Large greenhouse

Fresh vegetables, fruits, and greens were supposed to be on the tsar’s table at any time of the year, and bouquets of flowers were to decorate the rooms of the empress and her daughters. The greenhouses appeared in Gatchina in the mid-18th century under the estate’s first owner – Count Grigory Orlov. They were built on the territory of the Palace Park, behind the Kitchen Quadrangle. By the end of the 19th century, the Palace Greenhouse complex consisted of 10 buildings covering almost 10 hectares, where flowers were grown to decorate the living rooms of the Gatchina Palace, ornamental plants for the design of park flower beds, tree seedlings, vegetables, and fruits, including quite exotic ones for the surroundings of St. Petersburg. Three stone buildings were allocated for grapes, four for peaches, three for apricots, two for plums, and another five were intended for growing and maintaining other plants, including citrus and pineapples.

The project’s author was Antonio Rinaldi. The one-story buildings are made of red brick and have yellow Chernovtsy stone trim at the corners. A high wall reliably protects the plants from the cold on the northern side. On the southern side, the greenhouse glazing reaches almost to the ground. Between the buildings, there are numerous beds for growing vegetables in open ground.

An interesting historical fact: the children of Paul I worked with pleasure in the greenhouses and on the beds.

Over time, the greenhouses were expanded and rebuilt. One of the authors of such reconstruction was Vincenzo Brenna. Over the years, the number of buildings increased, and the total area of the greenhouse structures reached almost 10 hectares. According to the project of architect Sergey Shestakov, another reconstruction was carried out, and the Large Palace Greenhouses received their final design. By the end of the 19th century, behind the high stone wall, there were three grape, three apricot, four peach, two plum, and one flower greenhouse. In addition, bay and nut trees, various palms, and exotic plants were grown indoors. Also, on the territory of this greenhouse and vegetable garden plantation, there is a two-story stone gardener’s house.

Unfortunately, at present, the architectural monument is in a very deplorable state. Part of the buildings is destroyed, most of the glass is broken. The stone wall is missing; instead, until recently, the buildings were fenced with a wooden fence. In the 20th century, sheds and utility rooms were built on the greenhouse territory, and private vegetable gardens were laid out.

Now the complex of buildings does not belong to the Gatchina Palace Park. The revival of the Palace Greenhouses began in 2015. Currently, two greenhouses produce plants for the flower beds of the Gatchina and Priory Parks; in winter, palms and laurels are stored here, which decorate the Courtyard Gardens in summer. Vegetables are also grown here for the restored decorative garden, which is open for tours during the summer season.

Sources:

https://peterburg.center/maps/gatchina-bolshie-dvorcovye-oranzherei.html

https://gatchinapalace.ru/park/attractions/large_greenhouses.php