Gatchina Palace

Great Gatchina Palace
Большой Гатчинский дворец
Southern facade of the palace
General information
Architectural style	Classical
Location	Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia
Coordinates	59°33′48″N 30°6′27″E / 59.56333°N 30.10750°E / 59.56333; 30.10750
Construction started	1766
Completed	1781
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iv, vi
Reference	540
Inscription	1990 (14th Session)
Area	3,934.1 ha (9,721 acres)

The Great Gatchina Palace (Russian: Большой Гатчинский дворец) is a palace in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was built from 1766 to 1781 by Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov, who was a favourite of Catherine the Great, in Gatchina, a suburb of the royal capital Saint Petersburg. The Gatchina Palace combines classical architecture and themes of a medieval castle with ornate interiors typical of Russian classicism, located on a hill in central Gatchina next to Lake Serebryany. The Gatchina Palace became one of the favourite residences of the Russian Imperial Family, and during the 19th century was an important site of Russian politics. Since the February Revolution in 1917, it has been a museum and public park, and received UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1990.^[1]