The Gatchina Palace Museum is one of the most beautiful palace complexes located near St. Petersburg, which in the XVIII-XIX centuries housed the residence of Russian counts and emperors. Imperial families lived here, balls and meetings of royal people took place, military parades and royal hunting were held.
Construction history
The history of the Gatchina Palace began in 1765 with a gift from Catherine II to her friend and favorite Count Orlov. A palace was built on the Gatchina Manor (former estate), surrounded by spring lakes, channels and rivers. The extraordinary landscape and location made it possible to create a very beautiful park, in the center of which a palace was built over 15 years, erected by the Italian architect A. Rinaldi.
At first, the building was conceived as a “hunting lodge” because of Orlov’s addiction to this entertainment, but then it was decided to build a palace. Over the years of construction, the empress came several times and oversaw the process, which was completed only by 1781.
The Grand Gatchina Palace resembles an Italian palazzo in the style of classicism, lined with natural Parisian dolomite. The central part of the three floors is decorated with five-sided turrets and connected by arched transitions-wings with wings, each of which is built in the form of a square square with a courtyard. Open galleries were built on the second floor of the semicircular wings. The walls were decorated with paintings and sculptures.
The landscape park was broken in the same years as English and became the first in Russia. However, it was decided to Prince Orlov that fate would not live long in this palace; in 1783 he died.
Paul I in Gatchina
Later, Catherine II bought the Gatchina Manor from the heirs of the prince and presented it to her son Pavel Petrovich. The Grand Duke fell in love with these places and lived here almost constantly. After 50 years, the Gatchina Palace was decided to rebuild in a new fashion, for which architect V. Brenna was invited. Given the local climate, Brenna decided to glaze the galleries and install doors in the open arches on the ground floor. The side buildings were completed on two floors, the interiors of the main halls were re-decorated using ancient Roman art motifs, regular gardens were laid out, pavilions, bridges and gates were built in the park. So, the island of love was decorated with the pavilion of Venus, a little further - a Birch house was built. In front of the building’s facade is a military parade ground.
Since 1796, Paul I became the Russian emperor, and Gatchina was honored to become a royal residence. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, during these years the whole territory was turned into an impregnable fortress, surrounded by a moat with water, stone bastions and guards. To get to the palace and the park was possible only through the barrier.
Another restructuring took place in 1798 according to the project of architect N.A. Lvov, when the Priory Palace was completed , which became the residence of the Maltese knights. All perestroika were performed in the style of Russian classicism, fashionable style in the late XVII - early XIX centuries.
Gatchina Palace in the 19th century
In 1801, after the assassination of Emperor Paul I in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, Empress Maria Fyodorovna ascended the throne, who lived for some time in Gatchina. Later, in 1827, the Gatchina Palace, along with the park and grounds, was transferred to the will of Emperor Nicholas I in “eternal possession” along the male line.
Nicholas I decided to rebuild the palace, as many rooms did not meet modern comfort requirements. Therefore, the Arsenal and Kitchen Rack were dismantled and rebuilt brick by brick. In Arsenalnoe, personal apartments and front rooms were specially designed for the emperor’s family, and a house church was built in the Kitchen.
However, the central building, paying tribute to the memory of Paul I, was left untouched, so the interiors of the 18th century were completely preserved. Only restoration work was carried out, furniture, sculptures were added, parquet was repaired and a modern heating system was installed. All work was carried out in 1844-1856. under the leadership of R.I. Kuzmin.
Emperors Nicholas I and his son Alexander II, who ascended the throne later, visited the Great Gatchina Palace only for solemn balls and receptions of the crowned persons, and the Imperial hunts were also held here.
In March 1881, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded in St. Petersburg, Alexander III took his place, who decided to make Gatchina his residence. The imperial family moved here, and for many years the palace became a home and beloved home for all representatives of the imperial family.
Years of revolution and XX century
After the 1917 revolution, special commissions were created in Gatchina, Peterhof and other suburbs by decree of the Provisional Government to register and systematize the property of former palace complexes. A year later, the Gatchina Palace Museum received the status of a state, and was open for visiting and inspection.
During the Great Patriotic War, even at the beginning, the building was damaged during an air raid. However, some of the exhibits in 1941 still managed to be removed. Some sculptures buried deep in the park in the park. Then Gatchina was occupied by fascist invaders. During the retreat in 1944, all valuables were plundered by the Germans, and the Grand Palace was burned and almost destroyed.
Restoration work
All palace and park buildings suffered so much that in the post-war period it was believed that they could not be restored. However, later, in 1976, it was decided to restore the palace, which lasted almost 10 years.
In 1985, such halls of the Gatchina Palace as the Avanzal, Throne Hall, and the Marble Dining Room were solemnly opened for visitors; an exhibition on the history of the construction of the palace was open on the third floor of the Central Building.
Due to the fact that the palace underwent great destruction during the war years, very few real interiors, furniture, sculptures remained. Therefore, modern restorers are guided by the photographs found, often as a basis for drawings and watercolors of the XVIII century artists who were invited to Gatchina specifically for sketching the original views and interior decoration of the palace. Many pieces of furniture and sculptures are made copies that are exhibited in the interiors of the halls along with the preserved originals.
Watercolors and drawings by Edward Gau
For the first time, artists E.P. Gau and Premazzi arrived at the invitation of Emperor Nicholas I to the Gatchina Palace to create a series of watercolors of interior interiors in the 1860s. Paintings of the Big and Small military offices of the emperor were made.
Then, on a second trip in 1874, Gau took up the execution of a special order, creating a large series of internal views of the palace. Hundreds of watercolors were made, which for many years were stored in the albums of Emperor Alexander II, and after the museumification of the palace were transferred to the engraving office of the museum-palace.
One of the most beautiful halls, created in the 18th century by Rinaldi - the White Hall, is decorated with snow-white busts of Antinous and Caracalla in the original, all walls of which are covered with stucco moldings and bas-reliefs. Very effectively decorated with tapestries the Raspberry drawing room and with taste - the Throne room of Paul I.
The Throne Hall of Empress Maria Fyodorovna is interesting, which housed a picturesque collection of famous European masters. The artist worked in different years, thanks to which he managed to capture all the changes and additions made by each architect during the reconstruction of the Grand Palace and the adjacent buildings.
The watercolors of E.P. Gau are so technically perfect and masterly executed that you can see in them in the smallest details all the decoration of the palace rooms, up to the texture of the materials from which the walls, furniture and small decorative details are decorated. All works are valuable historical documents, with the help of which the restoration of the Gatchina halls is underway.
Exhibits and exhibitions of the Gatchina Museum
The exhibits of the Gatchina Palace (Gatchina) include not only the interiors and interior decor themselves, interesting collections are collected here, thematic exhibitions are regularly held:
- A collection of cold and firearms of the 16th-19th centuries, more than 1000 items of historical and artistic value. On the exhibits of the collection, one can trace the development of all weapons art in the European and Asian subcontinent.
- Since 2011, the carved icon "Introduction to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary", evacuated during the Great Patriotic War, returned to the museum's exposition. All these years, it was considered lost, but in 2007 it was announced at Christie's auction and was bought by collector V. Logvinenko from Moscow, and then returned to the Gatchina Palace Museum.
- A collection of porcelain, which includes the products of the St. Petersburg porcelain factory, Western European factories, a collection of Far Eastern porcelain Count Orlov. The Chinese Gallery has a rich collection of products (more than 2 thousand exhibits) of decorative arts of Japan and China, which is regularly replenished by all members of the royal families living in the palace.
- Personal account of Paul I, who after his death became a family museum, etc.
Anniversaries of the Gatchina Palace
In 2015, to the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Gatchina Palace Museum for visitors, four halls were restored, including the Greek and Chesmensky galleries. Created to glorify the victory of the Russian fleet in Chesme (1770), the semicircular Chesmensky Gallery was made of this shape to enhance the decorative effect. Its windows overlook the White Lake, the center is the canvas of J. Hackert, describing the naval battle. The restoration of the marble staircase connecting the central building with the Arsenal Block has been completed, making private rooms of Emperor Alexander III and his family accessible to everyone.
In May 2016, the Gatchina Museum-Reserve solemnly celebrated the 250th anniversary of the palace. New halls were opened for visitors, an exhibition dedicated to the emperors who lived here. On the days of the anniversary, theatrical performances are shown, a festival of brass bands was held, the palace square is decorated with trees and flowers.
Gatchina park
The landscape park ensemble created in the 18th century in the Gatchina Museum-Reserve is one of the oldest. Now it is almost in the center of the city, entrance to it is free, so all the locals and tourists are happy to take walks here, admiring the beauty of nature and ancient buildings.
The complex is divided into several parts:
- The English park surrounds White and Silver Lake, beautiful pavilions, ponds and bridges, includes interesting structures: an 8-sided well, the Water Maze, the Chesme Obelisk, the Mask portal, the Orel column, the Venus pavilion on the Island of Love and others.
- An underground passage 120 m long, stretching from the palace to Silver Lake to the Echo Grotto, named for unusual acoustic features, in which, according to some rumors, one can meet the ghost of Emperor Paul I.
- Regular gardens such as Linden, Upper and Lower Dutch, Private Garden, have clear alleys and well-groomed bushes, trees and lawns.
- The menagerie is located in the northern part of the Palace Park.
Priory Palace
This palace, which became the architectural symbol of Gatchina, was erected by the architect N.A. Lvov in 1799 on the shores of Black Lake for the Maltese knights. It is also interesting because it is the only earth building of the XVIII century in Russia. With this technology, the layers of loam are impregnated with a solution of lime, which is further used in the construction of the building. A retaining stone wall made of pudost stone built from the side of the lake creates the illusion of a building growing out of the water. On the south side, Priory resembles a Gothic chapel.
In the XX century, the palace was alternately a museum of local lore, a camp site and the House of Pioneers, now it has been revived in a new quality: concerts are held in the Chapel, tours of the building are held, where exhibits on the history of the construction of the palace and the Order of Malta are exhibited. There are stands dedicated to the architect N. A. Lvov and the technology of earth construction.
Gatchina Palace: opening hours and other information
The palace complex and the park are located in Gatchina on Krasnoarmeyskiy prospekt, 1.
Museum opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday - from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., ticket offices close an hour earlier. Monday is a day off, the 1st Tuesday of every month is a sanitary day.
Information on how to get to the Gatchina Palace from the Northern capital has the following information: the city is located 45 km from St. Petersburg in a south-westerly direction. You can get here by rail from the Baltiysky Station or by minibus, departing from the metro station Moskovskaya (No. 18) to the Gatchina-Baltiyskaya or Gatchina-Warsawskaya stations. Travel time will take about an hour. The highway should go in the direction of Petersburg-Kiev (20 highway).
The cost of tickets to the Gatchina Palace - from 200 rubles. for schoolchildren, students and senior citizens up to 350 rubles. for adults, a family ticket costs 900 rubles, an audio guide - 200 rubles.