Entrance to the Catherine Palace in Pushkin — Online Webcam

Entrance to the Catherine Palace: What the Online Camera Shows

This webcam broadcasts a real-time view from the entrance ensemble of the Catherine Palace onto the parterre garden — a geometric flowerbed with scrolls of green grass and dark soil, cone-shaped topiary bushes, and white marble statues. In the foreground are metal turnstiles, a stone staircase, and railings. A security guard stands to the right of the entrance, while visitors stroll along the gravel paths beside the hedge. In the background, deciduous trees, park alleys, and buildings of the Tsarskoye Selo museum complex are visible.

History of the Catherine Palace: From Residence to Museum

The Catherine Palace is the former summer residence of Empresses Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. The building was founded in 1717 by order of Catherine I. The complex officially opened as a museum in 1910. Today, the exhibition of the State Museum-Preserve "Tsarskoye Selo" covers over 300 years of the palace's history, including collections of paintings, sculptures, furniture, jewelry, and decorative and applied art from the 18th–19th centuries.

Facade Architecture: Baroque Luxury and Gilding

The facade of the main Catherine Palace in Pushkin features a three-columned order portico with Ionic columns, bas-reliefs, meanders, and lavish gilding. The walls are covered with stucco, the pediment emphasizes the building's grandeur, and the side facades are limited to pilasters in their sculptural decoration. The palace was adorned with about 100 kg of gold leaf — the scale of the decorative work is staggering even today.

The Parterre Garden and Park Sculpture

The parterre garden of the Catherine Palace with its grand staircase was laid out before the future summer residence in the 1720s by Dutch masters, and was subsequently expanded and completed. The park sculpture collection of the Catherine Garden includes Russia's largest collection of 18th-century marble park sculpture, with about 30 sculptural works by Venetian masters. These are the white marble statues visible on the webcam broadcast, placed among the topiary bushes along the gravel paths.

The Grand Staircase and Entrance Ensemble

The grand staircase spans the full height and width of the palace and is illuminated by three tiers of windows on the east and west sides. White marble steps rise on both sides to a central landing, from which four flights lead to the second floor. The staircase was built by architect I.A. Monighetti in 1860–1863 in the Rococo style. It is this entrance ensemble with the stone staircase that appears in the online camera's frame.

Tsarskoye Selo Today: A Museum-Preserve

Today, the Catherine Palace in Pushkin is part of the State Museum-Preserve "Tsarskoye Selo," one of Russia's leading museum complexes. Visitors from around the world come here to see the ceremonial halls, the famous Amber Room, and stroll through the Catherine Park. The webcam at the entrance allows you to see the flow of guests who cross the threshold of this historic building every day.

How to Get to the Catherine Palace

The Catherine Palace is located in the town of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo), 25 km south of central St. Petersburg. You can reach it by suburban train from Vitebsky Station to "Tsarskoye Selo" (Pushkin) station, then by bus or on foot for about 15 minutes. Minibuses also run from the "Moskovskaya," "Zvyozdnaya," and "Kupchino" metro stations. If you are planning to visit the museum, the online camera will help you assess how busy the entrance is and choose a convenient time for your visit.

What Is Visible on the Camera

The live webcam broadcast shows: the entrance ensemble of the Catherine Palace with metal turnstiles and a stone staircase; the parterre garden with geometric flowerbeds forming scrolls and patterns of green grass and dark soil; cone-shaped topiary bushes; white marble statues by 18th-century Venetian masters; a hedge with decorative white benches; gravel paths where visitors stroll; a security guard at the turnstiles; tall deciduous trees and park alleys; museum complex buildings in the background. The camera operates in live streaming mode — you are watching what is happening at the entrance to the Catherine Palace right now.