Even those who know nothing about the Catherine Palace or about Tsarskoye Selo in general have probably heard (and a lot) about the famous Amber Room (Amber Cabinet), taken by the Nazis from the Catherine Palace during the Great Patriotic War and only recently recreated by the masters of the Tsarskoye Selo Amber Room workshop.

Until the end of the 19th century, there was a legend about how Peter I, shocked by the rare beauty of the Amber Room, begged it as a gift from the Prussian monarch. But most likely, Frederick William I himself presented this amber gift to Peter as a diplomatic gift. Moreover, William I himself did not have the funds to complete the amber cabinet and did not want new expenses.

Once in Russia, the “amber headdress” became a source of pride and concern not only for Peter I, but later for Anna Ioanovna, Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine the Great.

The palace hall allocated for the room, with an area of 96 square meters, significantly exceeded the modest dimensions of the amber panels, so the architect Rastrelli, who was again tasked with adapting the chamber office, had to show remarkable imagination. The architect used alternating amber panels with mirrored pilasters, painting the upper tier of the walls to look like amber, and luxurious carved gilded interior decor. The amber office was illuminated by 565 candles, and the unforgettable impression made by the shine of amber was enhanced by 24 mirrored pilasters and half-pilasters located in the corners and high mirrors in the spaces between the windows. The room existed in this form for almost 200 years.

Of course, the Amber Room was supposed to be evacuated from the palace, but... after a trial removal of one of the panels, which was handled by the women remaining in the museum, it turned out that the amber set was crumbling in large areas, and it would not be possible to remove it without losses. Therefore, a strong-willed decision was made to leave the Amber Room in place, protecting it from possible fragments with batting covers and wooden shields. Perhaps at that time no one really believed that Tsarskoe Selo (then Detskoye Selo) would be given to the enemy...

In 1979, by decree of the USSR Government, it was decided to restore the Amber Room. Since 1983, under the leadership of architect A.A. Kedrinsky began work on a project to recreate it.