On the Volga, 150 kilometres northwest of Moscow, Tver goes back to the twelfth century. After a fire levelled the vast majority of the town in 1763, the engineer Pyotr Nikitin replanned Tver’s centre on a three-ray framework and assembled his patron, Catherine the Great, a historic site in Tver a.k.a. a ‘street royal residence’ to lay in on ventures between the then-Russian capital of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The Palace was raised in the eighteenth century on the ‘administrative course‘, — for Catherine the Great to stay during her outings from Moscow to St. Petersburg and back.
The structure survived in 1917 revolution and the second World War and has an incredible noteworthy value. the Palace is situated on the site of a previous cleric’s house that was crushed by the fire of 1763.
Well-known architects took a shot at the undertaking. It was planned by Kazakov and Vallin de la Mothe and afterward remade by Carlo Rossi and Joseph Bové toward the start of the nineteenth century.
In that occasions, the royal residence’s function transformed. It turned into the living arrangement of the Tver general senator and a chic scholarly salon. The insides were enriched with extravagance material background, parquet, mirrors, works of art, and sculptures.
Some fascinating facts about Catherine the Great Palace:
- In the adapted film, Anastasia, by Twentieth Century Fox, in 1997, the Catherine Palace is spoken to, incorrectly, as the home of the imperial family.
- To raise assets for the reconstruction of the royal residence (which still proceeds), the organization of the royal residence has leased the Great Hall on a few events for some elevated level occasions, including a show by Elton John for a world class group of spectators in 2001 or restrictive gathering held in 2005 with big names like Bill Clinton, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Sting or Naomi Campbell.
- It is prohibited to take photographs in the Chamber of Amber since it is extremely touchy to camera flashes. You cannot likewise take selfies inside the Palace for a security reason.
Novel Architecture
The vast majority of the travel lodges are not compositionally expressive. The unassuming two-story structures with a triangular frontispiece in the inside were worked by one model and more often than not, when not required to have the sovereign, they worked as post workplaces and lodgings for imperial authorities, individuals from court, and different visitors.
The royal residence in Tver was a special case. It was built in the style of the great St. Petersburg living arrangements and was utilized for balls and gatherings. In 1767, Catherine halted at the castle during a significant adventure from St. Petersburg to Simbirsk (presently Ulyanovsk, around 560 miles east of Moscow) in which she was joined by very nearly 2,000 individuals, including the Austrian, French, and British envoys. Only the Petroff Palace in Moscow could rival it in terms of loftiness of its improvements.
At first, the interiors were executed in the manner of the excellent living arrangements. They contained extravagance material background, Dutch stoves with tiles, parquet floors, mortar segments that imitated marble, excessive stuccowork, mirrors, fashioned iron stairs, bronze crystal fixtures, works of art, and sculptures. It is realized that the sovereign became hopelessly enamoured with the royal residence and that peers referenced its rich adornments in their diaries.
Amber Room
The Palace contains numerous wonderful rooms, including the Grand Hall or assembly hall estimating 154 ft x 56 ft with two levels of windows. The work of art on the roof portrays a corridor around the edge of the room and gives it a 3-dimensional feel, which expands the space upwards.
The most renowned room, however, is the Amber Room. This was begun by Frederick I of Prussia as his royal residence in Berlin, in spite of the fact that it was incomplete when he passed on in 1713. Work was then halted in light of the fact that his successor, Frederick Wilhelm I, did not care for the room.
At the point when Peter the Great visited him and respected the room, Frederick Wilhelm offered it to Peter, and in 1717, the boards were sent to St. Petersburg. In any case, as Russian skilled workers were not able reassemble it, they stayed stashed. In 1740, Russia’s then-Empress, Elizabeth, requested the amber to be utilized in the rearrangement of a room in St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace, despite the fact that she passed on before it was finished. Her successor, Catherine II requested the amber moved to her summer residence at Tsarskoe Selo. It was finished in 1770 and utilized as a study.
During the war, an endeavour was made to cover the dividers with paper and dressing trying to hide the amber. However, during the German control of the royal residence, it was found by them, destroyed and evacuated to Germany, where it vanished.
A full-scale reconstruction of the Amber Room started during the 1980s, with the systems being re-learnt. The room was opened to the general population in 2003.
How to Visit
In the late spring season (June to August), Catherine the Great Palace, a historic site in Tver, is open each day of the week (with the exception of Tuesdays) from 12:00 to 19:00 o’clock. Meanwhile, Catherine’s Park is open in longer hours (from 7:00 to 23:00 o’clock).
In winter, schedules vary and might be changing so it is ideal to counsel them on the Palace’s legitimate site. From October to April, the royal residence additionally shuts the last Monday of every month.
Catherine the Great Palace is found 25 kilometres south of St. Petersburg. You can go from the focal point of St. Petersburg to Catherine the Great Palace by public transportation since it is less expensive though it includes consolidating two transportation techniques and a more drawn-out ride, or you can just get a taxi. It is progressively costly yet more direct and quicker.
What an interesting place to visit. Make sure you put Catherine the Great, a historic site in Tver into your bucket list.