Since 2005, Pavlovsk has been a small beautiful town in the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg. It is located near the Slavyanka River, 30 km from the northern capital. Until 1796, it was the village of Pavlovskoye, founded in 1777.
A bit of history
In 1777, the land in the valley of the Slavyanka River became the property of Pavel Petrovich, Grand Duke Romanov. The estate began to be called "Pavlovskoye Village". The entire architectural ensemble was created and improved over almost 50 years. The author of the project of the park and the palace was the Scot Charles Cameron, who was invited to Russia to decorate Tsarskoe Selo. The elegant and refined Pavlovsk Palace was built on the site of an old wooden building. In addition to Cameron, A. N. Voronikhin, K. I. Rossi, J. Quarnegi, V. F. Brenna were engaged in its decoration and design in different periods. The village of Pavlovskoye was created as a summer imperial residence, but in 1788 Pavel Petrovich decided to give it to his wife, leaving the Gatchina Palace for himself.
A week after Paul's accession to the throne, he personally ordered to rename the village of Pavlovskoye into a city.
Great Pavlovsk Palace
In terms of its size, this building is significantly inferior to many suburbs of St. Petersburg and resembles a rich and elegant Italian villa in the style of the architect Palladio. The core of the palace was a rather compact three-story building, on both sides of which there are outbuildings with curved galleries.
In the beginning, the appearance of the building was different from what we can see today. According to historians, one-story side galleries were added later. The main facade of the palace is decorated with eight Corinthian columns. The building is crowned with a dome with often spaced columns. The architect Brenna was involved in the work on the palace, who managed to significantly expand the palace and build on the side pavilions and galleries. This happened before Paul came to the throne.
Interior decoration
The Pavlovsk Palace, the photo of which you see in this article, has a noticeable contrast between its austere appearance and luxurious interior decoration. On the ground floor there were living rooms, bedrooms, offices, dining rooms. On the second floor there were rooms, the design of which was representative.
Here is the Hall of Peace and the Hall of War. For some time, the War Hall played the role of the Small Throne Room. The Great Throne Hall was located in the southern pavilion of the Pavlovsk Palace. The construction area is 400 m2. The living quarters, as well as the front halls, are an enfilade, which is located along the perimeter of the palace. The third floor was completely dedicated to office space.
The Italian Hall, located under the dome, was considered the center of the building. Its main decoration was a luxurious chandelier made of bronze and ruby glass at the end of the 18th century. Brenna, Cameron, Voronikhin took part in the design of the hall.
Park area
If you are lucky enough to come to St. Petersburg, the Pavlovsk Palace should certainly be included in your excursion plan. You must see with your own eyes not only the magnificent palace, but also the stunning park that surrounds it. Its area is 600 hectares and is a vivid example of the English style of park building. It is characterized by emphasizing the natural beauty of nature, untouched by man.
The park is decorated with many architectural structures: Aviary, Pavilion of the Three Graces, Dairy, Turkish gazebo, Italian stairs. From its upper platform you can admire the beautiful panorama of the river valley. Here is the Temple of Friendship. This work by Cameron is an antique circular temple with fluted Doric columns around its perimeter supporting the dome.
The natural part of the park includes the Mass Grave, the Parade Field, the Rose Pavilion. At the southern border of the park there is a small and very cozy ancient temple called "Monument to Parents". It was built in 1786 by the Grand Empress Maria Feodorovna. In addition, in an effort to perpetuate the memory of her husband, she commissioned a mausoleum project with a pathetic epitaph “To the benefactor-wife.”
Pavlovsk in the XIX-XXcenturies
The main event that took place in the city in the middle of the 19th century was the appearance of the Tsarskoye Selo railway, which connected it with St. Petersburg. The final station was Pavlovsk. The station, designed by the architect Stackenschneider, became the center of the summer musical life of St. Petersburg. Orchestras conducted by G. Mansfeld, B. Bilse, Strauss Jr. performed here. The concerts were conducted by M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, A. K. Glazunov and many other famous composers and musicians.
Until 1917, the Pavlovsk Palace remained the residence of Russian emperors. In 1918, the Pavlovsk Palace Museum appeared. In the same year, the city was renamed Slutsk in honor of the revolutionary V. Slutskaya.
In 1941, the Nazis captured Pavlovsk, the Pavlovsk Palace was seriously damaged. Tens of thousands of trees were cut down, pavilions were destroyed, the palace was burned down, and the railway station was destroyed. Soviet troops liberated the city in January 1944. It was then that he received his historical name. Almost immediately, restoration work began, which continued until 1971. It was this year that the Throne and Cavalier Halls were opened for visitors.
Picture gallery
The park itself was gradually restored. The work was supervised by the architects S. V. Popova-Gunich, F. F. Oleinik, I. G. Kaptsyug, Yu. I. Sinitsa, V. B. Mozhaiskaya. The most active part in the restoration was taken by all the museum staff, as well as its director A. I. Zelenova and the responsible curator of the museum A. M. Kuchumov.
Pavlovsky collectionspalace
Their formation is connected with the travels of its owners in Europe. Visiting famous masters, they acquired sculptures, paintings, bronze items, porcelain sets, and unique silk fabrics. The museum is famous all over the world for products of decorative, applied and fine arts. A special place in the exposition is given to the collection of ancient art, samples of Russian and Western European culture of the 18th century.
The collection of the finest porcelain of the late 18th and early 19th centuries is most fully represented in the museum. Pieces of furniture of particular interest to historians are the work of German and French craftsmen. Of considerable interest is the furniture designed by A. Voronikhin. Many halls of the palace are decorated with unique tapestries. In addition, the museum has rare collections of prints, miniatures, drawings, candelabra and clocks.
Gatchina: Pavlovsk Palace
This grand structure is located on the shores of the Silver Lake. It began to be built in 1765 by order of Empress Catherine II. It was a gift unprecedented in its generosity to the favorite of the Empress, Count Orlov. For him, the architect Rinaldi erected a palace that looked like a hunting castle with towers and underground passages. Its construction lasted almost 16 years.
At the main entrance there were statues of Marchiori and Morlater "Justice", "War", "Peace", "Caution". For the first time in the history of domestic architecture, a natural material was used in the cladding of a building - local natural stone. The palace is made in the style of classicism, in thosetimes of the completely new and unknown.
Count Orlov, a lover of luxury, did not spare colossal money for the arrangement of the palace and soon turned it into a magnificent residence. After his death, Catherine redeemed her gift from Orlov's heirs and presented it to her son Paul the First, the future Russian emperor.
The new owner remade the Pavlovsk Palace to his own taste. The reconstruction was led by the famous architect Brenn. After its completion, the palace complex began to resemble both a reliable fortification and a country villa. The interior decoration of the premises has changed, the halls and galleries have increased, the front rooms have become true examples of Russian classicism of the magnificent 18th and 19th centuries.
From 1801 to 1828, the Pavlovsk Palace belonged to the widow of Paul the First, Empress Maria Feodorovna. At various times, the unique residence was owned by the heads of state of Russia: Nicholas the First, Alexander the Second, Alexander the Third, Nicholas the Second.
The second birth of the palace
The Nazis burned the palace during their retreat in 1944, however, thanks to restorers, museum staff and public assistants, the Pavlovsk Palace in Gatchina was quickly restored, but the museum's expositions became available to visitors only in 1985. Some premises of the Gatchina Palace are being restored even today.
