Many tourists mistakenly believe that the paving was laid in the time of Catherine II. As a result, they consider he Palace Square stone blocks of historical value.
In fact, today’s paving appeared in 1977, and the historic Palace Square was paved with cobblestones.
The Russian company ‘Center’ is engaged in the regular resurfacing of Palace Square.
“Experts of the road enterprise ‘Center’ are engaged in the regular resurfacing of Palace Square. In just one year, tourists took more than 12 thousand pieces of paving stones as souvenirs and dismantled 20 square meters,” report officials.
Palace Square is the city’s main square and combines a number of rich architectural styles. It is a place where many events of historical significance were settled. On the square stands the Baroque Winter Palace, the classic building of the former Imperial Army General Staff and the Alexander Column.
The stone-block pavement covers 1.7 hectares of Palace Square, while the square is more than seven hectares long. Granite flag-stones cover one hectare and asphalt covers just over four hectares.
