🖼 Gatchina Palace

Гатчина, Красноармейский пр., 1

Paul I's castle-residence with state rooms, an arsenal and an underground passage to Silver Lake.

The palace was built in 1766–1781 to Antonio Rinaldi's design for Grigory Orlov, Catherine II's favourite.
After Orlov's death Catherine bought Gatchina from his brothers in 1783 and gave it to her son, the future Paul I.
The monument to Paul I on the parade ground in front of the palace was unveiled on 1 August 1851.
The museum opened on 19 May 1918, and before the war the palace was called the "suburban Hermitage".
In 1944, while retreating, German troops burned the palace: the decoration of all the halls was lost, and the interiors have been restored since 1976.
The 18th-century tower clock was recreated and started on 12 December 1993.
The palace was a film location for Poor, Poor Paul, The Three Musketeers (2013) and War and Peace (2016).

Part of these routes