Pavlovsk Park

Lore & Background

The park was conceived by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron as a classic English landscape garden. Its inspiration came from continental gardens that Maria Feodorovna and her husband had seen during a tour of western Europe in 1782, including the park at Württemberg, the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and especially the Château de Chantilly with its mock-rustic hamlet. Cameron laid out a triple alley of linden trees, a thatch-roofed dairy modeled after the one in Württemberg, an aviary, a labyrinth, and picturesque tombstones from Italy.

The River Slavyanka served as the picturesque axis, with a dam creating a pond. In 1780, Cameron built a Roman temple at a turn in the river, originally called the Temple of Gratitude, dedicated to Catherine the Great, but later renamed the Temple of Friendship in honor of the visit of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Between 1780 and 1783, Cameron constructed a colonnade with a copy of the Apollo Belvedere. Beginning in 1792, the chief architect was Italian landscape architect and painter Pietro Gonzaga, who had begun his career as a set designer at La Scala Theater in Milan.

Gonzaga planned the landscape with meticulous care, using trees and contours to create theatrical scenes. He designed the funeral procession of Paul I and the coronation of Alexander I, as well as sets for the 1814 ceremony welcoming Alexander I home after victory over Napoleon. He remained architect until his death in 1831.

Reader's Guide

Visitors can explore the park's many gardens in different styles: a formal French garden near the Palace, an Italian garden with parterres and a grand staircase by Brenna, a Dutch-style private garden outside Maria Feodorovna's apartments, and the vast English and French landscape garden. Key features include the Temple of Friendship, the colonnade with the Apollo Belvedere, the thatch-roofed dairy, the aviary, and the orangery and greenhouses where Maria Feodorovna grew apricots, cherries, peaches, grapes, and pineapples. The park is open as a state museum and public park.

Did You Know?

• Maria Feodorovna imported flowers from Holland for her private garden, including hyacinth, tulips, daffodils, and narcissus.
• An English visitor in 1812 called Pavlovsk Park the most beautiful example of the English landscape garden in all of the Russian Empire.