“In January 1944 the retreating German invaders prepared the
complete destruction of all that was left of the Catherine
Palace and adjoining buildings. For this purpose, on the ground
floor of the remaining part of the palace, as well as under the
Cameron Gallery, 11 large delayed-action aerial bombs were laid,
weighing from 1 to 3 tons.
“In Pushkin the Hitlerite bandits destroyed the Alexander
Palace, constructed at the end of the 18th century by the famous
architect Giacomo Quarenghi.”