Pavlovsk is a delightful romantic English park with a palace and pavilions. It was built in 1777 on the land of Catherine II and presented to her son Paul I in honour of the birth of Alexander, her first grandson and the future Russian Emperor. The Pavlovsk Palace looks like an Italian palazzo. Pavlovsk is still famous for its antiques and art collections.

The Pavlovsk palace and park ensemble is located 27 kilometers away from St. Petersburg. In 1777 Catherine II gave the grounds to the Great Duke Paul as a summer residence. In 1779 a two-storied building called Marientahl was erected.
The intensive establishment of the Pavlovsk Park, Palace and pavilions started in 1780.

C. Cameron spent over twenty years of his life creating the Pavlovsk ensemble. In 1782-86 the designs of this architect were used for construction of the Pavilion of the Three Graces, the Cage, the Dairy House, the Apollo Colon-nade, the Cold Bathhouse, the Temple of Friendship, the Grand Cascade, the Elizabeth's Pavilion, the Circular Hall, the Parents Memorial Pavilion, and the End of Universe Column. In 1786-99 the architect V. Brenna expanded the Palace wings, and added the Italian Stairs, the Pill Tower, the Theater Gates, the New and the Old Sylvian Gates, the Amphitheater, and the Ruin Cascade. In 1802-25 the Air Theater, the Viskontyev and Pill Tower bridges, the Pink Pavilion and the Gates, the Farm, the Mausoleum of Paul I, and Mourning Gates appeared in the Park .

The Pavlovsk Park is one of the pearls of world landscape art.  Each of the seven major park districts is marked by poetry, where the beauty of the northern nature is combined with the  exquisite skill of artists.

	The architectural center of the Pavlovsk ensemble is the Grand Pavlovsk Palace designed in the spirit of Russian Classicism by Ch.Cameron. The main building of the palace is connected with galleries and auxiliary wings decorated with a colonnade and busts of great Russians. The palace is topped with a flat dome resting on 64 small columns of the Tuscan order.
The palace's outline is austere and graceful at the same time. In the 1790s V.Brenna enlarged the palace and continued the park's design. The palace and park complex was finished in the early XIX century by the architects A.Voronikhin, C.Rossi and T.de Thomon.

Around the palace there is an enormous park covering an area of 600 ha. It consists of seven sections 
each defined by the exquisite uniqueness of layout. The splendid palace section with its strict geometrical 
planning of lanes, parterres and position of statues imperceptibly melts into the scenic view of the Slavyanka
 river valley. The arrangement of the Old Silvia is based on the ancient Greek legends. The endless succession 
of scenes represents immeasurable grandeur of Russian nature, which goes well with the refined buildings 
of Russian Classicism and magnificent sculptures.

The park was built step by step. In 1779 the construction of the park was headed by Ch.Cameron. He outlined the limits of the park, defined the appearance of the Grand Palace, the Slavyanka river valley and arranged the One's Own Garden and the Open-air Cage section. Near the palace the architect located structures of park architecture prompted by the ancient motifs. Among them there are the colonnade of Apollo, the Temple of Friendship, the Elegant Enclosure, and the Pavilion of the Three Graces. In the 90s of the XVIII century the construction of the park was supervised by V.Brenna. He created the Parade Grand Circles, the Romantic Silvias, the Ruin Cascade, the Pille tower and the Amphitheater. A.Voronikhin successfully finished the formation of the panoramic view of the Slavyanka river valley started by Cameron. He also developed the projects for the construction of the Viscontiev stone bridge embellished with vases. One of the remarkable architectural sights of Pavlovsk is the Temple of Friendship, the flat dome of which rests on 60 columns.

Bridges of different shapes can be seen in the park of Pavlovsk : embellished with exquisite wrought-iron railings and decorative vases and sculptures. The small bridges are added almost to all pavilions in the Slavyanka river valley contributing to the ensemble's elegance.

The sections adjoining to the park are decorated with marble and bronze statues of the ancient gods.