Discover 10 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Gatchina (Russia). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Gatchina Palace, Priory Palace, and Lazarevskiy Bridge. Also, be sure to include Pavilon Venery in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Gatchina (Leningrad).
Table of Contents
Gatchina Palace
Also known as: Большой Гатчинский дворец
Fine arts museum in 18th-century palace. The Great Gatchina Palace is a palace in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was built from 1766 to 1781 by Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov, who was a favourite of Catherine the Great, in Gatchina, a suburb of the royal capital Saint Petersburg. The Gatchina Palace combines classical architecture and themes of a medieval castle with ornate interiors typical of Russian classicism, located on a hill in central Gatchina next to Lake Serebryany. The Gatchina Palace became one of the favourite residences of the Russian Imperial Family, and during the 19th century was an important site of Russian politics. Since the February Revolution in 1917 it has been a museum and public park, and received UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1990.[1]
Address: Krasnoarmeyskiy Prospekt, 1, 188307 Gatchina
Priory Palace
Also known as: Приоратский дворец
Spired lakefront palace built in 1799. Priory Palace is an original palace in the formerly royal town of Gatchina, Leningrad oblast, Northwest Russia, a suburb of Saint Petersburg. It was built in 1799 by the architect N. A. Lvov on the shore of the Black Lake. Constructed for the Russian Grand Priory of the Order of St John, it was presented to the Order by a decree of Paul I of Russia dated August 23, 1799.[2]
Address: Chkalova St., 22A, 188304 Gatchina
Lazarevskiy Bridge
Also known as: Лазаревский мост
Cable-stayed bridge in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Lazarevsky Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It crosses the Little Nevka River, connecting Krestovsky Island and Petrogradsky Island. The bridge carries four lanes of road traffic and features an asymmetric design, with cable stays anchored to a pylon on the Krestovsky Island side.[3]
Pavilon Venery
The Pavilion of Venus, or Trellage, is a pavilion in Gatchina's Palace Park, located at the tip of Love Island, on the shore of White Lake.
The pavilion is open to the public, admission is chargeable.
Address: о. Любви, Gatchina
Shherbov Residence Museum
The Museum-Estate of P. E. Scherbov is a historical and memorial museum in Gatchina, a branch of the Leningrad regional state cultural institution Museum Agency. The museum is housed in the manor of caricaturist P. E. Scherbov and is one of the original works of the early 20th century, made in the Northern Art Nouveau style. The first exhibition was opened in 1992.
Connetable
Also known as: Коннетабль
Historical landmark in Gatchina, Russia. Connetable is an obelisk and square in Gatchina, Russia, located at the intersection of 25 October Prospect and Krasnoarmeysky Prospect. The author of the project was probably Vincenzo Brenna.[4]
Birch Gate
Also known as: Берёзовые ворота
Attraction in Russia. The Birch Gate is a stone gate located on the eastern border of the Palace Park, the grounds of Gatchina Palace, in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is nearby the Birch House. The facility was built from 1795 to 1798 by Giovanni Visconti according to the design of famous architect Vincenzo Brenna. The Birch Gate is a part of the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[5]
Admiraltejskie vorota
The Admiralty Gate is a gate on the border of Gatchina's Palace Park, facing 25 October Prospect. In the 18th century they had another name, the Pudost Stone Gate near the harbour.
The gate was built in 1794-1796, the architect of the project is considered Vincenzo Brenna. It was named after the nearby Admiralty building.
The gate suffered only minor damage during the war, and was restored in 1970.
Kolonna Orla
The Column of the Eagle is an architectural structure in the Gatchina Palace Park. One of the earliest objects in the park, erected to a design, presumably by the Italian architect A. Rinaldi in the early 1770s, during the period when Gatchina belonged to Count G. G. Orlov. The column is a marble column on a high tetrahedral pedestal decorated according to the canons of classicism. Its top is crowned with a sculpture of an eagle.
The column forms a single ensemble with the Eagle Pavilion, built in the years when Gatchina was owned by the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. The monument has been restored several times. It is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance in the category of monuments of urban planning and architecture.
There are various explanations for the eagle symbolism of the building. The Column and the Pavilion are united by a legend, according to which Grigory Orlov or Paul I fired a lucky shot at an eagle that flew over and both buildings were erected to commemorate it. The column is called a monument to the Orlov family, the eagle on its top is interpreted as a heraldic figure. The column and the Pavilion of the Eagle may also be seen as part of a single semantic construction of Masonic symbols (one of which is the eagle), formed during the Pavlovsk time and partly connected with the embodiment of the idea of a Masonic king.
Church of the Intercession of the Theotokos
The Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an Orthodox church in Gatchina.
The church belongs to the Gatchina diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and is part of the Gatchina parish. The abbot is Archpriest Anthony Antipov.
Address: 7 Круговая улица, Gatchina