperors at all times have been an attribute of the supreme power and a symbol of its wealth, strength and greatness. For these purposes palaces were built, royal chambers and towers were erected, which served as a place of life or rest for great-power persons.
The Catherine Palace (opening hours in the summer months from 12.00 to 20.00), the architects did not intend to erect on the same scale as it is today. Initially, the building was to become a small summer residence for the empress in the village, which was granted to her in 1710.
The construction of the palace was entrusted to the German architect Braunstein, among whose works can be called the Peterhof Palace ensemble. For Catherine I, two-story stone chambers were erected, modest and comfortable enough for the summer pastime of the royal person.
The opening of the summer palace took place in August 1724 festively and with a large concentration of courtiers, but a real triumph of architecture was ahead.
Catherine Palace under Elizabeth Petrovna
When in 1741 the daughter of Peter I became the new empress, a second life began at the summer royal residence. It was with the light hand of Elizaveta Petrovna that construction was resumed in Tsarskoye Selo, and modest chambers were converted into a grand palace.
Only 14 years later, the new Catherine Palace was presented to the tsarina and her court (many residents of Pushkin know the opening hours and address). From the moment it was opened, they began to call it the Grand Palace, and this corresponds to its appearance. From a rather modest two-story building, new extensions, which harmoniously fit into the general ensemble, turned into a masterpiece of baroque architectural art.
The construction of the palace was once done by M. Zemtsov, A. Kvasov and D. Trezzini, S. Chevakinsky and F. Rastrelli. The work of such great architects is amazing in its beauty and wealth. The facade, painted in azure color and decorated with white columns that support the gilt Atlanteans - all this speaks of the wealth of the royal family. No less impressive were the internal halls and chambers, which today look the same as under Elizabeth Petrovna and his next mistress, Catherine II.
To see the skill of Russian and foreign architects, you need to come to Tsarskoye Selo and visit the Catherine Palace. The mode of operation (the photo of the building below demonstrates this) allows you to do this at any time of the year, but it looks best surrounded by emerald greenery in the warm season.
The influence of Catherine II on the arrangement of the palace
Since 1770, the Catherine Palace seemed to have found a second wind (the working hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends allow you to study all the innovations adopted by the new queen well). By her decree, under the direction of Charles Cameron, an architect from Scotland, Blue and Silver rooms, new living rooms, a dining room and a Chinese hall were decorated.
The classic antique style, which Catherine II loved so much, looks very impressive against the background of the baroque from the time of Elizabeth Petrovna. The changes did not end there. So apartments and an office were created for her son Pavel Petrovich, and during the reign of Alexander I in 1817, the State Office and the adjoining rooms joined to the existing rooms, the design of which was dedicated to the victory over Napoleon.
Whatever sovereigns live in the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace, the Amber Room is considered the richest, most beautiful and mysterious. And in our time, most tourists come to the Catherine Palace for her sake. The mode of operation of this hall daily from 10.00 to 17.00, except Tuesday. Address: Pushkin, st. Sadovaya, 7.
Amber Room History
The famous amber panels, which are the basis of the Amber Room, were originally conceived for decorating the halls for King of Prussia Frederick I and his wife. It just so happened that the mosaic of sun stone could not hold on to its own weight on the wall and collapsed, causing the anger and disappointment of the crown prus.
The son of King William I decided not to finish the design of the amber halls begun by his father and made a presentation to Peter I in the form of an amber office. All panels were carefully packed and sent to the Summer Garden of St. Petersburg in 1717. The misadventures of magnificent panels did not end there.
The design of the Amber cabinet under Elizabeth
Under Peter the Great, the amber office was not fully equipped, only by decree of Elizabeth Petrovna the decoration of the amber room was started, but already in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.
F. Rastrelli directed the design work, and since the new room for panels and mosaics was too large, in addition to amber, mirrors, gilded wooden inserts and paintings from jasper and agate appeared on the walls.
From Catherine II to the present day
Catherine II, after ascending the throne, did not stand aside and ordered all wooden inserts to be replaced with amber, for which the masters were discharged from Prussia. She even appointed a caretaker to monitor the safety of the stones.
It was during this empress that in 1770 the doors of the Amber Hall were opened, and guests saw it in the same form that appears to modern tourists when they visit the Catherine Palace. The amber room, whose working hours are from 10.00 to 18.00, and the ticket office until 17.00, looks today the same as under the Russian emperors. But all travelers of the world know that there are practically no original panels from amber, since the whole cabinet was dismantled and taken out during the Second World War.
Only partial fragments of the Amber Room were found, thanks to the saved photographs and drawings, already in the post-war period they were able to restore it in its original form.
Nowadays, you can visit the Catherine Palace (the opening hours on New Year's holidays are normal, only January 1, 2 is a weekend). As the January holidays of 2017 showed, those who wanted to join the royal luxury had to stand in line for tickets for 20-30 minutes.