Krasnoarmeyskiy Ave., 11, Gatchina, Leningrad Region, Russia, 188307
The Forest Greenhouse is a building in the Palace Park in Gatchina, built at the end of the 18th century. Vincenzo Brenna designed the building for the winter storage of southern plants in wooden tubs, which were displayed along the paths during the summer period. At the beginning of 1794, a contract was signed with the contractor Kiryan Plastinin. The work was carried out under the supervision of the master stonemason Visconti. The construction was supposed to be completed by the end of the same year, but the work was delayed and only finished by the end of 1796.
The building is constructed of red brick faced with Pudost stone. In plan, the building is a rectangle with projecting risalits on the sides of the main facade. The side risalits and the central part of the main facade are pierced by tall arched openings. The openings had window and door frames with small panes. The roof featured decorative dormer windows above the central part of the main facade and large windows with glazed sashes above the side risalits.
During the construction of the greenhouse, the immediate surroundings of the park were rearranged. In 1798, in front of the main facade, between the Forest Greenhouse and the "Palace Greenhouse Estate," an oval-shaped pond was dug under the direction of the Gatchina gardener Gakket. It was named the "Greenhouse Pond." Stairs were built into the slopes of the pond for access to the water.
Subsequently, the building did not suffer damage until during the Great Patriotic War the Forest Greenhouse was set on fire by the occupiers. As a result of the fire, the facing of the walls made of Pudost stone was damaged, all wooden structures were burned, as well as the extensions at the rear of the greenhouse.
To this day, the Forest Greenhouse has not been restored. In 2013, access to the ruins through the openings was closed off with a lattice fence; a plaque with historical information was placed by the path near the fence.
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