The Grotto Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo to Regain Its Carved Dome Ornamentation
The carved decoration on the dome of the Grotto Pavilion in Catherine Park will be recreated more than 60 years after it was removed. Restoration of the pavilion’s facades and roof is scheduled for completion in 2028.
The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and Heritage Site has begun restoring the pavilion. Francesco Rastrelli designed the dome’s ornamentation in the mid-18th century. It was dismantled in the 1960s because the wood was at risk of deteriorating. The museum’s collections still contain 304 original elements, which will serve as models for replicas. Missing details will be reconstructed using archival records, photographs and comparable examples. Specialists have already documented the surviving pieces with photographs and created a digital model using laser scanning and photogrammetry.
Project documentation is being prepared with support from Sberbank, while the museum is financing the remaining work from non-budgetary funds.
