State Reserve-Museum Pavlovsk
Pavlovsk is located 25km to the south of Saint Petersburg and about 3km away from Pushkin. The Reserve-Museum is made of an imperial Palace and the surrounding park.
The construction of the palace originated from Catherine II. She gave it to her only son: future Paul I. Her personal architect, Charles Cameron, was put in charge of the project. The first stone was laid in 1882 and the palace was completed in 1886. Ten years later, it became imperial residence at the coronation of the Emperor and it was entirely rebuilt and extended under supervision of Italian architect Vincenzo Brenna. The Palace, in its current style, has a semicircular shape and a paladin style.
The park covers an area of 543 ha which makes it one of the largest in Russia and Europe. It reflects the landscaping art of the late 19th-early 20th century. Several architects left their trace: Charles Cameron, Vincenzo Brenna, Pietro Gonzaga. It is also the result of the care that Marya Fyodorovna, Paul I’s wife, put in it for fifty years. The Park is divided into seven landscaped spaces, each with its own style.