Four (4) years Her court architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, developed this new edifice in the Rococo style. The 325-meter-long mansion was finished in 1756 after a four-year construction period. Catherine the Great altered its façade once again. The current appearance with its five floors and 36 windows came into being in 1872. Catherine's palace is one of the largest in St. Petersburg. It used to be open to the public but now only a few rooms are shown to visitors. The palace was designated an historical monument in 1923 and remains today one of the most important buildings in the city. It is not known how many people lived in the palace but it had more than 70 rooms and was probably occupied by up to 100 servants and guests. There were several fires at the palace during its history, one in 1758 that destroyed much of the art collection and another in 1872 that damaged some furniture and decorations. It should be noted that the palace was built for a woman who wanted to have a country estate near St. Petersburg and not for herself. She never set foot in it and never intended to. It was designed by architects as a display piece to impress others. She just liked the idea of having a luxurious house built especially for her.