St. Petersburg Museum Restorers got a "Museum Oscar"

Petersburg masters noted in the "Heritage Conservation". The restoration project of the Agate Rooms pavilion "cold bath" in Tsarskoe Selo was on the list of winners of the prestigious award of the EU "Europa Nostra"

On March 20th, the European Commission and the organization "Europa Nostra" announced the winners of the annual award of the EU in 2014 in the field of cultural heritage. 27 winners were selected from 160 projects submitted by 30 countries. In the category of "Heritage Conservation" is marked by the restoration project Agate Rooms in Tsarskoye Selo.

Awarding Ceremony will be held on May 5 at the Burg Theater in Vienna. Commissioner will hand out awards for Education, Culture and Languages Androulla Vassiliou and opera singer, president of "Europa Nostra" Placido Domingo.

Recall that the Agate rooms were private apartments of the Empress Catherine II created in the 1780s by Scotsman Charles Cameron in the pavilion "Cold Bath." For visitors they were fully opened in September last year. The restoration of the apartments took three years. Title interiors got through finishing jasper: the time of Catherine II, this red stone with white streaks is often called "meat agate."

"Such geological materials, like jasper, present particular problems for the restorer: an unusual stone, which lack scientific approach could cause irreparable damage. But in this case, the results speak for themselves”, - stated in the decision of the jury.