User:English221/History of Gatchina

Gatchina's coat of arms

Gatcina - the larges city of Leningrad Oblast, has a rich history. The town of Gatchina serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies 45 kilometers (28 mi) south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which links Saint Petersburg and Pskov. Population: 92,937 (2010 Census); 88,420 (2002 Census); 79,714 (1989 Census).

It was previously known as Khotchino, Gatchina (until February 14, 1923), Trotsk (until August 2, 1929), and Krasnogvardeysk (until January 28, 1944).

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 the Prioratsky Palace.

Gatchina has placed highly in quality-of-life rankings in Russia.^{[citation needed]}

Before 1765

Emperor Pavel I— the founder of Gatchina

The earliest archaeological findings ( izhorians` burials) on the territory of Gatchina date back to XVII century. However,the first documentary evidence of settlement existence appeared in 1499 in the Novgorod Scribe book «Selo Hotchino above the lake Hotchino»,which was the part of Bogoroditsky Dyagilensky pogost of Koporsky uyezd of Vodskya pyatina.

Izhora lands,where Selo Hotchino was situated, were the subject of territorial disputes between Russia and Sweden for several centuries. Stolbovsky peace agreement was signed in 1617. This territory became part of Sweden. Since 1624, Selo Hotchino was the part of Skvoretskaya Myza and belonged to the Swedish noble family of Oxenshern. Izhora lands were returned to Russia as a result of Great North War in 1702-1703. The new capital of the country, St. Petersburg, was founded here, which had a significant impact on the development of the adjacent territory.

Between 1712 and 1714 Gatchinskaya Myza with 23 villages assigned to it became the property of Peter the Great's sister Natalia Alekseevna, then its landscaping began. Myza was assigned to the court hospital,and Robert Areskin the physician of Peter the Great and, the head of the pharmacy order becomes its owner after the death of Natalia Alekseevna in 1716. Myza was transferred to the president of the medical office and pharmacy I. L. Blumentrost in 1717.

In 1734, Empress Anna Ioannovna granted the Gatchina manor with villages assigned to it to the Chief of Staff Prince A. B. Kurakin in personal hereditary possession. Ekaterina II bought it in 1765 and embarked on a strategy of creation of a palace and park ensemble and a city.

Creation of a palace and park ensemble and a city

Ekaterina II presented this huge manor to Grigorii Orlov in 1765 in gratitude for participating in the palace coup of 1762. The profound change started since summer of 1766.Architect Antonio Rinaldi embarked on a strategy of creating Gatchina palace. During the construction of the palace, the owner of Gatchina lived in the old manor house in the wooden chambers of the previous owners. In 1766, Orlov built a new wooden house, in which he subsequently received affluent guests, including Empress Catherine II. Orlov indulged in his favorite hobby of dog and falconry in the rich game of the surrounding forests.

After the death of Orlov in 1783, Ekaterina II bought it from the heirs and presented it to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, who was her son. In 1780s the architect of the small courtyard Henri Francois Gabriel Violier was working here. He erected a joke pavilion in the park, a birch house. Externally, it was an imitation of a birch woodpile, and inside there was an exquisite hall with mirrors.A decade later, the leading role passed to Vincenzo Brenna. According to his projects, many park buildings were created and the reconstruction of the palace began in 1795.

Priory palace

On November 6 , 1796 , Pavel I became the Russian emperor. On November 11, he issued a decree renaming flourishing Myza to Gatchina. In 1797-1799, the Priory Palace was built by architect Nikolay Alexandrovich Lvov, which became one of the symbols of Gatchina. On December 13, 1800, Pavel I approved the coat of arms of Gatchina. The well-run town consisted of several separate parts: Ingerburg, Bolshoy Prospekt, Bombardier Street (Sloboda), Malogatchinskaya Street. In 1797, there were 237 houses of residents in the city.

Gatchina in the XIX-th century

After the murder of Tsar Pavel I in 1801 his widow Empress Maria Fedorovna became a new owner of the town. For her charity needs huge construction in the town had begun. New almshouse, home for the blind and educational facility has been opened.In 1828 Tsar Nicholas I became a new owner of Gatchina. In 1838 the stagecoach road from Gatchina to Tsarskoe Selo was opened. The compilers of the description of Saint-petersburg governorate in this year characterized Gatchina in the following way:

The city of Gatchina doesn’t form an Uyezd. The city has: A) two stone churches which are named after the Resurrection of Christ and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, B) almshouse, hospital, education facility. Number of residents by revision: Male sex — 1880, Female sex — 1150. .

In 1844 according to the project of architect Kuz’min the palace was rebuilt, in 1852 the cathedral of the Holy Apostol Pavelwas built. On November 1, 1853 part of the Warsaw railroad, establishing the link between Saint-Petersburg and Gatchina, was opened. On December 12, 1872 the Baltic railroad’s line began to work.

From 1855 to 1881 Alexander II was the owner of Gatchina. In 1855 the optical telegrapg started to work. In 1860 new town planning between Bulvarnaya street and the railroad was approved. In 1876 the first private typography was opened. In 1877 free fire brigade society started to work.

Pokrovsky cathedral

From 1881 to 1894 Alexander III was the owner of Gatchina. During the beginning of his reign Tsar didn't leave Gatchina for a long time, for which he became known as the "Gatchina recluse". Under his reign the necessary repairs and landscaping were carried out in the Palace, the park pavilions were put in order. In 1881 the laying of sewerage began in the city and in 1890 the city water supply began to operate. In 1886 the telephone started to work. In 1881 inventor Stepan Karlovich Dzhevetsky demonstrated his submarine on Silver Lake. In 1890 Mosin rifles were tested in Gatchina.

In 1899 an experimental monorail with a length of 100 fathoms (213 m) was put into operation in Gatchina according to the project of engineer I. V. Romanov. In the same year the People's Library of the Guardianship of People's Sobriety was opened in Gatchina by the efforts of Alexei Kirillovich Yanson (now its successor is the Central City Library named after A. I. Kuprin).

At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 Gatchina was recognized as the most well-run of the small towns in Russia.

Gatchina, Trotsk and Krasnogvardeisk at the beginning of the XX century

In February 1906, the first city newspaper "Gatchina’s paper" was published. In 1908 the cinema began to work. In 1910 a military airfield was built in Gatchina, the first aeronautical school in Russia began operating, flights in Gatchina were implemented by Pyotr Nikolaevich Nesterov, Lidia Vissarionovna Zvereva and other famous pilots. In 1914 the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Theotokos was built according to the project of architect Leonid Mikhailovich Kharlamov. On September 15, 1916 the opening of the Tatyanino railway platform took place.Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Theotokos

On March 1, 1917 under the leadership of N. Y. Kuz’min an uprising was raised in the Western Aviation Battalio, as a result of which the palace administration was abolished and it was replaced by the Gatchina District Committee of the Petrograd Soviet. At the same time, a Temporary Committee of Citizens of the city of Gatchina arose. On October 24, 1917 the Military Revolutionary Committee took power in Gatchina. During the revolutionary events, Alexander Fedorovich Kerensky was hiding in Gatchina. On May 19, 1918 the Palace and the park were opened for viewing. During the Civil War, Gatchina was the site of battles between the troops of General Yudenich and the Red Army.

On November 4, 1922, in honor of the fifth anniversary of the October Revolution, many streets of the city were renamed. In 1923, the city itself was renamed Trotsk in honor of the Soviet politician L. D. Trotsky, whose activities began in Gatchina. Then the city became the administrative center of the Trotsky county, and in September 1927 - Trotsky district. On 2 August 1929, L. D. Trotsky was expelled from the USSR, and the city was renamed Krasnogvardeisk.

Krasnogvardeisk (fin. Hatsina) was also the administrative center of the Finnish National Village Council. The Village Council was established in 1926 with a population of 2,973 Ingermanland Finns, 643 Russians and 301 other national minorities. As of 1933, it consisted of 20 villages: Bolshoye Kolpano, Maloe Kolpano, Bolshaya Zagvozdka, Malaya Zagvozdka, Bolshoye Zamostye, Maloye Zamostye, Kargozi, Bolshiye Parizy, Maliye Parizy, German Colony, Pedlino, Salizi, Ryakkilevo, Himozi, Bolshoye Korpikovo, Maloe Korpikovo, Novoye Korpikovo, as well as the villages Illyicha, Rechnoi Pervyi and Solodukhino, with a population of 3,679 people. The official administrative language was Finnish, the official name of the city was Hatsina. The National Village Council was liquidated in the spring of 1939.

In the 1930s, the House of Culture was built. In 1937, the movement of electric trains from Krasnogvardeisk to Leningrad on the Baltic line began. In October 1938, the city was transformed into an independent administrative and economic unit with direct subordination of its City Council to the Leningrad Regional Council. In the late 1930s, regular bus traffic began in Krasnogvardeisk.

Krasnogavrdeisk during the Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War Krasnogvardeisk was occupied. German tanks entered the city on September 13, 1941 after long battles. In 1942, the occupation authorities renamed the city Lindemannstadt (n.m. Lindemannstadt) in honor of George Lindeman, Commander- in-Chief of the 18th Army. On the territory of the city in these years the concentration camp «Dulag-154» operated. Krasnogvardeisk was liberated by Soviet troops on January 26, 1944, this victory Moscow noted with artillery fireworks. At the same time, the historic name of Gatchina was returned.

The city and the palace complex suffered significant damage: two thirds of the housing stock, palace buildings were destroyed, and many trees in parks were cut down.

The town of Gatchina in post-war and post-Soviet periods

District Airfield

After The World War II Gatchina was restored and rebuilt. In 1949, the first passenger taxis appeared in the town. In the second half of the 20th century Gatchina developed as a large scientific center. In 1956, a branch of the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology was opened here, which became an independent Institute of Nuclear Physics in 1971.

New enterprises and plants have emerged in industrial zones. These were the production of famous defense enterprises like Science and Production Association «Leninits», Science and Production Association «Azimuth», Central Scientific Research Institute "Prometheus", Science and Production Association «Meridian», factories «Red Inventor» and «Burevestnik».

Large housing construction began in the 1970s and subsequent years. Whole neighbourhoods of new buildings were built - Khokhlovo field, Airfield, Entrance. (Khokhlovo pole, Aerodrom, V"ezd) In 1976, restoration work began at the Gatchina Palace. The whole team of art restorers recovered stucco decoration and paintings. The first halls of the palace-museum were opened for visitors on May 8, 1985, on the fortieth anniversary of the Great Victory. In 1990, the palace and park ensemble and the historical centre of Gatchina were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

From 1984 to 2005, the permanent head of the city was Stanislav Semyonovich Bogdanov. In the 1990s, industrial enterprises of the city were in a crisis situation: the volume of industrial production decreased in 4 times. However, small businesses developed, especially in trade and catering.

In 1992, the museum of the estate of the artist P. E. Shcherbov was opened. In 1995 the first film festival «Literature and Cinema» was held.

Gatchina became a municipality in 1996. The same year Leningrad Regional Institute of Economics and Finance was opened in the town and Soviet (since 1997 - Cathedral) street became a pedestrian zone. In 2002, the Museum of the History of Aviation Engine Building and Repair was established and also the Priory Palace was opened to the public after the restoration. On January 1, 2006, the town became part of the Gatchina municipal district as an urban settlement and A. R. Kalugin became the head of town administration.

For several years Gatchina won prizes in the All-Russian competition «The most comfortable city of Russia».

On April 6, 2015, by decree of the President of Russia V. V. Putin No. 177 Gatchina was awarded the honorary title of the Russian Federation «The City of Military Glory» «For the courage, resilience and mass heroism shown by the defenders of the city in the struggle for freedom and independence of the Fatherland».

On April 5, 2021, Gatchina became the seat of the highest authorities of the Leningrad region.

See also

• Historical districts of Gatchina (in russian)
• Gatchina: history and attractions. Gatchina Palace (advantour.com)

Links

• Исторический журнал «Гатчина сквозь столетия»
• Гатчина — вчера, сегодня… Городской культурно-исторический сервер
• Страницы истории благоустройства Гатчины

[[Category:History of Gatchina]] [[Category:Leningrad Oblast]]