Which Russian Baroque palace is the location of the famous Amber Room?

The Russian Baroque palace associated with the famous Amber Room is Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, now the town of Pushkin near Saint Petersburg.

The palace began as a modest residence for Catherine I, the wife of Peter the Great, but it was transformed into a vast imperial palace under Empress Elizabeth in the mid-18th century. The principal architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, created the spectacular blue-and-white building between 1752 and 1756. Its extravagant scale and ornament are hallmarks of Russian Baroque architecture.

The Amber Room itself was originally made in Prussia from amber panels, gold leaf, mirrors, and gemstones. Frederick William I presented it to Peter the Great in 1716, and it was installed in the Catherine Palace after being enlarged and adapted. The room was looted by Nazi Germany during World War II and disappeared after being taken to Königsberg.

The room seen by visitors today is a reconstruction. Russian craftsmen rebuilt it over several decades, and the new Amber Room was opened at Catherine Palace in 2003. The palace is often confused with Peterhof Palace, another imperial residence near Saint Petersburg, but Peterhof is not the palace identified with the Amber Room.