Catherina Castle, Russia

The Catherine Palace is located in the town of Tsarkoye Selo ( Pushkin), 25 km in southwest of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. the origin is in 1717 when Catherine I of Russia engaged the German architect Johan Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace for her pleasure. in 1773, Empress Elizabeth commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov and Andrei Kvasov to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elizabeth however, found her mother's residence outdated and incommodious and in May 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style. Construction lasted for four years, and on 30 July 1756 the architect presented the brand new 325 m long palace to the Empress, her dazed courtiers and stupefied foreign ambassadors.

More than 100 kg of gold were used to gild the sophisticated stucco facade and numerous statues erected on the roof. It was even rumored that the palace's roof was constructed entirely of gold. in front of the palace a great formal garden was laid out. It centers on the azure and white Hermitage Pavilion near the lake, designed by Mikhail Zemtsov in 1474. Remodeled  by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1479 and formerly crowned by grand gilded sculpture representing The Rape of Persephone. The interior of the pavilion featured dinning tables with dumb waiter mechanisms.

The grand entrance to the palace is flanked by two massive circumferences also in the rococo style. A delicate cast iron grille separates the complex from the town of Tsarkoe Selo

Although the palace is popularly associated with Great Catherine, she actually regarded its whipped cream architecture as old - fashioned. When she ascended to the throne, a number of statutes in the park were being covered with gold, in accordance with the last wish of Empress Elizabeth, yet the new monarch had all the works suspended upon being informed about the expense.

The palace was then being built, but it was the work of    Penelope   what was done today, was destroyed tomorrow. That house has been pulled down six times to the foundation. Then   built  up  again till it was brought to its present state. The sum of a million six hundred thousand rubles was spent on the construction.

In order to gratify her passion for antique and Neoclasssical art, Catherine employed the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, who not only refurbished the interior of one wing in the Neo -Palladian style then in vogue, But also constructed the personal apartments of the Empress, a rather modest Greek revival structure known as the Agate rooms and situated to the left of the grand palace. The rooms were designed so as to be connected to the Hanging Gardens, the Cold Baths, and the Cameron Gallery. According to the thje Catherine's wishes, many remarkable structures were erected for her amusement in the Catherine Park. These include the Dutch Admiralty, creaking pagoda, Chesme Column, Rumyantsev Obelisk and Marble Bridge.

Upon catherine death in 1796 the palace was abandoned in favor of  Pavlosk Palace. Subsequent monarchs preferred to reside in the nearby Alexander Palace.

Alexander I   engaged  Vasily Stasov to refurbish some interiors of his grandmother's residence in the Empire Style. Twenty years later   the magnificent Stasov Staircase was constructed to replace the old circular   staircase leading to the Chapel Palace. Unfortunately most of Stasov's interiors have not been restored after the destruction caused by the Germans during World War II.

When the Germans forces retreated after the siege of Leningrad, they intentionally destroyed the residence, leaving only the hollow shell of the palace behind.

Although the largest part of the reconstruction was completed in time in 2003, much work is still required to restore the palace to its former glory.