Back in the Days. Parks and Palaces near St. Petersburg – Gatchina

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That’s 2008, September. Much time has passed since then and much has changed. I’ve spent almost the entire 2008 in St. Petersburg renting an apartment with V.B., a friend of mine, and occasionally (rather often) visited my home town. Now I am permanently residing in my home town and occasionally embark on journeys and, occasionally, visit St. Petersburg.


Somewhere I have mentioned that it was in 2008 (beginning from Moscow, and St. Petersburg neighbouring towns) that I took a crazy liking to traveling. It would never occur to me to write the blog in those times, but now I have the desire to put down all my memories.


In September 2008 I had emotional upsurge because I was communicating with a very pleasant girl who claimed to like me very much and we even tried to build a relationship (see entry about Krasnoyarsk); now she’s married and will have a baby soon; I think that it is very, very nice that we didn’t become a couple in 2008. I’m recalling all this because when visiting Gatchina, I thought about that girl and even communicated with her via ICQ. The two things are interrelated for me.


It’s all the same – I go to the Gatchina Park, listening to my player, visit the castle, explore the park trying to see each and every sight shown on the map, and take photos. The general idea remains the same.


You go to Gatchina by bus or train. Transportation is not a concern. The town is not very far from St. Petersburg. However, it’s farther than Pushkin or Pavlovsk. In 2008, the entrance to the park was free (as compared to other parks where a fee was charged). I’ve just recalled now that I started to feel bad in the bus and wondered how long it would take to finally get off from the bus. I got off the bus not at the main entrance to the park, but from the Birch Gates. There is the White Lake in the park. I would very much recommend you to visit ALL parks and palaces near St. Petersburg. It’s a large park, and the palace is also huge; one can have excellent time there walking along park lanes. I suppose it’s also possible to hire a boat there (there are boats in one of the photos).


Here are the names of some sights: The Gatchina Palace, The Own Gardens, the Chesmensky Obelisk, the Eagle Column, Venus’ Pavilion, Birch House (a very particular sight! Not to be seen anywhere else), the Admiralty.


The palace is so huge it is not easy to capture the whole of it by a camera. The entrance to the palace was some 200 rubles in 2008. You’ll see photos of its interiors. It’s gorgeous and very beautiful. One of the most interesting places there for me was the underground pass which is the only of such kind in St. Petersburg neighbouring towns (if I remember the guide’s words correctly). At the back of the palace there is the Own Gardens with a lot of statues (the booklet says that palace owners’ favourite pets were buried there). After the palace and the gardens the best idea is to walk leisurely in the park. The lakes look so peaceful and the general atmosphere of the park pacifies one’s soul and sweeps the anxious thoughts away for at least a short time. It’s different from the other parks, such as Pushkin or Pavlovsk. Perhaps, the lakes play here a more significant role (in fact, they are bigger in size, which is remarkable in itself).


The Birch House is a very particular structure. It looks like a stack of wood. I have not seen the inside of it. That’s just the sort of house I would not hesitate to buy for myself. Or, if so desired, build such for self.


Squirrels can be spotted in the trees or near them. I spotted one and tried to photograph it, with little success. The animal was afraid and moved too quickly.


Whether tired or not, one simply has it obligatory to visit the Priorate Palace - another unique masterpiece. It is a little away from the Palace and the Park. It does not give you any hint from the outside as to why it’s so unique, until you learn that it’s made of earth. It has been, of course, renovated and preserved, so you cannot see much of the earth actually, but there is a small area of the wall open and you can see that it’s really earth, and nothing but the earth. I don’t want to misinform anyone, but I’ll say that it’s perhaps the only palace of such kind left in Russia. However, I must not be held responsible for the exactness of this information. When returning from the Priorate Palace, the road will take you to the Connetable Obelisk and then there’s short way back to the Palace, and from there another couple of minutes to the train station.


There is Isle of Love and the Venus’ Pavilion…


It’s been a wonderful day in Gatchina. Take care.

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