Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin)

There is much in this town that lies 26 km away from St. Petersburg to remind you of the great Russian poet -- the Lyceum (a high school for children of the gentry) where Pushkin studied, the old linden alleys, the palaces and the fine sculptures he admired so much.

The architectural ensemble of the town of Pushkin is justly considered a masterpiece of world architecture. The London Congress of Architects which was held in 1945 to calculate the losses sustained by architecture during the Second World War, had this to say about the Nazis' barbar-ous destruction of the Leningrad suburbs: "The whole of humanity has become poorer because of the loss of such monuments as Pushkin and Pavlovsk." They have risen from the ruins and you may see them today in all beauty.

The history of the town dates back to the early 18th century. In 1723, the palace for Catherine, the wife of Peter the Great, was completed. Later it continued to be called the Catherine Palace, and the entire surrounding neighbourhood was named Tsarskoye Selo (the Tsar's Village).

Elizabeth, Peter's daughter who ascended the throne in the 1740s, decided to have her summer residence built here. Being the most extravagant of the Russian tsarinas, she was lavish in her spending of money. The construction was entrusted to Bartolomeo Rastrelli. What the architect did was a wonderful example of Russian baroque.

The internal decor was the responsibility of Charles Cameron, then an unknown young Scotsman. He de-corated the interior of the Catherine Palace with marble, bronze and semi-precious stones. Visitors were struck by the splendour of the numerous rooms, especially the Lyons Parlour whose walls were faced with lazurite while the parquet composed of twelve precious species of wood was inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

Greatest of all wonders was certainly the Amber Room which was transferred from the Winter Palace. People called it the "eighth wonder of the world".

During the war against Nazi Germany the Amber Room was stolen by the Nazis. Its where abouts is one of the unsolved mysteries of our time. From time to time the press carries reports about new attempts to find it and hypotheses on this account. The St. Petersburg restorers have decided to reproduce the Amber Room on the basis of drawings and photographs. Their work is nearing completion.

The best 18th-century masters-architects, sculptors and gardeners-created the Tsarskoye Selo ensemble. Rastrelli built two park pavilions-the Hermitage and the Grotto. Cameron was the author of the Agate Room and the famous open gallery, known as the Cameron Gallery. Vasily Neyelov built Palladium Bridge, a wonder in marble. Yuri Felton and Antonio Rinaldi erected the Ruined Tower and the Chesma Column to commemorate Russia's victories in the war with Turkey (1768-1774).

In 1811, a Lyceum was opened in a modest wing opposite the church. The intention was that graduates of this privileged educational establishment would go on to hold high government positions. The Lyceum was patro-nized by Emperor Alexander I and its quarters at Tsarskoye Selo lay side by side with the emperor's summer residence. Pushkin was enrolled'at the Lyceum when he was twelve. It was here that he wrote his first verses. The young man's brilliant poetical talent was noticed and highly appreciated by recognized poets. Many of them called at Tsarskoye Selo to see "that young magician Pushkin".

In the small garden by the Lyceum you will see the sculpture of a curly-haired youth sitting on an iron bench. This monument to Pushkin (sculptor Robert Bach) was erected in 1900. The money was raised by subscription.

Every year, on June 6, Pushkin's birthday, admirers of his talent come here from all parts of the country and the world to recite his poems, to listen to other people's recitals, and to see the places where his talent first blossomed.