Sobstvennaya Dacha, Oranienbaum

The palace and park ensemble Sobstvennaya Dacha (Own Cottage) - a unique attraction of Oranienbaum and it forms the second half of the Upper Park. The territory of the Sobstvennaya Dacha (Own Cottage) was bought back in 1750 by the Grand Duchess Catherine II at that time. However, due to the financial difficulties, construction began in 1762, when Empress Catherine II ascended the throne after the overthrow of Peter III. As conceived by the architect Antonio Rinaldi, who created the Upper Park, Sobstvennaya Dacha (Own Cottage) was to be divided into regular and landscape parts, which was perfectly embodied. So on the eastern part of the park were the Kamennoe Zalo (Stone Hall), the Chinese Palace, the Katalnaya Gorka pavilion. And the western part was made in a landscape style. Both parts of the park harmoniously combined and smoothly passed into each other.

The Chinese Palace is a real miracle not only of its era, but also the only heritage of Russian architecture in the Rococo style. Visitors to the park can contemplate and get in touch with a real work of art. As we can learn from historical sources, the architect Antonio Rinaldi created his creations in the Rococo style, which really played a bad joke with him - over time, this style lost its relevance, so the architect stopped receiving new orders. Contemporaries of those years called the Chinese Palace nothing less than "a miracle full of miracles". The Palace was decorated with paintings, sculptures, and works of decorative and applied art. The walls were decorated with gilded stucco, covered with silk and embroidered with jewels.

The preserved pavilion of Katalnaya Gorka is a small three-story building. And although there is little left of its exterior luxury (the pavilion was previously decorated with columns, sculptures and vases), its interior decoration is still striking in its luxury. The interior is decorated with stucco, gilding, and artificial marble. Decoration of the XVIII century has been preserved in its original form.

As you know, in Russia, one of the folk traditions during the Maslenitsa festivities was skating on ice slides. And the Katalnaya Gorka was created, following these traditions, for the owners of Oranienbaum. Here the slopes were arranged, on which a cheerful public rolled down in wheelchairs. Slides and slopes were built from short-lived wooden materials, which led to early decay and in 1801 skating was stopped. Half a century later, stone colonnades were also dismantled, which also gradually collapsed due to improper care. Today we can only imagine the projection of the Katalnaya Gorka, as firs and other plants occupy this place.