The Catherine Palace owes its beauty to three Russian empresses: Catherine I, Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine II, who paid special attention to their summer residence in Tsarskoye Selo.

Today, it is hard to imagine that three centuries ago, on the site of this grand building, there stood a modest two-story palace with 16 rooms, known as the Stone Chambers. Its construction began in 1717 under the guidance of architect Johann Braunstein. At the same time, the Upper Garden with three terraces and the Lower Garden on the eastern slope were laid out. To the west, the Menagerie appeared, which later became the Alexander Garden.

In 1744, the young architect Kvasov added to the building and connected it with galleries to the two-story wings. Each new Russian ruler made their changes to the Catherine Palace.

Significant changes occurred under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1752. Francesco Rastrelli, a master of baroque, led the reconstruction of the building and park for four years.

During the Great Patriotic War, Tsarskoye Selo was occupied, and the palace was almost completely destroyed, with 80% of its interiors lost. The Amber Room was taken by the Nazis and disappeared in Königsberg before the arrival of Soviet troops.

Many museum exhibits were lost back in the 1930s due to the sale of valuable art pieces. Staff tried to protect the exhibits by undervaluing them, for example, indicating Spanish instead of Italian schools. Some artworks were transferred to the Hermitage to fill gaps there.

Valuable exhibits from the children's half of the palace, including textbooks and herbariums, were completely lost, as they were sent to children's colonies for orphans in Petrograd.

In 1959, thanks to the efforts of restorers, historians, and architects, six halls of the museum were opened. In 2003, visitors were able to see the restored Amber Room, which took about 6 tons of amber to complete.

Until 1910, the Catherine Palace was called the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. It is now a federal cultural heritage site, part of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo."