The picturesque town of Gatchina is located forty five kilometers away from St. Petersburg, in its south-western environs. Architectural and historical landmarks of Gatchina have always been admired. The palaces and parks of Gatchina are excellent examples of Russian architecture and landscaping. With its unique and unforgettable features, these palaces and parks are among the most beautiful Czars' residences located in the environs of St. Petersburg. The Czar's palace in Gatchina is one of the best examples of early Russian Classicism. Originally, it was planned to construct the palace for Count Grigory Orlov. The construction of the palace began in 1765. Two service wings, the Kitchen and the Stables, adjoin the main building of the palace (1766 - 1781, designed by Antonio Rinaldi). In 1793 -1797, by order of the new owner of the palace, Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (who was to become Emperor Paul I), the service wings were enlarged (under the supervision of the architect Vincenzo Brenna) and given new names – the Kitchen Carre and the Arsenal Carre (the latter housed the apartments of the members of the Emperor's family). In 1845 -1852, they were rebuilt (under the supervision of the architect Roman Kuzmin). The facades are modestly decorated with local limestone. The interiors were designed by Antonio Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna and decorated by Russian craftsmen. The luxury of the parquet patterns, ceiling paintings, stucco decorations, furniture, porcelain, bronze and tapestry was in contrast with modest outdoor decorations of the palace and looked very exquisite.

The spacious landscape parks were the first landscape parks in Russia. They look very picturesque with their beautiful lakes and ponds. The parks formed in the 1770s are the Palace Park and the "Zoo" forestry park. Trees were planted there considering the variety of the shades of the colors of the leaves and needles. In the 1780s -1790s, some parks were transformed by regular planning (the Private Garden, the Lower Dutch Garden, the Lower Dutch Garden, the Botanic Garden, the Priorate Park, the park on the Island of Love and the Sylvia park). There are many bridges, terraces, exquisite stone staircases and pavilions in these parks ( Eagle's Pavilion and Venus's Pavilion on the Island of Love, the Birch Gate and the Admiralty Gate, the Forest Conservatory and the Poultry Farm). The majority of these buildings and structures were built of local limestone. The Priorate Palace (1797-1799, designed by Nikolai Lvov) was constructed using very unusual architectural techniques: the walls of the palace are made of pressed earth. This palace looks like a Medieval castle. There is a statue of Paul I in front of the Czar's palace (a bronze statue by the sculptor Ivan Vitali). In the palace, a special rooms was designed for each Emperor and decorated in accordance with the style of his epoch. These rooms were preserved as museum premises until World War II. During the war, the palace was seriously damaged. Then a part of the palace was reconstructed and opened as a museum.

Here, you may see reconstructed interiors of the late 18-th century and exhibitions of the works of applied art from the collections of the former residence of the Czars. Works of painting, furniture, European and Russian porcelain, old arms, tapestries, embroidery and sculptures – all these give an excellent idea of the tastes of the past epochs.

The chime of the bells of the Signal Tower, the darkness and coldness of the Underground Passage create the romantic atmosphere of a deserted Medieval castle.

Assembly.M Tour Company