Музей
The Catherine Palace was founded in 1717 by decree of Empress Catherine I, who received this land as a gift. In place of the Finnish village of Saari Mois, the first residence was erected, which was later rebuilt and changed its appearance. In the 1720s, a park was started at the palace.
The world-famous baroque palace with magnificent decoration was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli already under Elizabeth Petrovna. But the most famous mistress of the palace was Empress Catherine the Great (it was in her memory that the palace was called Catherine's). During her reign, the imperial residence underwent a serious redevelopment, at the same time the Cameron Gallery was built - a unique monument of architecture of the classicism era.
Catherine Palace was badly damaged during the war. The revival of the museum-reserve began immediately after the war and continues to this day. As a result of painstaking work of many years, restorers managed to recreate the interiors of the palace, including the lost Amber Room, as well as park pavilions. For the restoration of Agate rooms, the Museum-Reserve in 2014 was awarded the prestigious European award “Europe Nostra”.