Gatchina is one of the picturesque and interesting suburbs of St Petersburg. It was the residence of the most enigmatic and romantic Russian emperor, Paul I. Two of his palaces have been preserved here, which now house museum exhibitions, and a huge park complex consisting of gardens, ponds, household and decorative buildings.
Background
The village of Hotchino was once located here, but there has been a "manor of Gatchina" since the 17th century. Catherine II granted this estate to her favourite Grigory Orlov in 1765. At this time, three years after the palace coup that elevated Catherine to the throne, Orlov is the second man in the state. He plunders huge sums of money and plots a grandiose construction of his own palace on the estate.
Orlov hires the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi. This is an architect, a favourite of the court - he had previously built a lot in Oranienbaum, then will build the pavilions of Tsarskoye Selo. The palace was built leisurely - from 1766 to 1781. The resulting building resembles a knight's castle rather than a country cottage: a three-storey main building with two towers and adjoining to it two square wings, also resembling small castles, with turrets and courtyards. The panelling was made of local stone, which was quarried nearby in the village of Paritsy.
Orlov lived here only two years. From his time, in addition to the palace itself, several park buildings have been preserved, such as the Eagle Pavilion and the Eagle Column, decorated with the heraldic Eagle. Under him also put Chesmensky obelisk, in memory of the great victory of the Russian fleet in Chesmenskaya Bay in 1770. After his death, the estate passed to the heir to the throne Pavel Petrovich.
Paul I in Gatchina
Paul is by this time 29 years old. His relationship with his mother is not working out - the overbearing empress does not allow her son to take power and does not trust him with anything serious. He had just married the tall blond German princess Sophia Dorothea, who in Russia began to be called Maria Feodorovna. When it became clear that his mother would not allow the young to live in peace in the capital, and the heir to the throne - to take any part in government and have an opinion, Paul removed from the court. First to Pavlovsk, where he builds a palace for his young wife (Pavlovsk will forever remain her favourite residence), and then to Gatchina.
Gatchina becomes his personal little kingdom, with its own personal little court. Here goes its own life, and they do not want to hear about Catherine II and St. Petersburg.
From 1796, the heir begins to rebuild the palace. He wants to settle in one of the wings - so they are added on. In the other wing they arrange the house church of St Trinity - now it is back in operation. Paul is keen on military affairs - and the square in front of the palace is surrounded by walls and turned into a platform for manoeuvres and parades. A garden is laid out on the other side of the palace, and the whole complex is surrounded by three large park areas. Paul is orientated on the palace complex in Chantilly, which he saw in Europe. Here they build numerous pavilions, fountains, terraces, artificial islands - it is a real huge city, created according to the personal taste of the owner and his wife.
Preserved, for example, Birch House - a pavilion-delusion, presented to Paul by Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. It is made of hewn wood and looks like a huge log cabin from the outside, but inside it is elegantly finished and was meant to bring a smile to the faces of its owners. Inside the house is equipped with a system of trick mirrors, which expand volumes, hide doors, etc.
The relations of the Grand Ducal couple are reminded of Love Island - an artificial island with a regular garden and a wooden Venus Pavilion surrounded by water on three sides. The temple has two entrances - one could enter it from the garden, or one could arrive at its portico by boat. The ceiling is decorated with paintings dedicated to Venus.
On the water was arranged a whole system of artificial islands - with their own names and legends. They were connected by a complex system of bridges, passages and ferries - a water labyrinth. There were seven stone bridges and many wooden ones. On the largest island, Long Island, the architect Vincenzo Brenn, under whose direction the whole complex was rebuilt, created a stone wharf on stilts. It was decorated with statues representing different arts. And two lions guarded the entrance to the garden on the island. Paul had his own fleet of 24 ships in Gatchina, and sometimes sea battles were organised for him, in imitation of Peter the Great's "pokeshny" battles.
To supply the palace, a huge greenhouse was created. There were grape, peach and apricot greenhouses, grew their own strawberries, strawberries and watermelons. The ruins of the Forest Greenhouse have been preserved, where once plants were grown in tubs, which in summer decorated the park paths. Maria Fyodorovna, a great lover of gardens and flowers, organised a school of practical horticulture here.
Another palace, which has survived to our time, is under construction.
Gatchina in the 19th century
After Paul's death, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna remains the mistress. But she prefers to rest in her favourite Pavlovsk, so nothing changes here until 1844. After her death, Emperor Nicholas I rebuilds and repairs the palace, and in 1851 sets in front of it a monument to his father, Paul I.
Under his rule, St Paul's Cathedral in the Russian-Byzantine style is built in the city. This is one of the few cathedrals in the Leningrad region, which operated almost all the time, closed only for the period from 1938 to 1941. The cathedral remembers the relics that were once kept here. The Order of Malta gave several Christian relics to Paul at the Priory Palace: the right hand of John the Baptist, a part of the Robe of Christ and the Filerm Icon of the Virgin Mary. They were kept first there, then in the Trinity House Church of the Gatchina Palace, then in the Pavlovsk Cathedral, and in 1919 they were taken abroad. Now they are in Serbia.
Alexander II was also very fond of this place. A passionate hunter, he transferred hunting here from Peterhof - he liked the local forests better. A special hunting village and a large menagerie were built here.
Under Alexander III, Gatchina is again being improved - already according to the latest technology. The whole system of city water supply and sewerage was changed, electricity and telephone communication were installed in the palace, calorifiers were put instead of cookers.
Museum
After nationalisation in 1917 the palace was turned into a museum. During the war, all valuables could not be taken out of the palace. Some of the things were buried, some remained in the cellars. During the occupation, some of the valuables from the exposition were taken to Germany, and the Gatchina Palace itself was blown up by the Germans during the retreat. Only part of the wall was preserved, it can now be seen.
In the post-war years, the preserved part of the building is being repaired, but there are not enough funds for a full-fledged reconstruction of the museum. Collections are distributed to other museums, and here they arrange naval school. Protected museum territory is considered only the park. But since 1976 restoration of the state rooms in the form in which they looked in the XVIII century, and in 1985 the palace was opened to the public. Restoration of the palace and the park is still underway, but the main work has been done.
The Grand Gatchina Palace is now available for inspection. The interiors have been recreated, some of the things from here have been returned from other museums. There are rich collections of furniture, crockery, interior items, paintings and graphics. The underground passage in the basement, the Trinity Church, the ceremonial halls and the arms exhibition are available for inspection.
The second museum object is the Priory Palace and the park around it. The Priory Palace Chapel has excellent acoustics, so concerts are regularly held here.
The Palace Park contains more than 30 attractions. These include four specially arranged gardens - Own, Botanical, Lipovaya, Upper Dutch and Lower Dutch, seven gates, five bridges, many monuments, grottoes and park pavilions. Some structures - for example, the poultry house or the forest greenhouse are in a ruined state, but most of the buildings have been restored.
Interesting Facts
Two films about Emperor Paul were shot in the Gatchina Palace - "The Emperor's Footsteps" and "Poor, Poor Paul".
A new mobile service - "Virtual Tour Guide" - has recently been launched in Gatchina. When you point your phone at a plate with a QR code, a virtual Paul I appears and tells you about his favourite city.
On a side note
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Location. Leningrad region, Gatchina, Krasnoarmeysky Prospekt, d. 1
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How to get there: by electric train from the Baltic railway station of St. Petersburg to the station "Gatchina Baltiyskaya", "Gatchina Varshavskaya". Bus No. 431, route taxis No. 18, 18a,100 from metro station "Moskovskaya" and No. 631 from metro station "Pr. Veteranov".
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Official website: http://gatchinapalace.ru
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Opening hours. 10:00-18:00
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Ticket price. Gatchina Palace: adult - 400 rubles, discount - 200 rubles. Priory Palace: adult - 200 rubles, discount - 100 rubles..
