Pavlovsk

• City
• Hermitage
• St.Isaac's Cathedral
• Russian Museum

• Peterhof
• Pavlovsk
• Yussupov' Palace
• Peter and Paul Fortress

• Marrinsky Theatre
• Alexander Nevsky Monastery
• Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
• Catherine's Palace and Park (Pushkin)

   The Pavlovsk Palace and park ensemble is located 19 miles (30 kilometers) away from St.Petersburg.

   In 1777 Catherine II presented these lands to her son, the future Emperor Paul I, so that he could build his summer residence here. Another gesture of benevolence was sending him her favorite architect, Charles Cameron, who had already proved his worth at Tsarskoye Selo which was now compared to all that was best in Europe. Pavlovsk was indeed a godsend for Cameron, something an Architect could only dream of. He did not have to rebuild or remodel anything. He could begin from a scratch. The natural surroundings suggested the architectural solution. He put up pavilions and sculptures on elevations. When fitting a bower into a river bend he saw to it that this did not interfere with the lines and forms of the landscape.

   The architect surpassed himself. He designed the Grand Palace, one of the finest examples of Russian classicism, the Apollo Colonnade and the Temple of Friendship pavilions, and the impressive sixteen-column Three Graces Pavilion.

   The park was landscaped by another great master, Pietro Gonzaga, who worked on it for twenty-five years, from 1803 to 1828.

   The alleys of this old park have romantic names — the Young Fiance, the Green Dame, the White Birch, etc. They are adorned with elegant sculptures, figures of lions, smart vases and quaint pavilions. The Pavlovsk park is one of the finest landscape parks to be found in Europe. In 1837, a concert hall, Vauxhall, as it was called, was built close to the Pavlovsk railway station. The first musical season was opened in the Vauxhall in summer 1838. Before long, Pavlovsk became St.Petersburg's musical center. Johann Strauss, the king of waltz, conducted an orchestra there, and the great Chaliapin sang more than once. The Vauxhall was destroyed by the Nazi during the war and there was no way to restore it. But the musical traditions live on.

   The Pavlovsk Park is one of the pearls of the world landscape art. Each of the seven major park districts is marked with poetry, where the beauty of the northern nature is combined with exquisite skill of artists.