Elizabethan Pavilion (Krasnodoliny)

In 1801, near Glazovo (part of present-day Tyarlevo), in one of the most remote corners of Pavlovsk Park, the Elizabethan or Krasnodoliny Pavilion was built. This pavilion—the last creation of architect Charles Cameron in Pavlovsk—so amazed and astonished contemporaries that it was called an "architectural whim." Indeed, there was much to marvel at. Cameron and his assistants—architect Shreter and master stonemason Visconti—created an unusual, original, yet extraordinarily harmonious building. The pavilion’s appearance strikingly combines antique and pastoral motifs: the frameworks of columns, arches, and right there—a terrace with railings made from birch trunks. One might think it was an ancient structure miraculously preserved and adapted by the park’s owners for new purposes. It was built in a new area of the park, designed by Gonzago in the Valley of the Slavyanka River beyond the Pilbashny Bridge. This area was called the Red Valley, hence the pavilion, one of the dominants of the Red Valley, was called Krasnodoliny. Since the pavilion was a favorite place for walks and rest of Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, wife of Alexander I, it entered history as the Elizabethan Pavilion.

Andrey Shtorkh, author of "Letters about the Garden in Pavlovsk, written in 1802," calls the pavilion a "brilliant work of architecture" and "a product of playful artistic fantasy." This architectural whim, as another Pavlovsk historian, Semevsky, writes, "represents a kind of motley mixture of classical style with romantic Swiss... Each of the four facades of the pavilion has a distinct character: on one side—an antique peristyle, on another—stumps of columns; above the third—a staircase leading to a flat roof; above the fourth—a simple canopy. A stone staircase on the arch, then a wooden one, leads to a terrace surrounded by railings made of birch branches."

This pavilion reflects the tastes of its time connected with fascination for antique ruins. On one hand, it is built as a square antique structure with a festive classical portico of pink marble and surrounded by a stone colonnade. This unfinished colonnade gives the impression of remnants of an ancient building, overgrown with light superstructures and adapted for rest. On the "remains" of the stone colonnade, a wooden balcony was built; on the roof—a belvedere platform with railings made from birch trunks, a kind of rustic element introduced into garden decoration in a new style. This is all the more surprising in the construction of such a classical Palladian as Cameron.

As for the pavilion hall itself, Cameron’s signature is evident everywhere. The quadrangular hall is surrounded on all four sides by glass doors, creating an abundance of light. The walls are clad in gray artificial marble, and the pilasters in green; around the perimeter of the walls were round bas-reliefs with classical scenes, and the parquet was made of patterned wood. But to further emphasize the fusion of the hall’s architecture with nature, decorator Gonzago was commissioned to paint the ceiling. Its composition represented an illusionistically painted vault with a round opening in the center. Through this opening, the blue sky was visible, and on one side, a birch branch hung down into the hall.

Earlier, when there were no trees or dense thickets of shrubs around the pavilion, the terrace offered a beautiful view of the Red Valley. It is no coincidence that in one archival document the pavilion was called "Point de vue" ("Viewpoint"). In 1804, architect Voronikhin, also following Cameron’s design, arranged ruins near the pavilion. In the "Guide to Pavlovsk and its Attractions," published in 1843, this peculiar architectural ensemble is described as follows: "The view from the terrace is enchanting: on one side, a roaring cascade appears to the visitor’s eye; on the other, a vast valley with extremely diverse groups of trees, with artificial ruins and barely noticeable fragments of various statues, columns, bas-reliefs; in the distance, rural scenes, a large road. This mixture of life and decay induces reflection and involuntarily causes one to pause on the terrace of the Red Valley pavilion. The late Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna loved this place more than others, and the pavilion is named after Her."

Subsequently, the pavilion was repeatedly rebuilt. For example, in 1817, the stairs and belvedere were altered, and in 1911, according to contemporaries, it was "simply painted on the outside": the facades were painted to resemble ruins with white stones inserted into the ancient masonry.

It was in this hall that breakfasts or dinners of the imperial family were held. The pavilion was not only an architectural but also a symbolic dominant of the Red Valley. It was, as they say, the Point de vue—the Viewpoint: from its upper platform, captivating views of the Red Valley with its landscapes, the Slavyanka River, the cascade, and the artificial ruin specially built nearby opened up. All this resonated with the dreamy mood of Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, who preferred silence and solitude.

The pavilion was so picturesque that it was often drawn. The museum’s collection preserves several graphic sheets depicting the pavilion in the surrounding landscape, especially a gouache by the topographic artist Bugreev from 1803 and a watercolor by an unknown artist from the 1820s.

During the Great Patriotic War, the pavilion was noticeably damaged and abandoned.

Sources:

https://pavlovskmuseum.ru/about/park/layout/39/1152/

http://tyarlevoclub.ru/o-tyarlevo/krasnodalinnyy-pavilon.html

https://www.citywalls.ru/house25764.html