Tsarskoye Selo starts the third millennium with a whole series of notable jubilee dates: the Tercentenary of St Petersburg, the 300th anniversary of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, 300 years since the birth of the architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, and finally, the Tercentenary of the founding of Tsarskoye Selo that is to be celebrated on 24 June 2010. The great deeds of the early eighteenth century had a no less remarkable continuation. Tsarskoye Selo developed into a representative town of the Russian state as a whole, with large imposing palaces built in it. Its magnificent parks became a vivid example of diverse versions of landscape gardening - from regular compositions to landscaped parklands. It was in the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna that the concept of the design of the absolute monarch"s residence took shape. Catherine the Great personified the idea of enlightened absolutism. Alexander I conceived to turn Tsarskoye Selo into a model town of the Russian Empire. The later monarchs - from Nicholas I to Nicholas II - used all the best achievements of their age decorating the imperial palaces and parks. The creative might of the palace and park ensemble has been revealed with a rare energy after the Second World War. The destroyed monuments and park landscapes have been restored as a result of strenuous joint efforts of museum curators, restorers, architects, gardeners and sculptors. Alongside the traditional tasks of preservation and restoration of the ensemble, we are fully aware of the responsibility to preserve and hand over to our descendants the creative atmosphere that is charged with the energy of Tsarskoye Selo.