text: Maria Fedorovna and Paul began remodelling Pavlovsk. She insisted in having several rustic structures which recalled the palace where she grew up at Étupes, 40 miles from Basel. During their travels in 1781, the couple sent back and forth drawings, plans and notes on the smallest details. She brought Italian architect Carlo Rossi to redesign the library to contain more than twenty thousand books. After Paul's death in 1801, Gatchina Palace came into the ownership of the new Dowager Empress, who used her experience from her travels around Europe to redo the interiors in the Neoclassical style and make alterations to adapt it "in case of winter stay" in 1809.
  Foreign relationships
  Maria Feodorovna enjoyed a considerable income which made possible for her to live in grand style. Her elegant receptions, where she appeared sumptuously dressed and was surrounded by chamberlains, were in sharp contrast with the simple court life of Alexander I, whose retiring ways and the withdrawn personality of his wife were no match for the Dowager Empress' old splendor in the style of the time of Catherine the Great. Her exalted position made her palace at Pavlovsk a mandatory place to visit for the great personages of St. Petersburg. She used her position to help as much as possible her numerous poor relations, some of whom were invited to Russia. Examples include her brother, Prince Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833).