Catherine Palace hosts park exhibition until 18 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 00:05 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Catherine Palace (Ekaterininsky dvorets) in Pushkin, Russia, is the venue for the Catherine Park exhibition, which runs until 18 October 2026. The presentation examines the grounds surrounding the former imperial residence, linking the palace to the gardens and pavilions that form the wider Tsarskoye Selo ensemble.
For visitors in early October, the exhibition provides a specific reason to include the park alongside the palace interiors. Its closing date falls within the current travel window, while the site remains connected to the museum's broader programme of historic architecture and conservation.
Catherine Park exhibition runs until 18 October 2026
The exhibition opened on 20 April 2026 and is scheduled to continue through 18 October 2026. The listing places it at Catherine Palace and identifies the State Museum-Reserve Tsarskoye Selo as the organisation behind the information. The Catherine Park exhibition listing describes the grounds as an integral part of the imperial residence rather than as a separate urban park.
The subject is the park itself, including its formal and landscape sections, historic buildings and water features. That makes the exhibition relevant to a palace visit because the outdoor setting explains how the residence was organised beyond the ceremonial rooms.
Catherine Palace stands at the centre of a 300-hectare ensemble
The official historical overview calls Catherine Palace the compositional centre of Tsarskoye Selo and identifies it as a major example of Russian Baroque. The ensemble developed after the estate was transferred to Catherine in 1710, and the royal residence grew during the eighteenth century.
The park contains two contrasting traditions: the regular Old Garden and the landscape English Garden. The exhibition information gives Catherine Park an area of 100 hectares, while the museum's historical overview of Tsarskoye Selo describes the combined Catherine and Alexander Parks as covering 300 hectares. This relationship between palace, formal garden and wider landscape is the central fact that connects the current exhibition with the site's history.
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the Hermitage and Grotto pavilions in the park, according to the exhibition record. The same source notes the Cascade Canal, 12 dams and the Imperial Garden created in 1865 near the southern facade of the Zubovsky Wing.
Restoration history shapes the park and palace visit
The ensemble suffered extensive damage during the Second World War. The museum states that Catherine Palace was reduced to a burnt-out shell by 1944, while restoration and reconstruction began in the 1950s and continue through traditional craft methods and documentary research.
That history gives the 2026 exhibition a practical context. A visitor does not encounter only an eighteenth-century palace, but a reconstructed complex in which restored rooms, surviving park structures and continuing conservation belong to the same story.
Visiting Catherine Palace: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Catherine Park exhibition is scheduled at Catherine Palace from 20 April to 18 October 2026, including the current early-October period.
- The exhibition concerns the park and its historic features; the listing does not announce a closure of the palace or park connected with the exhibition.
- The site is in Pushkin, the town formerly known as Tsarskoye Selo, south of St Petersburg in Russia.
- Catherine Park covers 100 hectares and includes formal gardens, landscape grounds, pavilions, bridges, ponds and historic waterworks, so the visit includes outdoor walking.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Catherine Palace
When does the Catherine Park exhibition take place at Catherine Palace?
The exhibition runs from 20 April to 18 October 2026. It is listed at Catherine Palace in Pushkin.
What is Catherine Palace?
Catherine Palace is the compositional centre of the Tsarskoye Selo palace and park ensemble and a major example of Russian Baroque architecture.
Where is Catherine Palace and how do you get there?
Catherine Palace is in Pushkin, Russia, the town formerly known as Tsarskoye Selo. It forms part of the historic palace and park ensemble south of St Petersburg.
