Krasnoarmeyskiy Ave., 21A, Gatchina, Leningrad Region, Russia, 188307
On the southern bank of the winding Pilnaya River, during the time of Grigory Orlov, a cattle yard and dairy farm were built. Fresh meat, cream, and cottage cheese were supplied to the lord’s table. Following the European fashion that proclaimed life in harmony with nature, Paul I ordered the old building to be rebuilt.
Construction began in 1797. The project’s author, Andrian Zakharov, linking the Farm and the Poultry House buildings, created an amazingly harmonious architectural ensemble. The new cattle yard looked like the estate of a wealthy landowner. The facades of the two-story central part of the building were decorated with a portico and a gentle dome, faced with Pudost limestone. The second floor was pierced with semicircular windows. The round hall, located in this part of the building, served for receiving distinguished guests. The ceiling and walls of the room were decorated with paintings. Mahogany furniture, Chinese porcelain dishes, and a large gilded crystal chandelier gave the room a solemn atmosphere. The emperor himself and his guests gladly came to the Farm to drink fresh milk for afternoon tea…
The symmetrical one-story side wings of the Farm were faced with rough slabs of Chernitsa limestone. And while the central part of the building was constructed in the classical style, the window casings of the tall windows and the roofline of the side parts clearly had Baroque features.
Slightly later, an icehouse for storing products and a pavilion hiding a well were built next to the Farm. The pavilion’s walls, with tall rectangular openings, were made of Chernitsa stone. The well has not survived to this day; it was filled with stones and debris, but the building remains in good condition.
The complex of the cattle yard also included wooden buildings for the servants’ residence and for housing animals. The herd size at different times reached up to thirty heads.
Surprisingly, the building’s purpose remained unchanged for the next hundred years. The imperial families of Alexander III and Nicholas II gladly visited the dairy Farm to taste fresh milk and the freshest cream.
The Farm building, damaged during the war, was restored in 1970. After restoration, exhibitions on the history of the Gatchina Palace ensemble were held in the round hall.
Sources:
https://peterburg.center/maps/gatchina-ferma.html
