Catherine Palace

Catherine Palace, located in Pushkin; just a short bus ride from Saint Petersburg. This palace was originally built in 1717 for Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great. Her daughter, Elizabeth, finished it off and made it much bigger in 1756. Empress Elizabeth actually had 100 kg of gold used to decorate the exterior of the palace!!

Our welcoming party! They were not too excited to see any of the tourists that surrounded them. I wish I could say they are someone's dogs, but there are many human-less dogs running around Russia. Brian and I thought these two were particularly cute. 

Walking through the palace was pretty spectacular. Also, overwhelming. How did people live in grandeur like this? Here is my mom getting ready to show off her dance moves. 

 This room had such wonderful blue and white tiled stove. They were in many of the rooms.

Another room, but check out the floors! Many different types of wood! 

 Look at the picture above and below this writing. This is the State Staircase which was incredibly striking with the white and red contrast. Then check out below to see what the staircase looked like after World War II. Most of the building was in ruins.

Much of the artwork and some furniture was actually removed before the Germans arrived into Pushkin. Townspeople and people who worked at the palace (it was a museum then) worked day and night to get the artifacts into hiding. But the palace didn't quite stay hidden. Restoration of the palace began soon after the war ended.