Catherine Palace

Catherine Palace is an imperial palace in Tsarskoye Selo, near Saint Petersburg, built for Empress Elizabeth and named after Catherine I. Its lavish Rococo interiors include the Amber Room.

Bartolomeo Rastrelli: Bartolomeo Rastrelli was an Italian-born architect who designed major Baroque buildings for the Russian imperial court. He gave the palace its monumental Baroque exterior and ornate state rooms.
Tsarskoye Selo: Tsarskoye Selo is a former imperial residence complex south of Saint Petersburg, now part of the city of Pushkin. The palace developed within this larger royal estate.
Siege of Leningrad: The Siege of Leningrad was a German-led blockade of the Soviet city from 1941 to 1944. The palace was occupied and devastated during the German advance and occupation.
Russian Baroque: Russian Baroque is an architectural and artistic style that adapted Baroque forms for Russian patrons. The palace is a landmark expression of this courtly architectural tradition.
Elizabeth of Russia: Elizabeth of Russia was empress from 1741 to 1762 and a daughter of Peter the Great. She commissioned the palace’s lavish reconstruction as an imperial summer residence.
Peter the Great: Peter the Great was tsar and emperor of Russia from 1682 to 1725, known for extensive state reforms. The estate’s early history began under his reign, before the palace’s imperial expansion.
World War II: World War II was a global conflict fought from 1939 to 1945. The war caused the palace’s destruction and dispersal of many of its furnishings.
Imperial Russian architecture: Imperial Russian architecture comprises buildings commissioned by Russian rulers from the imperial era. The palace exemplifies architecture used to project dynastic prestige.
Catherine I of Russia: Catherine I was empress of Russia from 1725 to 1727 and the wife of Peter the Great. The palace bears her name, although Elizabeth commissioned its grand redesign.
Catherine II of Russia: Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, was empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She altered the palace and its grounds after Elizabeth’s reign.

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