Pushkin Catherine Palace & Amber room tour St. Petersburg Russia

Tour to Pushkin: Catherine Palace with Amber Room & Catherine park  (Duration: 5 hours)

The tour will start and will be finished at your hotel. It will take nearly 1 hour to get to Pushkin. You will see the countryside on the way. Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo) is located nearly 23 km from St.Petersburg. You will visit the Catherine Palace, the masterpiece by Rastrelly with the famous Amber Room that is considered to be the 8-th wonder of the world. Then you will walk in the Catherine park that is famous for beautiful sculptures and park pavilions.

Included: guide service, car (minivan) with professional driver, museum and park tickets

Not included: lunch

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It is possible to visit Pushkin and Pavlovsk at the same day.  Pavlovsk is located in 20 minutes from Pushkin.

Tour to Pushkin (Catherine Palace with Amber Room & park) and Pavlovsk (Palace of Paul 1 and park)  (Duration: 7 hours)

This tour combines visiting two imperial residences Pushkin and Pavlovsk. You will visit the Catherine palace with the famous Amber room and walk around he park. Then you will have short break for lunch and another guided tour of the palace of Paul 1 (the son of Catherine the Great) and his wife Maria and another beautiful park.

Included: guide service, car (minivan) with professional driver, museum and park tickets

Not included: lunch

Please contact us, write the tour you have chosen, the date of the tour, language, how many people, your wishes. We'll reply you soon.

 Catherine palace

                                                             History of the Amber room

Private Amber room tour with the licensed St. Petersburg private guide will show you the masterpiece that you'll see in Pushkin, the tsarina's residence known as «Tsarskye Selo». The preeminent lyricist (his name it now bears) took frequent strolls there from Petersburg, 25 versts away (one versta = 3,5 feet). The Lyceum where Pushkin got education is in this cantonment. This estate vied in charm with Versailles, in several respects, even surpassed notorious French paradise. It was under occupation, courageously liberated in nineteen forty four. Personal Amber room tour will inform you that the most offbeat attraction is mysterious Amber room that took its name from the stuff exploited to grace its walls. It is the chef-d'oeuvre, enchanted those who observed it by its luminosity and singularity, enigmatical air originated by the warm «living mineral».

The author of the primal project of this room is considered Andreas Schluter, from 1699 the senior architect of the Prussian court. While restructuring of the Palace in Berlin, Andreas desired to utilize amber for the interiors. That was never ever utilized before for such decoration. The execution of that unordinary plan was contributed to the Royal amber collection, lavishly ornamented amber frames and splendid mirrors (totally 3). And then Schluter invited Tungsten, the master of the Danish king to operate with amber. The master managed to realize half of his work because Schluter was fired. And Swede Volfram von Goethe was appointed the king's architect. He was also fired soon. King Friedrich came upon the idea: this room should be in the Charlottenburg castle, but it was unfinished because Friedrich died. For his successor - military minded Friedrich Wilhelm I this unique room was unnecessary. All pieces were delivered to Berlin Arsenal. Perhaps amber creation would be forgotten if the rumor did not come to Peter I who desired to demonstrate it in the museum of rarities-Kunstkammer.

Individual Amber room tour in Petersburg will inform you that the masterpiece was brought to Russia. Friedrich Wilhelm 1 bestowed (1716) it to Peter as the diplomatic gift. Additionally he donated the yacht "Liburnika". 55 grenadiers, the goblet of Peter's own work became the reciprocal gift for Friedrich. The precious panels were delivered to St. Petersburg on eighteen carriages through Konigsberg, Riga and Memel. The priceless cargo was received Menshikov, the governor. In the boxes unpacked by him lacked many details. During Peter's life this marvelous study has not been installed. The panels were kept in the human chambers. They were located the tsar's small Palace (inhabited in Summer) until Elizabeth - daughter remembered about panels. Her will: to apply the breathtaking panels of luminous stone to beautify the hall in the Tsar's Village, her posh summery estate. She appointed B. Rastrelli for that work. Amber parts were missing and he placed mirrored staggering pilasters and paintings on the frieze imitating amber.

 Amber - the "wonderful stone of antiquity»

Personal Amber room tour in the Catherine palace will inform you that few people know that the "wonderful stone of antiquity» called so by the Russian mineralogist academician Fersman was known for thousands years. Its Golden Shine and warmth captured primitive man. In their legends ancient people tried to explain the origin of this gift of nature, which combined the heat of the sun, the translucency of the sea water and the pine forests smell. According to ancient myth narrated by Оvid Phaeton begged to his father (god of the sun) to allow him to ride the solar chariot and died, nearly destroying the earth with the fearful fire. Faeton's mother and sisters Geliads wept so bitterly on his grave that the gods felt compassion for them left them on this place forever, turning them into the trees. Their tears were converted into the golden amber. Actually amber is a fossil resin. Сoniferous trees were growing in Russia and South America. But the best amber is extracted at the Baltic sea shores. During the Amber room tour you will know that the history of the "sunny masterpiece", unique creation of nature and skilful human hands - the Amber room begins from there.

Your St. Petersburg private guide will tell you that the Amber room was placed on the 100 sq. meters space, and 40 sq meters of amber were disposed among the mirrors. The chamber was embellished with Florentine mosaic. Suddenly the missing decorative items emerged in 1745. Prussian king gifted Elizabeth one opulent frame of that room (arch. Reich). This study was predestinated for formal receptions. Its final aspect Amber room took only 1770. Alterations were accomplished in pursuance to the Catherine's ordinance. The renovation was performed subsequently five times.

Personal private guide St. Petersburg will tell you that while the war with Hitler, the Amber room wasn't regrettably shifted to the rear with invaluable exhibits. The reason: details were too fragile. It was preserved, having pasted over by gauze and paper, cotton wool. It was not saved. Occupants have transfered it to Konigsberg. Stolen doors, panels were brougt to the castle of Konigsberg. The object was briskly parsed and then taken in obscure direction in 1944 (the retreat the Nazi).

                                                      Restoration of the Amber room

Personal St. Petersburg private tour will inform you that the government decided to reconstruct the Amber room. The implementation of the project started in 1983, completed in 1996. 41 specialists with Zhuravlev at the heard were employed. The state transferred 7 million $. The agreement between "Ruhrgas" and Russia was signed in 1999. The German company donated 3.55 million - applied for this arduous work. Minister Naumann handed V.V. Putin authentic fragment of the missing Amber study in 2000. Two pieces, founded in Germany, the gorgeous mosaic "Smell and touch" (florentine technique), made in 1787 (it were 4 mosaics) also the chest of drawers produced in 1711 by Berlin artisans. These items were the part of furnishing the veritable room returned to Russia. In 1997 the Deutsche authorities confiscated this mosaic from a notary, who has got it for deposit from the Nazi militarian involved in the seizure of the Amber room in Leningrad. Notary tried to sell it then was judged and ownership was recognized for his daughter. That lady refused from her claims for mosaic, transferring her rights to Bremen city that ceded it to "Tsarskoe Selo". Ultimately, the restorers had two identical objects of art. One artwork manufactured using Ural stones and the genuine, reverted from Germany. While comparing the 2 artworks, the copy and the true work just a minor difference was revealed. You will know it from St. Petersburg private tour in Russia.

Individual St. Petersburg private guide will tell you that the craftsmen of the workshop were able to create virtually the Florentine amber mosaics. The next stride of recreating of this effulgent room was terminated in 2002. Two huge shiny panels were established on the Southern wall. The artwork called «Touch and smell" was mounted in the central frame. In May 2003 works were finished, were accepted by expert Council with estimation "perfectly". Craftsmen are A. Krylov, A. Zhuravlev, B. Igdalov. The custodian was the restorer-artist A. Krylov.

From the private Amber room tour you will know  that the restorers had only black and white photos of amber panels, one prewar slide (colored) with the view of the room, watercolor by Grehnev showing the item with the monogram of the Prussian king about 50 small pieces of the decor: the wreckage of profiles, carvings, flat mosaic set. It seemed too fantastic to restore the panels on the basis of such materials. However, there was the collection of amber products that turned back from evacuation to the Palace. These works were direct analogues of the Amber room from time and place of creation, style, methods of amber processing and in one case even with the authorship indicated by the signature of Turau.

It is known from that the amber workshop began its creative activity with studying, restoration and copying of collection of amber products of 17-18 centuries. Since 1981, this workshop was the part of the scientific-industrial Association «Restorer» and the artist and the stone carver Juravlev became its leader. His energy and enthusiasm allowed to overcome the problems of the of the restoration work initial period. From the very beginning  there were the stone carver Vanin and architect-stone cutter Krilov who were destined to pass all the long way to recreate the Amber room.

During the Amber room tour you'll know that future restorers had art education and experience in jewelry, carving and sculpture work in the factories of «Russian Samotsvety» and «Rosmonumenart». But nevertheless they needed several years of work with authentic works not only to master the forgotten technology but  to get used to the aesthetics and understanding of plastics typical for that era. Otherwise it was the danger of creating of a cold speсulative copies devoid of internal dynamism, the immediacy and living feelings, so inherent to the Baroque art.

The Amber room tour informs that art historians and architects labored in Pushkin and «Restorer» Association had to decide how exactly this copy match the lost original. By art historians it was revealed the genuine decoration of the Berlin Cabinet, precise period of appearance of the later additions. The mosaics' origin and analogues of the lost details were found. During 2 decades Kolotov, respected art critic carried out this work. As it turned out during research the famous interior wasn't sealed in drawings and paintings (except one watercolor). Thus the pictures were the main primary source used for the room recreating. In the Hermitage, other museums: Tretyakov and Russian, archival repositories there were identified 86 photos of the interior beginning from the first (1859 published) to the last made in Кoniksberg castle.

 The Throne room in the Catherine palace

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