St Petersburg region » Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo)
Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo)
Tsarskoye Selo (formerly known as Pushkin) is one of St. Petersburg's numerous Imperial estates. Located just 25 kilometers south of the city, the estate boasts a large landscape park, dotted with architectural follies.
The magnificent blue, white and gold Catherine Palace. Named after its creator, Empress Catherine, the second wife of Peter the Great, the original palace was built between 1717 and 1723 by the architect Braunstein. The palace was expanded later in the century and given a new, richly decorated Baroque facade by the architect Francesco Bartholomeo Rastrelli.
One of the best-hidden secrets of the Tsarskoye Selo estate is the Alexander Palace, built between 1792 and 1796 by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi. By the turn of the 20th century the Alexander Palace had become the favorite residence of the last Russian Tzar, Nicholas II, and his family.
