Grand Catherine Palace

The Great Catherine Palace in Pushkin was originally laid out according to the first design as a small two-story structure in the Dutch style "with 16 rooms." Architect Rastrelli made the longitudinal axis the main coordinate of the plan, emphasizing the length of the two parallel enfilades by placing the ceremonial staircase at the southwestern end of the building. In the Oval Hall, created by Stasov in 1817, began the private half of Emperor Alexander I, who lived in the palace in three small rooms of the church wing. In the Cavalier's Dining Room after the war, a painting by an unknown 18th-century Russian master depicting the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos from the collection of the Russian Museum was placed on the ceiling.