St Petersburg region » Gatchina
Gatchina
The palace and park complex of Gatchina, a town located 45 km south-west of St. Petersburg, is an outstanding example of eighteenth-century landscape architecture. The palace, built in the Early Classical Style to a design by Antonio Rinaldi between 1766 and 1781, was enlarged by Vincenzo Brenna in 1796 - 1798, and reconstructed by Roman Kuzmin between 1845 and 1860. It was the favorite of Catherine the Great's, Grigory Orlov's, early classical styled former residence, stroll through the wonderful park and marvel at its lakes complete with an island of love.
The landscape parks, occupying an area of 700 hectare, are enlivened by the calm waters of picturesque lakes, ponds, and canals. The arbitrarily scattered bridges, terraces, obelisks, piers, and gates made of local limestone add a romantic air to the beautiful scenery.
During Word War II, both the palace and parks of Gatchina were severely damaged. In the post-war years, many of the destroyed parks structures have been restored; the restoration of the state rooms in the palace is under way now.
