Chinese Kitchen, Oranienbaum

 The Chinese Kitchen Pavilion is part of the Oranienbaum (Lomonosov) palace and park complex near St. Petersburg. It was originally built in the middle of the 18th century as the “Freilinsky Pavilion” by the famous architect Antonio Rinaldi, who was the architect of the entire Oranienbaum complex.

The pavilion was built in the architect’s characteristic Rococo style, but with elements of Classicism. Although it is a one-storey building, it also has a mezzanine floor. In the centre of the pavilion is a dome, where a chimney was later installed for cooking.

The Freilinsky Pavilion was rebuilt a century after its construction, following the reconstruction of the Chinese Palace, the personal residence of Empress Catherine II. The pavilion’s function was radically changed, as well as its external and internal appearances. This project was entrusted to the architect Ludwig Bonstedt. He tried to follow the style of the original architect, so as not to disturb the integrity and harmony of the entire Oranienbaum ensemble.

The pavilion was given a new name – the “Chinese Kitchen” – with the kitchen for the Chinese Palace being transferred from the Cavalry building to the restored pavilion. After the Chinese Kitchen was completed, the meals were prepared there and delivered to the Chinese Palace.

The chefs and other kitchen workers lived on the mezzanine floor. Kitchen equipment, including Dutch and Russian stoves, cabinets for grilling and roasting, confectionery ovens, and boilers, was installed on the main floor. All kinds of kitchen utensils, along with apparatus for washing dishes, were added, and a wine cellar and an icehouse for food storage built nearby.

The Chinese Kitchen Pavilion has subsequently undergone several transformations. Its other uses have included serving as a hospital, a cavalry building and, in Soviet times, even as communal apartments. The pavilion also operated briefly as a summer café.

In 1983, the building was handed over to the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve. Following restoration work, various thematic exhibitions were held there.

The pavilion is still used for temporary exhibitions, except in winter. The only reminder of its former use as a kitchen is the chimney preserved in the centre of the hall.