Description of the attraction
On the border between the landscape plot of the Tsarskoye Selo Catherine Park and the New Garden of the Alexander Park, the Chinese Gazebo pavilion was built, which is also called the Squeaky Gazebo.
Work on the construction of this interesting building due to its exoticism was started at the same time with the construction of the Chinese Village ensemble and was carried out in the period from 1778 to 1786. The process was managed by the famous Russian architect Ilya Vasilyevich Neelov, and the development of the project itself was carried out by the architect Yuri Matveyevich Felten. "Squeaky gazebo" is located in a picturesque place - on the isthmus between 2 ponds. This arrangement of the building determined its elongation along the long side.
In terms of the "Squeaky Gazebo", it is an oval-shaped hall, crowned with a dome, with almost square rooms adjoining on 2 sides, which are smaller in size. The pavilion has 2 entrances, equipped on the western and eastern sides in the form of rectangular protrusions. These protrusions are open from 3 sides thanks to the semicircular arches cut into them. The central entrance is decorated with a staircase made of stone and consisting of a dozen steps. The staircase has a solution in the form of semicircles, expanding as you descend.
The most striking impression is made by the Chinese roof of the pavilion, which completes the central domed hall. On the roof, which adorns the building, there is a tower on metal posts with a weather vane. The weather vane is made in the shape of a Chinese banner. When the wind blows at the moment of rotation, it creaks, therefore the second name of the building appeared - "Squeaky gazebo".
The side rooms of the pavilion are completed by terraces on small pillars, which also have weather vane. The eaves of the roof of the building in the corners were curved, as was customary in Chinese architecture for the construction of pagodas. They were decorated with wooden gilded dragons, which were made by the outstanding craftsman Pavel Ivanovich Bryullo.
The exterior walls of the Squeaky Gazebo were decorated with murals imitating colored marble. The doors of the middle room were decorated with picturesque carvings and paintings in Chinese technique.
With its unique appearance, the gazebo is in perfect harmony with the picturesque area around it. The oriental style of this building, with its quirkiness and elegance of decor details, combines both laconicism and brightness at the same time.
However, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Squeaky Gazebo lost the splendor of the painted walls and some decorative elements. During the Great Patriotic War, the pavilion was also seriously damaged. In the 1950s, the monument was restored, but over time it began to deteriorate again. Serious restoration work was carried out on the occasion of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo.
The value of such a structure as the "Chinese gazebo" is much more than just artistic. The formation of this beautiful pavilion in Tsarskoe Selo at one time was not only a tribute to the general European fashion. It is a vivid characteristic of the brilliant golden age of Empress Catherine the Great, who built whole worlds in her residence, recreated the eras that belonged to the ancients. She reproduced the cultures of great nations, showing by this also her greatest ambitions, her own height above the whole world.
