Catherine I used Tsarskoe Selo as a pleasant retreat when her husband, Peter the Great, was busy or traveling abroad. She began to actively improve it almost from the minute she got it. The old manor house was recovered and refurnished, and people began to move from various Moscovian court villages to the new suburbs around Tsarskoe Selo. Catherine ordered that a stone palace to be built with a small park around it, and soon a church was also completed to adorn the new village.
After Catherine’s death, the village passed to Tsarevna Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great. Elizabeth hoped to spend as little money as possible, and allowed few improvements to be made on Tsarskoe Selo in the first years of her ownership. This example of frugality is in stark contrast to the elaborate spending that she allowed herself when she became Empress. As Empress she commissioned the great architect Rastrelli to make numerous enhancements on the little village. He began his work on the stone palace built by Catherine I. This palace had already been through countless alterations and eventually it would be torn down and rebuilt several times by many different rulers. Rastrelli added an entrance stairway and three story wings to link the parts of the palace that had been designed by several previous architects. Elizabeth named the palace the Catherine Palace after her mother. As it would be for future tsars, the little village of Tsarskoe Selo was the favorite of Empress Elizabeth.
The brief time that Tsar Peter III spent at Tsarskoe Selo during his reign was described eloquently by Vil’chkovskii.
Catherine the Great, the strong willed German wife of Peter III, also loved Tsarskoe Selo with a passion. During her reign, famous architects such as Charles Cameron and Giacomo Quarenghi added much to the architecture in Tsarskoe Selo. Catherine usually spent both the spring and the summer there, leaving only when the weather got cold. It is known that in times of poor harvests, deaths, or illnesses of the peasants in Tsarskoe Selo, Catherine would lower or even abolish taxes for a temporary amount of time. Because much of the palace had been done in gilded wood, it was by this time beginning to decay a great deal. Many of the statues and ornaments decorating the palace were peeling. Catherine ordered that the statues be taken down and repainted. To each of the side wings was added an extra story, and more entrances were installed. Since the work done during the reign of Catherine the Great, the appearance of the palace has changed little. Neo-classicism was at this point making its way into Russian art. Accordingly, much of the new architecture that was built during this time in Tsarskoe Selo was in this style. Some of the buildings that Catherine ordered include the Cameron Gallery, the Concert Hall, the Upper and Lower Baths, and the Alexander palace, which was to become the favorite of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Although the next several tsars did not order any new buildings to be constructed at Tsarskoe Selo, the town began to develop rapidly.
The Alexander Palace was the ideal place for Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra. It was simple and private, and in addition, it was located in the beautiful town of Tsarskoe Selo. The redecoration of the palace was hurried along so that the new couple could move in as soon as possible. It was in this palace that Empress Alexandra had her famous mauve room. Nicholas was so pleased with the palace that he wrote to his mother: "Sometimes we simply sit in silence wherever we happen to be and admire the walls, the fireplace and the furniture... The mauve room is delightful (Prince Michael, 1992)." Tsar Nicholas and his family spent almost his entire reign living in Tsarskoe Selo, and they remained there until August 1918 after he abdicated the throne.
Although loved by some, there were members of the royal family who chose not to reside in Tsarskoe Selo. These included Peter II, Anna Ivanovna, Paul I, and Alexander III. Even though they were not mentioned here, Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II all spent time in Tsarskoe Selo.