Gatchina.

History

The settlement is first recorded in 1499 as Khotchino. Peter the Great gave the land to his sister, and in 1765 Catherine the Great bought the manor and presented it to Count Grigory Orlov, for whom the palace was built. It then passed to the future Emperor Paul I, who enlarged the residence and made Gatchina a town in 1796. Alexander III later spent much of his life here. The town was occupied during the war, the retreating troops set the palace on fire in January 1944, and restoration has gone on for decades.

Culture & traditions

The palace, designed by Antonio Rinaldi, has around 600 rooms, and its interiors were later reworked by Vincenzo Brenna. The park of about 7 km² spreads along Silver Lake and White Lake, and under Paul I it gained the Isle of Love, the Holland Garden and the Labyrinth. On the shore of Black Lake stands the Priory Palace, built in 1799 for the Russian Grand Priory of the Order of St John. At the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, Gatchina was named the best-kept town in Russia.

Sport

Gatchina has a place in the history of Russian aviation: one of the country's first airfields opened here in 1910. The pilot Pyotr Nesterov trained in Gatchina and set off from here on his first long-distance flight, to Kyiv.

Food & drink

The town is only 45 km from Saint Petersburg and shares its food culture, so a walk in the park pairs easily with lunch in a café in the centre.

Practical information

Gatchina is an important railway junction, with suburban trains to the Baltiysky station in Saint Petersburg. The M20 highway from Saint Petersburg to Pskov runs through the town. The nearest airport is Pulkovo in Saint Petersburg. Gatchina is on Moscow time. The park is at its best from late spring to early autumn.

What to see

• Great Gatchina Palace — the residence of Orlov, Paul I and Alexander III
• Palace Park — an English landscape park around Silver and White Lakes
• Priory Palace — a small palace on Black Lake linked to the Order of St John
• Arsenal Halls — one of the restored parts of the palace open to visitors