Gatchina (Russian: Га́тчина, IPA: [ˈɡatːɕɪnə]) is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia.

[2] In 1703, Gatchina found itself in the southern vicinity of the new Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, which was being constructed 45 kilometers (28 mi) north at the mouth of the Neva River.

Gatchina was gifted by Catherine to one of her favorites, Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov, who reportedly organized the assassination of Tsar Peter III three years earlier, resulting in her becoming empress.

Between 1766 and 1788, Count Orlov built the massive Great Gatchina Palace in place of the original manor, with 600 rooms, an extensive English landscape park over 7 square kilometers (2.7 sq mi), with an adjacent zoo and a horse farm.

[16] A triumphal arch was erected to a design by the architect of Gatchina Palace, Antonio Rinaldi, forming a monumental entrance.

Upon Orlov's death in 1783, Gatchina Palace was bought by Catherine from his heirs, and gave it to her son Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I.

[2] During his ownership, Paul made alterations to the palace, but also began developing the village of Gatchina into a town using experience from his travels around Europe.

After ascending to the throne, Paul granted Gatchina the status of Imperial City, an honorary designation for towns that possessed a royal palace.

Gatchina Palace was expanded and altered numerous times by its subsequent imperial owners, with the addition of Rococo interiors designed by Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna, and executed by Italian stucco workers and Russian craftsmen.

Alexander built a hunting village south of Gatchina into a retreat where he and his guests could enjoy the unspoiled wilderness of northwestern Russia.

Here he signed decrees, held diplomatic receptions, theatrical performances, masquerades and costumed balls, and other events and entertainment.

His mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, widow of Alexander III, was the patron of the city of Gatchina, the palace and its parks.

The quality of life, education, medical services, and public safety in Gatchina were recognized as the best, and it was recommended as an example for other cities in Russia.

It saw Gatchina loyal to the White Movement, and the palace was visited by President Alexander Kerensky of the deposed Russian Provisional Government on October 27, 1917.

During Kerensky's visit, fighting broke out in Gatchina between detachments of the Red Guards and Cossack units of General Pyotr Krasnov.

The Germans renamed the town Lindemannstadt, in honor of the Wehrmacht general Georg Lindemann, and looted much of the Gatchina Palace for its collections of art.