Excursions

Pavlovsk, palace and park

Pavlovsk is a town situated in Russia, 30 km from Saint Petersburg, just to the south of Tsarskoye Selo. The town developed around the Pavlovsk Palace, one of the most splendid residences of the Russian imperial family. It is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. The town's history started in 1777 when Catherine II granted some 362 desyatinas of land along the Slavyanka River to her son Paul upon the birth of his first child. The name Pavlovsk derives from Paul's name in Russian, Pavel. In 1780, the fashionable architect Charles Cameron was made responsible for construction activities in Pavlovsk. His Neoclassical design for the Grand Palace was approved by Paul two years later. Around the palace a huge English park was laid out, with numerous temples, colonnades, bridges, and statues. When Paul ascended the throne as Paul I in 1796, the settlement near the palace was large enough to be incorporated as a city. After Paul's death the palace was proclaimed a residence of his widow, Maria Feodorovna. The Pavlovsk palace is probably the best preserved of Russian imperial residences outside the capital.

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