Catherine the Great’s Amber Room in Russia

The Amber Room was once called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” as it was constructed from several tons of amber, hence its namesake. Yet this room is as mysterious as it is magnificent because of its history. Today, the jewel-encrusted Amber Room is in its final place in St. Petersburg Russia but continues to raise many questions about its past.

The creation of the Amber Room started in 1701 under the order of King Friedrich for his residence in Charlottenburg Palace, Prussia. Years later during a visit by the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, he was captivated by the Amber Room. He admired it so much that it was gifted to him by the current king of Prussia to celebrate a treaty between the two nations in 1716. The room was dismantled into panels and shipped to Russia in 18 large containers and was installed in the Winter House in the Baltic city of St. Petersburg Russia as part of an art collection.

Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter and Catherine the Great, ordered the transfer of the Amber Room in 1755 to the Catherine Palace in Pushkin, a city just outside of St. Petersburg. It was expanded to 55 square metres to fit the new spacious room so more amber was added along with other precious jewels, mosaics and gold-covered figures.

For more than a century, the Amber Room served as the beloved space where the Romanov dynasty entertained guests and held meetings. The Amber Room back then was dubbed, the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” with a rough value of $142 million in modern time.

World War II caused massive damages to Leningrad, modern day St. Petersburg. The palaces, including the Catherine Palace, were exposed to constant threats of looting and air bombing raids which forced the curators to desperately hide valuables and artworks.

The Amber Room, sadly, was too big to save in time. The Nazi army disassembled the room within 36 hours into 27 crates then transported them to the German-occupied Königsberg Castle, the place where looted cultural objects were reportedly stored before they were transported to other parts of Germany. It was during this war that the Amber Room was last seen, sparking a modern day treasure hunt even until today.

The current location of the elusive Amber Room remains unknown despite several theories arising through the years. Since the Second World War, discoveries of the alleged amber vases, décor pieces and in 2020, a Nazi shipwreck off Poland, has started speculations of the dismantled Amber Room.

In 1979, Russian crafts people began reconstructing the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace based on surviving photographs from the prewar era. After 25 years and a cost of $11 million, the replica of the Baroque-inspired Amber Room was finally opened to the public in the town of Pushkin, south of St. Petersburg. The quest for the original Russian baroque marvel continues.

You can now see why amber has historically been associated with aristocrats and wealthy people. Why not browse our shop here at Amber Lynx so you too can feel like modern day royalty.