20 Музей-заповедник «Царское село»

Pushkin is a municipal town in Pushkinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located 24 kilometers (15 mi) south from the center of St. Petersburg proper, and its train station, Detskoye Selo, is directly connected by railway to the Vitebsky Rail Terminal of the city. Population: 92,721.

Pushkin was founded in 1710 as an imperial residence named Tsarskoye Selo and received status of a town in 1808. The first public railways in Russia, Tsarskoye Selo Railways, were opened here in 1837 and connected the town to the capital St. Petersburg. After the October Revolution, the town was renamed to Detskoye Selo (meaning Children's Village). Its name was further changed in 1937 to Pushkin to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The town contains an ensemble of the 18th century "Tsarskoye Selo". This museum complex includes the Catherine Palace, Alexander Palace and other buildings and associated parks; it is a major tourist attraction of the area and is included in the list of monuments protected by the UNESCO.

Catherine Park

The park is named in honor of the Empress Catherine I of Russia. It occupies an area of 107 hectares and consists of the regular Old Garden (1717–1720) and an English garden (1760–1796, architect Vasily Neyelov) separated by large ponds. The park includes numerous pavilions of significant architectural and historical value. Most of them have been restored.

Catherine Palace

The original palace of 1717–1723 was rebuilt in 1743–1756, first by Mikhail Zemtsov, A. V. Kvasov and Savva Chevakinsky and then by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Rastrelli was the primary author of the architectural design and lush sculptural decoration of the facade, in the style of Russian Baroque; he also designed the interior layout and decoration.

Alexander Park

The park occupies an area of 120 hectares next to the main entrance. It consists of a regular part (the New Garden, 1740s, N. Girard) and the Landscape Park (1790s) with three ponds and artificial mounds.

Alexander Palace

This classical palace was built in 1792–1796 by Giacomo Quarenghi for Alexander I. The palace is an elongated two-storey building with double wings on either side and a two-row colonnade on the northern side. Next to the palace is a vast park with a lake.