Gatchinsky District: Estate History, Parks and a Natural Monument

In Gatchinsky District, the Suyda estate tells a long story of landscape design. Abram Petrovich Gannibal bought it in 1759 and laid out a formal garden, a landscape park and an artificial water system there. After his retirement, he planned and built new manor houses in 1762. Gannibal was the great-grandfather of A. S. Pushkin; the estate’s history thus links a biographical thread with tangible changes to its gardens and buildings. Surviving features include a stable, the ruins of an orangery and Gannibal’s stone sofa. Advance booking is required for tours of the museum and Suyda estate.

Estates and surviving traces

Historic estates in the district also survive in various forms. In Zhabino, the ruins of the manor house and outbuildings, remnants of the old park and ponds remain. The so-called Humpback Bridge and the “Gothic Gates” are located on the grounds of the Demidov estate in Taytsy. In Belogorka, the Yeliseev family manor house was built in the Northern Art Nouveau style as a palace, replacing the old house. The design is attributed to engineers Vladimir Petrovich Tavlinov and Stepan Fyodorovich Ovsyannikov; Ovsyannikov was a nephew of A. G. Yeliseev. The estate is closed; visiting independently is not safe.

Parks in Druzhnoselye

In Druzhnoselye, the Church of Saint Stefania was built next to Stefania’s burial place to a design by painter and architect Alexander Bryullov. An English landscape park was laid out around the church. Curving paths led to a burial place beside an artificial pond with a pavilion. Traces of the park layout can still be seen beneath the grass, although the layout itself is obscured. The landscape park of the Druzhnoselye estate was laid out with a maze of paths and avenues, as well as a system of canals and ponds.

The natural monument on the Oredezh

The natural monument “Devonian Outcrops on the Oredezh near Belogorka” is located in Gatchinsky District, Leningrad Oblast. It includes parts of the villages of Belogorka and Novosiverskaya, as well as the urban-type settlement of Siversky. Visiting the natural monument is subject to a fee; this also applies to its eco-trails. If you plan to include a trail in your visit, factor in this cost.

Tours and planning your visit

Access and tour options vary between the estates. The building of the Rozhdestveno Estate Museum is being restored and cannot be visited during the work. A 60-minute introductory tour of the park is available by advance booking only. There is also a 90-minute themed tour entitled “Nabokov’s Estates in the St. Petersburg Governorate.” Confirm availability and fees for both options before your trip.

At the Sivoritsy estate, the museum and other halls in the administrative building can be visited after contacting the hospital administration. An approximately two-hour tour can be booked; confirm the current arrangements before your visit. A park was also laid out around the Sivoritsy estate. If you are comparing tours by duration, Rozhdestveno offers options of 60 or 90 minutes, while Sivoritsy offers a tour lasting approximately two hours.

Discover more destinations: Vyborgsky District, Lodeynopolsky District, Lomonosovsky District, Vsevolozhsky District, Vyborgsky District, Volosovsky District, Boksitogorsky District, Tosnensky District.

Return to the regional travel overview: Leningrad Oblast.