The Imperial Palaces of
Tsarskoye Selo (nowadays Pushkin), near St. Petersburg, contained many invaluable cultural treasures that were plundered or destroyed during the Second World War. Most famous among them was the fabled
Amber Room, whose disappearance has soured diplomatic relations between Germany and Russia ever since (
the Germans can't find it back). Some claim that another, much more secret room of the
Catherine Palace was also plundered. However, in this case, the Russian authorities deny that it ever existed.
The sexual life of
Catherine the Great has long been the subject of many
lurid rumours. It is difficult to establish to what extent they are grounded in fact and not merely the product of smear campaigns against a forceful (indeed, often tyrannic), independent-minded female ruler. However, a number of witnesses have confirmed that in Tsarskoye Selo there was indeed a Secret Cabinet decorated wall-to-wall with extraordinarily graphic erotica for the Tsarina's use.
German filmmaker
Peter Woditsch, inspired by his father's war recollections, went on the search for "
The Lost Secret of Catherine the Great". He managed to interview several German and Russian witnesses, and to recover pre-war catalogues of the Secret Cabinet, including pictures of pieces like this
extraordinary table (
very NSFW). However, the whereabouts of the Secret Cabinet remain just as mysterious as those of the Amber Room. Was it destroyed in the fire of Königsberg Castle? Did it find its way into the hands of some VERY private collector? Or is it all a fake?
posted by The Whelk at 4:07 AM on January 17, 2010 [4 favorites]