Why this ride
A 76 km round trip from Gatchina - roughly 1 h 28 in the saddle. The stops in between: The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag, The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town and back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Prioratsky Park and The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 76 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 28
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Prioratsky Park → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
The ride follows Prioratsky Park → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag for 17 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Prioratsky Park
Gatchina has a palace that most visitors head for first, but the building that makes riders and architects alike stop and stare is the little Priory Palace standing on the shore of Black Lake in Prioratsky Park. It looks like a small Gothic castle with a tower and a chapel, pale and slightly unreal against the water, and it is built of rammed earth. Nikolai Lvov, the architect and polymath, put it up around 1799 for Emperor Paul I, who had made himself Grand Master of the Knights of Malta and wanted a residence to offer the Order. The earth walls, compacted in layers and then plastered, have now survived more than two centuries of Russian winters, which is a better record than plenty of brick.
Read the complete Prioratsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prioratsky Park is where the day begins. Next is The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
2. The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
The village of Taitsy, south of Saint Petersburg near Krasnoye Selo, is home to an estate built in the eighteenth century for the Demidov family, the industrial dynasty whose fortune came from iron and metalworks in the Urals. The classical manor house, attributed to the architect Ivan Starov, stands in a landscape park with ponds and springs, and those springs mattered far beyond the estate: the Taitsy water conduit, built in the eighteenth century, carried water from here to the palaces and fountains of Tsarskoye Selo.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town.
3. The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town
Between 1941 and 1944 Tsarskoye Selo lay behind German lines, and when the Red Army came back the Catherine Palace was a shell. The Amber Room's panels had vanished, the park trees had been cut for firewood, and most of the interiors were ash. The restoration that followed, and the new Amber Room that finally reopened in 2003, make this one of the most remarkable rebuilding jobs in Europe. The town, now called Pushkin after the poet who studied at its Lyceum, is part of the UNESCO listing for the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, and the ensemble of palaces, pavilions and parks around it is the reason to come.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town. Next is back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
4. back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag, late in the day. Next is Prioratsky Park.
5. Prioratsky Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prioratsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Prioratsky Park. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Prioratsky Park to The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Prioratsky Park → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag to The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town to back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
The Palace and Park Ensembles of the Town → back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag to Prioratsky Park
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → Prioratsky Park is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.