Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo (town of Pushkin) is a former imperial residence, which is now a museum. It is a park and garden complex, developed in XVIII – XIX centuries. The complex includes Catherine Palace and park, Alexander Palace and park, Babolov Park. The main object is Catherine palace (built in 1732, rebuilt in 1756), where the famous Amber room is located.

Catherine Palace

Catherine palace is the main landmark of Tsarskoye Selo museum complex (town of Pushkin). The construction started in 1717, and later the palace went through rebuilding several times. The final baroque look is dated 1756. The architect is F. B. Rastrelli. The front of the palace is 325 meters long. The palace is very pompous – they used almost 100 kilograms of gold for interior and exterior finishing. The most famous object of the palace is the Amber room. It is made of 22 big amber panels and 180 amber boards. The unique amber panels used to be a gift to Peter I from Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I.

During World War II the palace was ruined and robbed, and Amber room was stolen. After the War the palace was restored and in 2003 the Amber room was recreated.