The Museum & Nature Reserve

Tsaritsyno Museum, which includes a palace complex and a park, is one of the largest museums in Moscow. Tsaritsyno was founded by Empress Catherine the Great as her country residence and it’s the only Pseudo-Gothic palace in Russia. Two prominent Russian architects, Vasily Bazhenov and Matvey Kazakov, designed the plans for the Grand, Middle and Small Palaces, the Bread House (Kitchens), the Cavalry buildings, the Orangery buildings, various gates and bridges, a cascade of ponds and a large landscape park.

After the death of Catherine the Great, her heir, Emperor Paul I, stopped the construction of palaces. By that time the Grand Palace was almost finished. After 200 years of gradual destruction, the historical outlook of Tsaritsyno was carefully restored.