In 1701, the Amber Room, was built in Charlottenburg Palace for the first king of Prussia. When Peter the Great admired the room on a visit to Prussia the room was gifted to him to cement the peace between Russia and Prussia. 18 large boxes were shipped to Russia, containing several tons of the golden amber gemstone (fossilized tree resin) which was first installed in the Winter House of St Petersburg until Czarina Elizabeth ordered the room to be moved to the Catherine Palace in Pushkin in 1755. It was reconfigured to fit into the larger space and additional amber panels were sourced in Berlin. The room glowed with an astonishing 6 tons of amber, and other semi-precious stones, all the amber panels were backed with gold leaf and was used as a meditation space and later a gathering room for Catherine the Great.
When Hitler invaded Russia in 1941, as much as they tried to hide the room it was found and within 36 hours completely dismantled and packed into crates to never be seen again. In 1979, the Russians started to rebuild the room at a cost of 11 million dollars and 25 years later the room restored to its former glory. The room was recent valued at 142 million dollars. No one is allowed to photograph the room without permission, however I managed to sneak a few photos on my recent visit.
