Most of the time I enter Catherine Park through the central gate next to the Catherine Palace. I'm not at all original in this. Most visitors choose this route. Tour buses arrive at this gate, souvenir vendors are lined up here, small cafes and restaurants are clustered here too. This time I decided to do things differently and enter the park from the least popular side. I had a good reason to do exactly that: I'd never entered the Catherine Park through the Cadet Gate. It's time to rectify that!
Another name for the Cadet Gate is the 'small cast-iron gate'. This gate leads to the park from the city side, but there is no convenient parking nearby and this gate is used mostly by locals.
The Cadet Gate is located near the Gothic-style park pavilions. The common name of these pavilions is Admiralty. When you start your walk near the palace, the Admiralty seems like a very distant point on the map. You have to go around the Great Pond before you can get close to these red-brick walls.
The pavilions of the Admiralty are several structures related to water recreation and entertainment. There was a dinghy shed, a cabin for sailors, and a pavilion for keeping waterfowl. The dinghies that were stored in the boat shed can be called "dinghies" very conventionally. The Imperial fleet was very varied and included an Indian pirogue, a Venetian gondola and other boats originating from different parts of the world.
The diversity of architectural and cultural traditions is one of the hallmarks of Catherine Park. Walking around the pond you simultaneously take a small world tour: from Gothic palaces of Admiralty you go to pavilions, reminding of the Middle East, and then you turn to the arbour in Chinese style. By the way, this pyramid is not from Egypt or South America, as one could think; the architect looked for inspiration in the monuments of Ancient Rome.
The weather outside is warm, almost hot, but the surface of Tsarskoye Selo's ponds and canals are only partially free of ice. The park lacks water sources, and the currents in the channels and channels are very low. In the quiet backwaters, the ice stagnates in place and melts slowly.
The main idea of my walk was to see those alleys of the park that I rarely visit. Of course, I couldn't completely ignore the main attractions of the park. But during the walk I diverted many times away from the main avenues to approach the not-so-famous sights.
There is a lot to tell about each of these pavilions, but I don't want to turn this walk into a historical chronicle. I have decided to pause for a moment of architectural reflection and I invite you to come and join me in contemplation to look at all the beautiful pavilions that adorn the alleys of the park. At the end of the walk I will say a few more words about the beautiful gates near which we will find ourselves.
At the end of the walk, I came to a gate that bears the name "To My Lovely Companions". This gate is in full view, with a busy street passing by the gate, but few people get close to this gate. This entrance to the park is always closed. At least, I don't remember an occasion when visitors entered through this gate. The slice of the park with the gate is separated from the main part of the park by the Cascade Ponds, and it takes quite a long walk down a side alley to get to this gate. I really like the clean, concise and austere architecture of this gate.
To leave the park, I chose to exit through the Hermitage Kitchen pavilion. I didn't quite make it as far as the Admiralty Pavilion, next to which I entered the park. The Hermitage Kitchen pavilion has a pseudo-Gothic architectural style, as do the Admiralty pavilions. But the architecture of this pavilion is more laden with a variety of details. Walking under the archway of the Hermitage Kitchen, one finds oneself on the same busy street that I had already seen when I approached the gateway to "To My Lovely Companions".
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
This is my entry for the #BeautifulSunday challenge by 
