On the eastern shore of the White Lake, north of the Admiralty, there is a unique section of the Palace Park. This area, covering more than four hectares, features two landscape labyrinths that are perceived as two parts of a single whole. In the 18th century, it was very fashionable to build ground labyrinths in parks. Many European landscape gardens boasted such structures. However, there were no analogues to the water labyrinth arranged in Gatchina. Created during the reign of Paul I, the relatively small labyrinth consisted of an archipelago of artificially created islets and channels between them near the White Lake. The banks of the labyrinth were reinforced, and wooden bridges were thrown between the islets.

The first labyrinth, located in the southern part of the area, is designed as alleys winding among the trees and is called the Forest Labyrinth. To the north of it lies the Water Labyrinth, formed by four artificial islets. The islands are situated in a bay of the White Lake, which extends far inland. In the Water Labyrinth, alleys are replaced by narrow channels about 10 meters wide, winding between the islands and the mainland. Thanks to numerous small capes, bays, and dead ends, it is not easy to find the way back to the White Lake when navigating the labyrinth by boat.

The so-called Birch Road passes through the Water Labyrinth, laid out from the Admiralty to the Venus Pavilion. Crossing the labyrinth, it runs over three metal bridges with openwork railings, thrown across the channels between the mainland and two large islands. The branching alleys of the Forest Labyrinth and the channels of the Water Labyrinth contrast with the nearby regular Botanical Gardens with their strict geometric linearity. This creates a vivid contrast of impressions and enriches the perception of the surrounding landscape, giving visitors stunning emotions. Regular 18th-century parks were often decorated with peculiar park features—landscape labyrinths. However, most labyrinths were arranged on land, from thickets of trimmed shrubs that enclosed a complex system of alleys and paths. Labyrinths like the Gatchina Water Labyrinth are much rarer. The Water Labyrinth, located in the Gatchina Palace Park, was created at the end of the 18th century by an unknown author. The labyrinth was intended for boat rides, which nevertheless did not prevent its adaptation for pedestrians. For this purpose, three wooden bridges were thrown between its two large islands, over which the Birch Road passed.

In 1881, the wooden bridges were replaced by cast-iron ones with openwork railings, designed by the Russian architect Ludwig Franzovich Shperer. In 2010, the islands and channels were cleared, paths restored, and the Water Labyrinth bridges renovated. These bridges, preserved to this day, are a decorative adornment not only of the Water Labyrinth but of the entire Palace Park in Gatchina.

The water attraction was arranged so that boat ride enthusiasts found it difficult to find the way out to the lake due to the deliberately confusing labyrinth system with its turns and dead ends.

Sources:

https://gatchinapalace.ru/park/plan/water_maze.php

https://spb-pearl.ru/Gatchina/Ansambl-Gatchinskogo-Dvorca/Dvorcovyi-Park/Vodnyi-Labirint/