Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
298
The Amber Room
Originally constructed in 1701-1709 within the Charlottesburg Palace, the
panels of what was to become Tsarskoye Tselo's Amber Room were give by the
Prussian King Friedrick Wilhelm I to his then ally Peter I in 1716. They were not
unpacked and installed until 1755, however: a task that required some eight
tons of amber and that took 10 years to complete. Attempts to protect it from
the German invasion of 1941 proved futile: the panels were too fragile to move,
and its disguise (under wallpaper) was discovered by the Nazis in less than 36
hours. Initially transferred to Konigsburg (now Kaliningrad), the original panels
have never been recovered, and rumors of their current locations abound.
Some claim they were destroyed in the Allied bombings of Konigsburg, others
that they were torpedoed in transit. A group of German treasure hunters
claimed to have found evidence of them near the Czech border in early 2008.
Reconstruction of the new Amber Room began in 1979 (with financial support
from Germany), and it opened in 2003.
Catherine's Palace (Yekaterinsky Dvorets) is located at 7 Ulitsa Sadovaya, Pushkin
( & 812/465-9424; www.tzar.ru). Admission to the park is 180 rubles adults, 90 rubles
college students and children 8 and over; admission to the palace costs 550 rubles adults,
280 rubles students and children. The park is open daily sunrise to sunset; the palace is
open Wednesday through Monday from 10am to 6pm (closed last Mon of each month).
WHERE TO DINE
Cafe Tsarskoye Tselo in the palace itself is the most convenient but least interesting
lunch option in the vicinity, with hot and cold drinks and small open-faced sandwiches.
(Its entrance is opposite the lycée; & 812/470-1349 ). A more picturesque spot is the
Admiralty (Admiralteistvo), on the second floor of the pavilion of the same name on
the shore of the Baltic Sea, at the other side of the Great Pond from the palace (Yekateri-
insky Park; & 812/465-3549 ). The cuisine is primarily Russian, and service is friendly.
Slightly farther from the palace, along the park's edge, is Staraya Bashnya (Old Tower)
restaurant, concealed in the cluster of buildings called Fyodorovsky Gorodok (14 Aka-
demichesky Pereulok; & 812/466-6698 ). Russian items such as garlicky beef dumplings
(pelmeni) and beef stroganoff are particularly worthwhile. The restaurant is small, so
reservations are a good idea before you make the trek out there.
17
3 PAVLOVSK
30km (19 miles) S of St. Petersburg
The park at Pavlovsk outshines even its impressive palace, and is perfect for picnicking
on a clear day. Several enclaves dot the grounds, representing more human-size architec-
ture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The town is named after the palace's original ruler,
Czar Paul I (Pavel in Russian). In a reflection of their characters, Paul's summer home
is as restrained and classical as his mother Catherine the Great's summer getaway at
 
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