Pavlovsk Park

Its inspiration lay not in England but in continental gardens that Maria Feodorovna and her husband had seen in a tour of western Europe in 1782, during which they travelled incognito as the "Count and Countess du Nord".

They visited her family's park at Württemberg, where Maria Feodorovna had grown up, and were impressed by the Petit Trianon in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in France.

[1] Cameron laid out a triple alley of five straight rows of linden trees, imported from Lübeck, in a long axis from the courtyard of the Palace, leading to a small semi-circular place in the forest.

In the forest to the left of this axis he placed a romantic thatch-roofed dairy with stalls for several cows modeled after the one in the park of Württemberg; and on the other side of the parade route, an aviary, filled with parakeets, nightingales, starlings, and quail.

An early French visitor described the effect of this part of the garden: "Melancholy consumes the soul when you arrive...then the pain is followed by pleasure.

An Italian garden, with parterres, classical statues and a grand staircase was created by Brenna on the hillside overlooking the lake.

He laid out paths and changed contours to create the effects he wanted, using open and closed spaces and different colors and shapes of trees to make theatrical scenes.