As the second wife of Peter the Great, Catherine I, Empress of Russia, came to the throne by chance. She was orphaned at an early aged and spent her youth as a maid. Nevertheless, they met soon after Peter moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1703 and they lived a simple life together whilst their city was being built. It wasn’t until 1717 that she hired an architect to build her a summer palace for her pleasure. That palace began the legacy of the Catherine’s Palace that we see today, however, it was really her daughter, Empress Elizabeth, that made the palace what it is today.
Catherine I’s granddaughter in law, Catherine II (Catherine the Great), was not overly fond of the palace that Empress Elizabeth had left behind but had a few renovations done and kept the famous Amber Room which had been a gift from the Prussian King Frederick I’s son, Frederick William I, to Peter the Great as a gift.
With a 325m blue and white Rococo facade and around 100 kilograms of gold originally used to guild the statues and other decorations of the palace and grounds, however it came about, Catherine Palace at Pushkin is truly an example of the legacy of Catherine and three generations of the ruling women of Imperial Russia.
Today we arrive at the dazzling facade through the small town and past the school that was later built for Catherine II’s son, to behold the true magnificence of the entrance looking down from the palace towards the pretty iron gates and beyond to the ornate Chinese Bridge in the distance. The bridge separates the grounds from the town beyond.
We’re ushered inside and line up to enter through security and don our shoe covers so as not to damage the precious floors. Up an internal staircase and we’re in an antechamber to the Great Hall.
Originally five rooms, now three, the Antechambers were waiting rooms where people would gather before an audience with or public appearance of the Empress. The gilding, beautiful parquetry floors and brightness of the rooms hits me immediately. It’s a sunny day but I can tell, that even on a dull day, the room would have a certain aura all of it’s own. I imagine that, just like a lovely sunny day, the room could lift the spirits of the waiting masses, ready for their encounter with even more glamour and glitz when entering the Great Hall.
The next room is set for a meal, palace style. Another antechamber, this room also has striking gilded features as well as the blue and white tiled heaters. These worked by radiant heating with the fire inside burning hotter than a usual metal fireplace and the tile, while decorative, acts to insulate the stove to retain heat.
We move towards the next room and the Great Hall awaits. The glamour of it all really does hit. Even despite the number of people here the room is still, indeed, bright. The room had the name Bright Gallery as, during balls, masquerades and royal banquets, the carved and gilded walls, as well as the mirrors would reflect the 696 candles burning, illuminating the whole hall to a glimmering lightness. I take a little spin, imagining myself at a ball here, oh to dream!
After the Great Hall there are a couple of small exhibition rooms and a room known as the Chevalier’s (or Silver) Dining Room before we enter onto the landing of the main staircase. This red carpeted white marble marvel isn’t perhaps quite as grand as some but the starkness of the white against the red carpet makes it rather striking and the large vases overflowing with floral arrangements makes me think that a bride might appear at any moment (although none does).
A number of exhibition rooms follow with portraits, table settings, furniture and a model of the style of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna’s costume during the palace’s heyday. The particular model is fashioned of paper by Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave and installed for the exhibition marking the anniversary of Elizabeth’s 300th birthday in December of 2009. This exhibit plus other exhibitions take us through more of the history of the times as well as providing some insight into family, culture and traditions.
It’s easy to get carried away with the glitz and glamour that surrounded palace life but a few homely features, like this desk and family portraits, however grand, remind us that the palace was indeed a working palace. The residence is also referred to as Tsarskoye Selo, the Tsar’s Village and indeed, it is a village in itself. From here wars were waged, relationships made or broken, allies engaged and indeed the very future of the empire decided.
The next room, the Amber Room, one of the most famous of the whole estate, reminds us of the magnitude of power, wealth and influence of the Romanov family. The original small amber boards and four amber panels were sent as a gift to Peter I from the Prussian King in 1717. From there the panels were moved several times before being installed in Catherine Palace and several adjustments, extensions and renovations are recorded before the panels were plundered and removed during WWII. The original panels were lost and the room that we see today has been restored using several hundred kilos of amber and taking nearly a quarter of a century. The room was unveiled in 2003 on the 300th anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg.
In the next room, the Portrait Hall, we are reminded once again of the history of the palace itself. Despite its grand appearance, almost all of the palace that we see today has been rebuilt and/or recreated. The pictures from the Picture Gallery, thankfully, were largely saved (114 of 130) by being evacuated during WWII. The effective design sets the paintings out like tapestries although many of the paintings are of battles and war scenes, perhaps none so devastating as the one that ended up destroying so much of this building. The room itself was generally used for diplomatic receptions and meals, sometimes hosting musical soirees.
A little further along, the Green Dining Hall marks the first room of the private residences in the northern wing of the palace. Originally the rooms were terraced open air gardens but they were renovated and enclosed decorated in green with white Grecian style sculpted vases and grape vines. As with many other rooms, it has been damaged, renovated and restored more than once.
Despite the time given to affairs of state, by the Emperors and Empresses of Imperial Russia, Tsarskoye Selo was Catherine II’s favorite summer residence and both the buildings and grounds reflect all manner of fine weather amusements. Under Catherine II the 100 hectares of vast grounds were transformed into parks, gardens, ponds and flower beds dotted by pavilions, sculptures and monuments.
During summer when not receiving audiences or entertaining visiting dignitaries she would take daily walks with members of her court and the buildings, gardens and parkland seamlessly unite in an accumulation of Russian distinction.
After removing our shoe covers at the end of the tour we are once again standing in magnificent grounds. Although somewhat more modest that the Grand Cascade of Peterhof, the scale of the grounds somehow dwarf the impressive Cameron Gallery, home of the Empress’ maids of honor, among other functions. As we descend from the parterres to the Old Garden with its mirror ponds and old bathhouse, I breathe in the fresh air and am happy to be stretching my legs. The formal layout of this part of the garden means that much of the landscaping is paths and although the flower beds are delightful, the chill in the air already means the flowers won’t be around for much longer.
Over the Rybny Canal with its small stone bridge and we’re walking down a hedge lined pedestrian avenue towards the Hermitage. This building was used for private dining and recreation of the ruler and their inner circle. Not quite a ‘garden room’ it does have an air of conservatory about it. Perhaps it just the quality of the light.
We exit the grounds through the Hermitage kitchen and make our way back up towards the palace, parallel to the Cascading Canal. There is much still to explore in Catherine Park with paths meandering along around the Great Pond, Upper Pond area and through the Rose Fields but alas, we are done for today.
Maria, our guide, ushers our group back onto the bus and we drive back from the Catherine Palace through Pushkin to St. Petersburg. Although it’s been a long day, I am not done yet and determined to still see some more of this fascinating city before the day is done.
Would I Return?
Yes. 20,000 steps doesn’t seem like enough!
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