The Orel Gate (or Gatchina Gate) is one of the gates of the Catherine Park in the former Tsarskoye Selo (now the Pushkin city of St. Petersburg).
The gate was built in 1777-1782 according to the project of A. Rinaldi, approved by Catherine II, on the border of the Catherine Park, at the exit to the road leading to Gatchina (hence the second name of the gate - "Gatchina"), the former estate of the general-Feldzeichmeister Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov.
Grigory Orlov was a revered favorite of the Empress Catherine II and the one who led the fight against the plague epidemic in Moscow in 1771.
The erected gate became a lifetime monument to Orlov, in commemoration of the success in the fight against the plague.
The Orel Gate is made in the form of a single-span triumphal arch and has a height of about 15 meters.
The main mass of the Orel Gate is lined with gray marble, and the columns and panels are lined with pink Tivdian marble.
In the architecture of the gate, elements of ancient Roman architecture are visible: columns with capitals and pilasters on pedestals placed on the sides of a high arch, a cornice, and an attic.
On the attic of the gate on the side of the Catherine Park there is a memorial inscription telling about the deliverance of Orlov from the plague, which reads: "When in 1771 there was a pestilence of people and a national disorder in Moscow, the general-feldzeichmeister Count Grigory Orlov, at his request, received an order to go there, established order and obedience, delivered food and healing to the poor and the poor, and stopped the ferocity of the plague with his good institutions."
On the facade of the gate, facing Gatchina, in the frieze there is an inscription taken from the poetic message to the general of the poet V. I. Maikov: "Orlov saved Moscow from trouble."
Orel gate - lockable. The iron gates were originally designed by the architect D. Quarenghi. Today they are a light openwork metal grid.
Practical information
The Orel Gate is located at the southwestern end of the Catherine Park, Pushkin, St. Petersburg.
Catherine Park with pavilions, together with Catherine's Palace, belong to the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo".
In the summer season (somewhere from the second half of April to mid-October), the entrance to the Catherine Park is paid.
In the Catherine Palace, you can visit the restored halls.
Tickets to the park, some of the pavilions of the park and the halls of the palace can be purchased at the box office, or in advance-online on the official website.
The opening hours of the park and the palace, as well as the conditions of the visit and the cost of tickets, we recommend that you check on the website of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoe Selo": tzar.
You can visit Tsarskoye Selo with one of the excursions
In Pushkin, near the Catherine Park and the palace, you can stay
The 5-star Pevcheskaya Tower Hotel features restaurants, a bar, a rooftop observation deck, free Wi-Fi and parking.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
The 5-star luxury spa hotel "Tsar Palace Luxury Hotel & SPA"is located in a historic building.
The hotelfeatures a spa area with a swimming pool, a hammam, a salt sauna, a snow fountain, steam baths and a gym; free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour front desk, 2 restaurants, a lobby bar, private parking and meeting and conference rooms.
The rooms are equipped with climate control, a minibar, a safe and a private bathroom.
A buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
3-star hotel Ekaterina, located on the territory of the Catherine Palace and Park Ensemble.
At the hotel: 24-hour front desk, cafe, free Wi-Fi and parking.
Each room here will provide you with air conditioning, a TV, a work desk and free toiletries.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and in Pushkin, can be viewed and booked here
