page_title: Gatchina
section_title: 18th century
hierarchical_section_title: Gatchina / History / Imperial residence / 18th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Gatchina palace, Southern facade.Gatchina town, Leningrad oblast Deutsch: Palast von Gatschina, Südfassade. Gattschina Stadt, Oblast Leningrad Русский: Гатчинский дворец, южный фасад. Город Гатчина, Ленинградская область
context_page_description: Gatchina is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies 45 kilometers south of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway leading to Pskov. Population: 92,937; 88,420; 79,714.
  It was previously known as Khotchino, Gatchina, Trotsk, and Krasnogvardeysk.
  Gatchina, the largest town in Leningrad Oblast, is best known as the location of the Great Gatchina Palace, one of the main residences of the Russian Imperial Family during the 18th and 19th centuries. The historic center and Gatchina Palace are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site's "Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments". Another popular tourist attraction in Gatchina is Prioratsky Palace.
  Gatchina has placed high in quality-of-life rankings in Russia.
context_section_description: In 1765, Catherine the Great, Empress of the Russian Empire, purchased Gatchina Manor from Prince Boris Kurakin, which featured the village and a small manor. Gatchina was gifted by Catherine to one of her favorites, Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov, who reportedly organized the assassination of Tsar Peter III three years earlier, resulting in her becoming empress. Between 1766 and 1788, Count Orlov built the massive Great Gatchina Palace in place of the original manor, with 600 rooms, an extensive English landscape park over 7 square kilometers (2.7 sq mi), with an adjacent zoo and a horse farm. A triumphal arch was erected to a design by the architect of Gatchina Palace, Antonio Rinaldi, forming a monumental entrance. Upon Orlov's death in 1783, Gatchina Palace was bought by Catherine from his heirs, and gave it to her son Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I. During his ownership, Paul made alterations to the palace, but also began developing the village of Gatchina into a town using experience from his travels around Europe. After ascending to the throne, Paul granted Gatchina the status of Imperial City, an honorary designation for towns that possessed a royal palace. Gatchina Palace was expanded and altered numerous times by its subsequent imperial owners, with the addition of Rococo interiors designed by Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna, and executed by Italian stucco workers and Russian craftsmen.
caption: Great Gatchina Palace.
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