The Winter Palace - St. George Hall, also known as the Large Throne Room, was destroyed in the fire of 1837. It was restored by the architect Vasily Stasov, who used Carrara marble instead of coloured marble of Russian origin and replaced the painted ceiling with another with vary large caissons embellished with gilt bronze decorations. The parquet floor, made from sixteen different valuable woods, mirrors the bronze ceiling pattern. 20/08/00