Catherine Palace: the mode of work and the history of the residence of the emperors

Although in 7 years the 300th anniversary of the opening of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo will be celebrated, he did not lose his beauty and grandeur. This truly magnificent building was built and rebuilt many times before it took its final shape. Look at the palace come the seekers of impressions from around the world.

The Catherine Palace, whose working hours depend on the time of the year, are visited daily by hundreds of guests of St. Petersburg. Of particular interest is the mystery of the Amber Room.

The history of the palace of the time of Catherine I

Residences of kings, kings and emperors at all times were an attribute of supreme power and a symbol of its wealth, strength and greatness. For this purpose, palaces were built, royal chambers and the tower were built, which served as a place of life or recreation for great-power individuals.

Catherine Palace (the regime of work in the summer months from 12.00 to 20.00), the architects did not intend to build on a scale such 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 were built two-story stone chambers, modest and quite comfortable for the summer pastime of the royal person.

The opening of the summer palace occurred in August, 1724, festively and with a large accumulation of courtiers, but the real triumph of architecture was ahead.

Catherine Palace under Elizaveta Petrovna

When in 1741 the daughter of Peter I became the new empress, the summer royal residence began a second life. It was with the light hand of Elizabeth Petrovna that the construction was resumed in Tsarskoe Selo, and the modest chambers were converted into a grand palace.

Only after 14 years the new Catherine Palace was introduced to the queen and her court (many residents of Pushkin know the mode of operation and address). Since its opening, it has been called the Great Palace, and this corresponds to its appearance. From a rather modest two-storey building, new outbuildings that blended harmoniously into the overall ensemble turned into a masterpiece of baroque architectural art.

Construction of the palace in its time engaged in M. Zemtsov, A. Kvasov and D. Trezzini, S. Chevakinsky and F. Rastrelli. The work of such great architects is amazing with its beauty and richness. The facade, painted in azure color and decorated with white columns, which support the gilded atlantes - all this speaks of the wealth of the royal family. No less impressive were the inner halls and chambers, which today look the same as under Elizaveta Petrovna and his next hostess Catherine II.

To see the skill of Russian and foreign architects, you need to come to Tsarskoe Selo and visit the Catherine Palace. The mode of operation (the photo of the building below demonstrates this) allows you to do it at any time of the year, but best of all it looks surrounded by emerald greenery in the warm season.

The influence of Catherine II on the arrangement of the palace

Since 1770, it seemed as if the Catherine Palace had a second wind (the working hours from 10.00 to 18.00 on weekends allow one to study all the innovations adopted with the new tsarina well). Under her decree, under the direction of Charles Cameron, an architect from Scotland, Blue and Silver cabinets, new living rooms, a dining room and a Chinese hall were decorated.

The classical antique style, which Catherine II loved so much, looks very impressive against the backdrop of Baroque times of Elizabeth Petrovna. The changes did not end there. Thus, apartments and an office for her son Pavel Petrovich were created, and during the reign of Alexander I in 1817, the Parade and adjacent rooms joined the already existing rooms, the decoration of which was dedicated to the victory over Napoleon.

No matter what sovereigns lived in the Great Palace of Tsarskoye Selo, the Amber Room is considered the richest, most beautiful and mysterious. And in our time, most tourists for her sake come to the Catherine Palace. The working hours of this hall are daily from 10.00 to 17.00, except Tuesday. Address: Pushkin, st. The Garden, 7.

The History of the Amber Room

The famous amber panels, which are the basis of the Amber Room, were originally conceived to design rooms for the King of Prussia Frederick I and his wife. It so happened that the mosaic of the solar stone could not hold its own weight on the wall and collapsed, causing anger and disappointment of the crowned prune.

The son of King William I decided not to finish the design of the amber halls begun by the father and made a present to Peter I in the form of an amber cabinet. All the panels were carefully packed and sent to the Summer Garden of St. Petersburg in 1717. On this the misfortunes of the magnificent panels did not end.

Registration of the Amber Cabinet under Elizabeth

Under Peter the Great, the amber cabinet was not fully equipped, only the decree of Elizabeth Petrovna began the decoration of the amber room, but already in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

Design work was directed by F. Rastrelli, and since the new room for the panels and mosaics was too large, apart from amber, mirrors, gilded wooden insets and paintings of jasper and agate appeared on the walls.

From Catherine II until today

Catherine II, after she ascended the throne, did not stand aside and ordered all the wooden inserts to be replaced with amber ones, for which the masters were written from Prussia. She even appointed a caretaker, who monitored the safety of the stones.

It was with this empress in 1770 that the doors of the Amber Room were opened, and the guests saw it in the same form as it appears to modern tourists when they visit the Catherine Palace. The amber room, which operates from 10.00 to 18.00, and the ticket office to 17.00, looks today just as it did under the Russian emperors. But all the travelers of the world know that the original panels of amber practically do not remain, 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 preserved photographs and drawings, already in the postwar period it was restored in its original form.

In our time, you can visit the Catherine Palace (the mode of work in the New Year holidays is normal, only January 1, 2 - the weekend). As the January holidays of 2017 showed, those wishing to join the royal luxury had to stand in line for tickets for 20-30 minutes.