This was named after the Order of St. Catherine. Peter the Great instituted it in 1714 to commemorate the events of the Prut Campaign when Catherine I, in order to res cue the Russian army which was encircled by the Turks, gave some of her valuables to bribe the commander-in-chief of the Turkish army.

St. Catherine Hall

      The motto of the Order is For Love and Motherland and it is awarded to women only. Catherine I was the first recipient of it.
      The hall has cross vaulting supported by powerful pylons. It is comparatively small, a little over twenty metres long, fourteen metres wide and seven metres high. The walls are adorned with pilasters of malachite with bronze capitals. The spaces between them are hung with watered silk in the Order's colours: pink trimmed with silver.
      The insignia of the Order are repeated in the decor. Together with foliate ornament they can be seen gilded on the intricate carving of the doors.
      The hall is lit by chandeliers of gilded bronze, four-metre high crystal standard lamps and candelabra.
      The St. Catherine Hall is used for meetings and talks with foreign parliamentary delegations and heads of state and government from different countries.

Select Hall or Chamber St. George Hall St. Vladimir Hall Conference Hall St. Catherine Hall Sacred Vestibule Of The Chamber Of Facets Chamber Of Facets Golden Tsarina Chamber Terem Palace