Thursday June 27

St Catherine's Palace was designed by her predecessor, Tsarina Elizabeth I to rival Versailles but became known as Catherine's Palace when she became Tsarina. It is stunning in it's beautiful architecture and decorations. The few pictures here can't do it justice.
The amazing thing is that the communists preserved these places and put an enormous effort into repairing them after all the destruction of WWII. Many of the ornaments were taken to storage in Siberia and the statues were buried in the grounds. The Amber Room which we couldn't photograph was paneled in Amber! They didn't have time to take down the panels so covered them in Hessian and painted it but Hitler had sent art experts with the army who knew what they were looking for so they stole the lot. The current Amber Room is a reconstruction.

Entrance Stairway

Ballroom

  

Dining Room

Timber inlaid bureau

Elizabeth I

Gardens and Main Entrance

Catherine's private retreat

Part of the extensive gardens

Palace from rear gardens