Gatchina

Gatchina (Russian: Га́тчина ) is a town of Russia located at 45 km in the south of Saint-Pétersbourg on the highway and the railway line which connects this city to Pskov. The city which counts 88.800 inhabitants (2006) belonged to the area (oblast) of Leningrad. The city is especially famous for its castle which was one of the residences of the tsars. The castle of Gatchina is registered on the Liste of the world heritage of UNESCO with other monuments related to Saint-Pétersbourg.

Gatchina is mentioned for the first time in 1499: the locality of the territory of the Republic of Novgorod, which has just been annexed by the Grand-duché of Moscow. Gatchina was attached episodically to the Sweden in 1583-1595 and 1617-1721 like the whole of the Ingrie of which it forms part. The tsar Pierre Large the makes gift of Gatchina to his Natalia sister. In 1765 the tsarina Catherine II of Russia gives Gatchina to her favorite the prince Grigori Orlov. This one made there build a castle of 600 parts which, for the first time in Russia, is surrounded by a Jardin to English the. The architect Antonio Rinaldi makes build a Triumphal arch at the entry of the park. The interior of the castle is of style traditional and is drawn by Antonio Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna. Italian and Russian craftsmen carry out the murals, the parquet floor and Italian furniture.

With died the count Orlov in 1783 the tsarina inherits the castle and gives it to his/her son, the future tsar Paul I of Russia. This one made modify the castle in the years 1790 in a neo-classic style and makes build in the park several bridges and houses. With died of Paul, the castle remains a certain vacant time. Then Alexandre III of Russia in fact again the residence of the tsars. The last Russian tsar Nicolas II of Russia passes his youth in the castle. At the time of its abdication in 1817, it will be held a certain time with Gatchina.

In 1923 Gatchina is famous Trotsk (Троцк) in the honor of Trotski but, in 1929, after this one fell in disgrace, the city is renamed Krasnogvardeysk ( Красногвардейск ). It will take again its original name in 1944.

During the Second world war Gatchina is occupied as from the summer 1941 by the German troops. The withdrawal of the Wehrmacht in 1944 leaves the devastated castle. Its restoration after war will take nearly 60 years.

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