Sightseeing

PUSHKIN The history of the Palace and Park ensemble of Pushkin (also known as Tsarskoye Selo – “Royal Village”) - a majestic monument of the world's architectural and gardening arts – dates back to the early 18th century, when this site used to be a hamlet, which Peter the Great presented to his wife Catherine I in 1710. 8 years later a brick house of 2 stories appeared there, surrounded by stables, coach-houses, cattle and poultry yards, barns and servants’ quarters – a country estate like many others. After 1727 Empress Elizabeth inherited the place, and settled there at times during Anne’s reign, but as soon as she seized the crown, she made up her mind to upgrade the rustic site into an official residence. Ensemble construction started in 1743 and one of the celebrated architects Michael Zemtsov was commissioned to fulfill the task, but he spent only the few last months of his life on the assignment; Andrei Kvassov was to overtake it after Zemtsov’s death, eventually to be relieved by Savva Chevakinsky. But the Empress Elizabeth rejected their blueprints one by one, at last to turn to the outstanding architect Rastrelli, whose intention was to embody the concepts of Russia’s might, the growing international prestige of Russia and of flowering science and culture in this creation. The construction lasted 7 years on Rastrelli’s design, and the palace’s décor took it final shape in 1756 (later some of the palace interiors were rebuilt to the designs of Cameron, Stassov and Monighetti), and as a result appeared the stunning Catherine Palace - a breathtaking sample of Russian Baroque featuring an undeniable jam – the Amber room. Made in Germany on Andreas Schluter’s sketches, the room was presented to Peter the Great in 1717 and stored in the Winter Palace up to 1745, when Elizabeth ordered it to be carried to Tsarskoye Selo. 306 meters long, the building ends in a superb staircase in the north and a five cupola church in the south, being a compositional centre of a big and extremely poetic part ensemble, which occupies the area of 600 hectares and boasts over 100 architectural constructions from magnificent palaces and grand monuments to intimate pavilions and park sculptures. The Old Park stretches east and represents the so-called regular type of gardens featuring distinct geometrical regularity of its layout: right in front of the Catherine Palace extend parterres of whimsical patterns inlaid with crushed brick, coal and gravel; perfectly symmetric about the Main Avenue lie the Mirror Ponds; the tress are trimmed into geometrical shape, and the shrubs neatly trimmed into decorative hedges which divide the parkland into cozy corners; the spreading out and intersecting walk form an intricate geometrical pattern. The regular park, being a magnificent work of creative labour by several generations of talented gardeners, is also noted for its architectural features, especially the graceful pavilions erected to the design of Rastrelli - the Hermitage for intimate evening receptions and the Grotto Pavilions standing on the shore of the pond. Later on architect Neyelov skillfully integrated the Upper bath and the Lower bath Pavilions with the natural surroundings of the regular park. During the reign of Catherine II, in 1768 the first landscape park in Russia with the emphasis on wild unadorned nature was laid out here. On her orders the renowned architect Cameron built an architectural complex in the best traditions of antique art: baths with hot and cold water on the Roman pattern, complete with pavilions for relaxation, amply decorated with multicolor semi-precious stones – agates, onyxes and jaspers. Hence their name of Agate Rooms. A spacious roofed-in gallery for exercise in bad weather was so magnificent in its imposing beauty tat it earned the name of Cameron Gallery to give its author his dues. Later on Velten built a house for Catherine and Platon Zubov, her last favourite, which acquired the name of Zubovsky, and then close to the palace church he added another house for courtiers, which was rebuilt in 1811 by Vassily Stassov for the emergent Lyceum. The park also features the Admiraly designed by Neyelov, the Concert Hall by G. Quarenghi, Creaking and Chinese Pavilion constructed by Velten, and a complex of monuments in honour of Russian martial victories.

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