Gatchina (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-southwest of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which links Saint Petersburg and Pskov. Population: It was previously known as Khotchino,
Another popular tourist attraction in Gatchina is the Prioratsky Palace.
Gatchina has placed highly in quality-of-life rankings in Russia.
History
Early history
Gatchina was first documented in 1499 under the name Khotchino as a village that was part of the region of Novgorod. In the 17th century it was passed to Livonia and then to Sweden in a series of wars, until the early years of the Great Northern War at the turn of the 1700s when the area was returned to Russia. In 1765, it became the property of Count Orlov. A triumphal arch was erected to a design by the architect of Gatchina Palace, Antonio Rinaldi, forming a monumental entrance. Upon Orlov's death in 1783, Gatchina Palace was bought by Catherine from his heirs, and given to her son Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I.
19th century
In 1854, a railroad connecting Gatchina and Saint Petersburg was opened, and the territory of Gatchina was expanded with several villages in the vicinity being incorporated into the city. The following year Gatchina Palace came under the ownership of Tsar Alexander II, who used it as his second residence. Alexander built a hunting village south of Gatchina into a retreat where he and his guests could enjoy the unspoiled wilderness of northwestern Russia. Following the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, Gatchina Palace was passed to his shaken son, the new Tsar Alexander III, who was advised that he and his family would be safer in Gatchina as opposed to at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. Alexander spent most of his life at Gatchina Palace, which became known as "The Citadel of Autocracy" after the Tsar's reactionary policies. Here he signed decrees, held diplomatic receptions, theatrical performances, masquerades and costumed balls, and other events and entertainment. Alexander III introduced some technological modernizations new to Russia at the Gatchina Palace, such as indoor heaters, electric lights, a telephone network, non-freezing water pipes and a modern sewage system. His son, the future Tsar Nicholas II and the last Russian Tsar, spent his youth in the Gatchina Palace, although he and his family would make Tsarskoye Selo his home. His mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, widow of Alexander III, was the patron of the city of Gatchina, the palace and its parks.
20th century
Gatchina was honored as the best-kept city of Russia at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris (Exposition Universelle). The quality of life, education, medical services, and public safety in Gatchina were recognized as the best, and it was recommended as an example for other cities in Russia. In 1910, one of the first airfields in Russia was established in Gatchina, with the city becoming one of the first centers of aviation and engine technology in Russia.
Interwar period
In May 1918, the museum was re-opened by the Reds "for the victorious popular masses of the Russian Revolution" in Gatchina. From 1918 to 1941, the Gatchina Palace and parks were open to public as a national museum. On February 14, 1923, Gatchina was renamed Trotsk () by the new Soviet authorities, after Leon Trotsky. After Joseph Stalin became General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party (b), Trotsky was gradually exiled (and later killed on Stalin's orders), and the town was renamed Krasnogvardeysk (, Red Guard City) on August 2, 1929.
World War II
thumb|left|Damaged Saint Paul Cathedral in Gatchina during German occupation; the visible weariness is due to both heavy fighting and neglect showed by the Soviet government in the preceding decades
Gatchina was occupied by Nazi Germany from Saturday, September 13, 1941, following the German invasion of Russia during World War II.
The Germans renamed the town Lindemannstadt, in honor of the Wehrmacht general Georg Lindemann, and looted much of the Gatchina Palace for its collections of art. On January 26, 1944, the Germans abandoned Lindemannstadt during their retreat, setting fire to Gatchina Palace and vandalizing much of the park. The town was quickly retaken by the Red Army, and two days later it was renamed back to its original pre-Soviet name, Gatchina. In 1999, Gatchina was awarded in the Most Comfortable City of Russia, a quality of life competition for Russian towns and cities, being ranked first in Category III, the category for cities with a population of under 100,000. In 2010, Gatchina's status as an Historical city of Russia was revoked.
Name
The town has notably been known under various names during its history. As common with larger urban areas under the Soviet Union, Gatchina was renamed to reflect the changed ideals of the government. This first came in honouring Leon Trotsky. However, with the feud between Trotsky and Stalin at a high this name was to become problematic. Thus, the city was renamed again in honour of the Soviet troops. Unlike other regions that underwent this process, Gatchina has a more complex history leading to multiple variations.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Caption
|-
! Name
! Period
! Named For
! Governing Power
|-
|rowspan="4"|Khotchino
| 1499–1700s
|rowspan="4"|Lust for authority or noble status
| Novgorod Republic<br/>Livonia<br/> Swedish Empire
|-
| 1700s–1917
| Tsardom of Russia<br/> Russian Empire
|-
| 1917
| Provisional Government<br/>Whites<br/> Soviet Union
|-
| 1917–1923
|rowspan="3"| Soviet Union
|-
| Trotsk
| 1923–1929
| Leon Trotsky
|-
| Krasnogvardeysk
| 1929–1941
| "Red Guard" City
|-
| Lindemannstadt
| 1941–1944
| Georg Lindemann
| Nazi Germany
|-
| Gatchina
| 1944–
| Variant spelling of historic "Khotchino"
| Soviet Union<br/> Russian Federation
|}
Administrative and municipal divisions
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Gatchina serves as the administrative center of Gatchinsky District. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Gatchinsky District as Gatchinskoye Settlement Municipal Formation.
Economy
Industry
In Gatchina, there are several enterprises related to timber industry, including a paper mill, and to food industry.
Transportation
thumb|Map of two railway lines to Gatchina
Gatchina is an important railway node. One railway, running north to south, connects the Baltiysky railway station in St. Petersburg with Dno and Nevel. Within the town limits, suburban trains in this direction stop at the platform of Tatyanino and the station of Gatchina-Varshavskaya. Another railway, also from the Baltiysky railway station, arrives to Gatchina from the northwest and has two stops, Mariyenburg and Gatchina-Passazhirskaya-Baltiyskaya. Yet another railway runs south of the town center from east to west and connects Mga via Ulyanovka with Volosovo. The railway station on this line in Gatchina is Gatchina-Tovarnaya-Baltiyskaya.
The M20 Highway connecting St. Petersburg and Pskov, crosses Gatchina from north to south. South of Gatchina, it crosses the , which encircles St. Petersburg. A paved road connects Gatchina with Kingisepp via Volosovo. There are also local roads.
thumb|[[LiAZ (Russia)|LiAZ-5256 on a Gatchina route]]
Science
Gatchina is the site of the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute.
Twin towns – sister cities
Gatchina is twinned with:
- Eskilstuna, Sweden
- Ettlingen, Germany
- Coatbridge, United Kingdom
- Chișinău, Moldova
References
Notes
Sources
Further reading
- St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars. Abbeville Press, 1996.
- Knopf Guide: St. Petersburg. New York: Knopf, 1995.
- Glantz, David M. The Battle for Leningrad, 1941–1944. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002.
- Radzinsky, Edvard. Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar. New York: The Free Press, 2005.
External links
- Official website of Gatchina
- Gatchina Business Directory
- Art monuments & History of former residence of the Russian Emperors
- Gatchina over the Centuries
- Views of Gatchina Park