Tsarskoe Selo

Tsarskoe Selo is a famous palace complex founded by Catherine the Great near St. Petersburg and for a long time was the favorite residence of the ruling families. Now it is a spacious park with palaces-museums, which every year attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. Tsarskoe Selo is officially considered part of the historical center of St. Petersburg and is protected by UNESCO as a cultural heritage site of the world.

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Video: Tsarskoye Selo

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History of Tsarskoye Selo

%’ The Grand Catherine Palace – built by decree of Catherine the Great. Many people mistakenly believe that the order was given by Catherine the Great, but she ruled several decades after the palace was built. The foundation of the building was laid in 1717. The project was led by the German architect Johann Friedrich Braunstein. The blueprint itself was not particularly ambitious – it was a typical for Russia XVIII century building in the Russian Baroque style without architectural innovations. However, excellent preservation and good work of craftsmen allowed the palace to become part of the world heritage.

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The construction of the Catherine Palace and the arrangement of the territory around it went without problems, and in 1724 the two-story mansion was inaugurated. At the celebration three times fired from 13 cannons, according to the testimonies of contemporaries. Peter the Great was personally present at the opening of the palace.

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‘ Catherine Palace
‘ Alexander Palace

Then another residence, the Alexander Palace, was erected nearby. It differed sharply from the Catherine Palace. The new building was erected in the classical style.

%’ The Imperial Lyceum of Tsarskoye Selo was organized in Catherine’s Palace. Children of the nobility studied here, it was a privileged educational institution. Many of its pupils became famous – the reader probably knows that it was here that Pushkin studied. By the way, it was one of the first schools in Russia, where corporal punishment was completely forbidden – the relevant paragraph was prescribed in the lyceum charter.

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After the revolution, the park complex was nationalized. Since March 1918 it belonged to the state. A museum was organized here. Unfortunately, during the Great Patriotic War, the building was severely damaged, and the interiors were left almost empty – the occupiers looted some of the exhibits, and another part was burned. The restoration of Tsarskoye Selo began immediately after the end of the war, but it is still not finished. Now the Leningrad School of Restorers is responsible for the restoration of the palace – specialists are engaged in reconstruction on a strictly scientific basis, without adding the slightest touch to the appearance of the building.

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In 1992 it was renamed, and now it is the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve. It includes the palaces, the adjacent parks – Catherine, Alexander and Babolovsky – as well as auxiliary buildings.

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