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Tour to St.Petersburg Tourism Trip to Russia Guiding services Visa Support Business Interpreting and Translation Photo gallery Pushkin - town * * | |||||
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Pushkin-town The history of present-day Pushkin-town is closely connected with the history of St. Petersburg. These lands were originally settled by Slavs and the Finish tribes. Later the territory where the luxuriant residence of imperial court appeared - The Tsar's village, was part of Novgorod’s lands. Because of the great trade ways, belonging to Novgorod, this territory has always been a kind of “apple of discord” for the Baltic countries. Sweden tried to occupy the territory several times, and at last in the XVII century Sweden had a great success and for almost 100 years was in possession of the banks of the river Neva, one of the main waterways of Russia. Peter the Great began the crucial struggle with Sweden in 1700, and founded the new capital St. Petersburg on the Neva banks. The war with Sweden had not been ended when the Tsar felt himself so strong at the returning lands to Russia, that began to built "the funny palaces" around his "paradise".The date of the foundation of the Tsar's village is the 24th of June 1710, it was presented by Peter I to his wife Catherine I. As she entered into the ownership of Sarskaja "myza", which officially became the Tsar's village since 1725, she began to make it better. During the life of Peter the Great his wife founded a small park and ordered to make the part of the forest as the Zoo (the natural place where the wild animals lived), she also ordered to surround it with the fence. She also built a small house there that got the name Catherine Palace. When Catherine I died the Tsar's village became the ownership of her daughter the Princes Elizabeth. She had to spend money for repairing of the Tsar's village chambers but she tried to spend as little as she could, though it was her favourite place. When she became the Empress she got enough money to make it as luxuries as she wanted it to be. There appeared the splendid stone building with marble columns, light halls, parquet and marble floors, the shining dome and monumental stairs decorated with gilding rails, balustrades and statues. Architect Rasstrelly was the head of the construction. It was Elizabeth who ordered to transfer the famous Amber Room* from St. Petersburg to the Catherine Palace. During the 30-s years reign of the Empress Catherine II the Tsar's village mounted to the highest point of its prosperity. The better the State’s business was the more money the Empress spent on her favourite residence. By the end of the reign of Catherine II the Tsar's village changed a lot: Alexander Palace was built for her grandson, future Emperor Alexander I, Catherine Palace was enlarged with the Agate Rooms, Cameron's gallery etc.; the gardens were made wider and were decorated with many new buildings and monuments in honor of Empress's comrades - in – arms. The best architects of that time were invited by the Empress from abroad. They were A. Rinaldy, Ch. Cameron, G. Kvarenghy. In November 1796 Her Majesty had a heart attack, from which she died. She was alive when the legatee of the throne Paul began to break all that had been done by the Empress. The hard time of the Emperor Paul I began. It lasted for 5 years. In the first years of the reign of Alexander I the Tsar's village was forgotten. The court lived on the Elagin island or in Peterghof in summer; only in 1808 The Emperor paid attention to Tsar's village, mostly because the emperor had spent all his childhood and youth there. Some alterations were made, some new constructions appeared. For the last time the Emperor slept in Tsar's village in 1825 on the way to Taghanrog. And in early spring his remains were transferred here by his brother, the new Emperor Nicolas I and the tsar's family. Nicolas I divided his summer rest between Peterghof and Tsar's village. His Majesty always lived in Alexander Palace. In his reign the first Russian railroad was built from St.-Petersburg to Tsar's village. In the reign of the Emperor Alexander II the city continued to develop and there was opened the classical gymnasium, there wasn't constructed any new buildings but all that was there was kept in good condition. In the reign of the Emperor Alexander III the court almost did not live in Tsar's village. His Majesty was living in the left wing of Alexander Palace. During his time Tsar's village became the first city not only in Russia but in Europe which was lighted with electricity. Since 1894 the Tsar's village developed very quickly. Till 1905 the court spent the beginning of winter and early spring in the Tsar's village. Tsar's village got the best water - pipe and sewerage. The Tsar's village became one of the most well - equipped cities in Russia by the beginning of XX century. Nicolas II, the last Russian Emperor, was born in Alexander Palace. It was his favourite palace in Tsar's village. Since 1905 Alexander palace became the place of constant living of the tsar's family. The sessions of the State Council and the audiences of the foreign ambassadors took place in Alexander Palace. the ministers came there with their reports. Since that time Tsar's village became the small capital of the tsar's empire. . On the 2nd of March 1917 the Tsar renounced from the throne. Some days later he became the prisoner in his own house. The tsar's family spent several months there. In August 1917 the family was sent to Siberia. During the night of 17th of July 1918 the tsar's family was shot in the cellar of Ipatiev's house in Ekaterinburg. Year 1917 changed life in Tsar's village. It became one of the provincial cities of Russia. But all the palaces were opened for sightseeing. Since 1919 after discharging the leading art figures from their work the squandering of the museum values began. But excepting all the problems connected with the new historical period of the country’s life , the museum life was regulated. In the 30-s the excursion and exploring works were begun, several guide-books were printed, some exhibitions were opened. For the first time millions of tourists saw the treasures of the Russian culture. In 1937, in connection with 100 years anniversary of the great Russian poet Pushkin's death, the city got the name of him – the town of Pushkin On the 22 of June, 1941 the Nazi troops invaded Soviet Union. Already on the 17th of September they occupied the little town of Pushkin. All the buildings including beautiful palaces were used as military head-quarters or barracks for German soldiers’ living. Gestapo was situated in Alexander Palace, there was also a prison. The ground floor of the Catherine palace was turned into a big garage, Palace’s Chapel became the repairing place of bicycles For two and a half years the invaders were in Pushkin. A lot of people who had been born and lived in Pushkin were sent to concentration camps. People were shot for the lightest breach of the invaders' rules. The executions took place in the center of the city. On the 14th of January the attack of the Soviet army began and on the 24th of January the town of Pushkin was free from the German invaders. During the years after the war the town of Pushkin became the treasure-house of the Russian architecture, literature and art, it is almost completely restored and ready to show its treasures to the visitors. The Amber Room*  The Greeks believed that amber was the rays of the sun. Imagine an entire room covered with panels of amber, glowing and catching the light - no wonder the Amber Room at Tsar’s Village was considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia presented the room as a diplomatic gift to Peter the Great in 1717. The room was first installed in the small Winter Palace of Peter the Great, but in 1755 Empress Elizabeth ordered Francesco Rastrelli to transfer it to the Catherine Palace. The amber panels were carried by hand from St Petersburg to Tsar’s Village. It took 76 guardsmen six days. They were not large enough to complete the new 100 m decor, so mosaic and mirror insets were added and the upper part of the walls was painted to imitate amber. During the Second World War German troops removed the amber panels, and they were given to Alfred Rode, head of the Konigsberg Art Museum in Kaliningrad. Part of the Amber Room was last seen on display in Konigsberg Castle, before being hidden in its catacombs. From here the mystery starts. There are stories that the amber was burnt in a bomb attack, that it was moved to Germany after the personal order of Hitler himself, that it still remains in the subterranean vaults of the castle, that stretch for kilometers. The most recent and hopeful theory is that, whilst being transported to Germany, the panels were dumped in a mine on the Baltic Coast. The legend of the lost Amber Room has inspired films, thrillers and treasure hunters. Valued today at over $ 142m, it would be no small find. There were 4 Florentine mosaics in the decoration of the Amber Room which had been created in Florence (Italy). The mosaics' plots are 5 allegories: hearing, taste, eyesight, sense of smell, sense of touch. A team of amber masters of Ltd has worked since 1982, intent on recreating the amber magnificent room. Restoring ancient amber objects d'Art, our craftsmen have studied the old methods of the work with amber. No doubt, the large experience, new technologies, the high level of master’s skill makes it possible to recreate the Amber Room. The amber panels already installed in the interior of the Catherine palace perfectly illustrate this fact. |
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