Museums of Russia: The Lyons Hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo was restored

The Lyons Hall of the Catherine Palace (the Museum-Preserve "Tsarskoye Selo") established portal of lapis lazuli; now it is decorated with one of the doors of the famous interior. The fabrication work was performed by restorers of "Tsarskoye Selo Amber Workshop".

The project of restoration of the Lyons Hall was prepared in 1983 under the leadership of the chief architect of the museum Alexander Kedrinsky; project adjustments were made in 2006-2007.

Recreating one of the portals - the first step towards the return of the historic appearance of the once ceremonial jewelery interior. The Lyons Hall - one of the most elegant interiors created by architect Charles Cameron; it was one of the private apartments of Catherine II, along with arabesque and Chinese facilities, Silver and Blue rooms.

Azure wall decoration was completely destroyed during the World War II. At the moment, the decoration of the hall remained 25 objects made with lapis lazuli. Parquet, which was abducted from Lyons Hall during the war, was found in Berlin, and in 1947 it was returned to Tsarskoye Selo. Two parquet shield are exhibited in the hall, the rest are in the collections.