Catherine Palace, Tsarskoe Selo, today

[Reco]

[Reco]

[Reco]

In the up right corner in the last photo, we can see the roof of the Alexander Palace

[amedeo]

Very nice photos, I've seen them in a french book about St. Petersburg.

[BobG]

Reco & Amedeo,
Thank you for posting the beautiful aerial shots of the palaces.  You can really get a sense of their size and beauty in these shots.
Please continue to post such great photos.
Bob G

[ChristineM]

It must be a comparatively new French book Amedeo because these are recently installed gates - opposite the Golden Gates and before Cameron's Chinese Bridge.   They effectively close off the Alexander from the Catherine Park.   Also the white arch is a recent structure.   I wonder what is its significance?

In an exhibition hall in the Catherine Palace on 21st June this year, Yves Saint Laurent will open an exhibition devoted to many of his creations through the decades.   It will be sited there for one month.

tsaria  

[Tsarfan]

So . . . was this the original color of the Catherine Palace?  Any idea why it's painted blue today?

Is that paving or dirt in the courtyard?  (It certainly seems the color of dirt.)  I have always been struck by how elaborate palaces often opened right onto bare dirt in the periods in which they were in use.  One sees it in picture after picture of palaces all over Europe.  I wonder why paving would not have been used around such magnificent buildings, if for no other reason than to keep dust and dirt out of their expensive interiors.  

[Margarita Markovna]

I feel so dumb, but which palace is which? The big one is the Catherina Palace and what are the other two, smaller ones?

[Moonlight_Densetsu]

The large one is the Catherine Palace. The other two smaller buildings arent palaces. I don't know what the correct name for them would be.

[BobG]

I think you could call them service or administration buildings.
BobG

[ChristineM]

The curve of single-storey buildings to the left of the Golden Gates contain the Amber Masters' Workshop.   These are followed by buildings which are used for administration.   The arc of buildings to the right of the Golden Gates are not occupied.   The interiors are in a very poor condition.   However, the buildings beyond now form a small hotel.

tsaria

[Vladimir_V.]

 the buildings beyond now form a small hotel.

Now it`s a small hotel with a good restaurant and free toilets.

[ChristineM]

Reco's photograph above (12 May) 12 shows the garden facade of the Catherine Palace with the famous Palace Cathedral domes on the right and Cameron Gallery on the left.

In the foreground there is a building on the edge of the Great Pond.   The Grotto was built by Rastrelli.   This is where Catherine the Great frequently took morning coffee  in the company of her cavaliers and frauleins.   For years the Grotto has lain empty.  Now 'restored', it houses an exciting new exhibition.

This is an exhibition of flowers and early floral prints.    The emphasis is on roses.   Florists are employed in the Grotto. It is possible to visit the exhibition having first selected flowers which will be transformed into a bouquet and ready for uplift before departing.

tsaria  

[Margarita Markovna]

The large one is the Catherine Palace. The other two smaller buildings arent palaces. I don't know what the correct name for them would be.

Is the Alexander Palace in this picture?

[ChristineM]

On 'Reply 12' it is possible to see the roofs of the Alexander Palace.   It is behind and slightly left of the Golden Domes of the Cathedral of the Catherine Palace.

tsaria