How did Gatchina appear? The Leningrad Region is proud of this city, located about eight kilometers south of St. Petersburg. Gatchina is connected with the Northern capital by the Kiev highway, which smoothly passes into Pulkovo. Let's talk about this unique and beautiful city, which is often called the distant suburb of St. Petersburg.
Interesting pages of history
How did Gatchina appear? The history of the city is unique, it is associated with the reign of Catherine II. It was at that time that a huge estate was located here - Gatchina Manor. The Empress erected the Great Gatchina Palace. In 1783, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Russian emperor, became the owner of this magnificent mansion. It was with him that the original park buildings appear here, large-scale reconstruction works of the palace are underway. By decree of Pavel Petrovich in 1796, Gatchina receives city status.
The appearance of the name
How did such an unusual name appear - Gatchina? A description of the history of the city indicates that the village of Hotchino used to be located here. The first mention of its existence dates back to 1500, found in the Novgorod scribal book. Further, the settlement appears in Swedish books from 1618-1623 as the village of Hotzino by, located in Diaghilinsky churchyard. There is a version according to which a similar toponym arose from the shortened form “hot” of one of the personal ancient Russian names (Khotin, Khotimir). The second version considers the word “hot” as a variation of the Old Finnish word “hatsha” (a site on which a forest was burned by arable land).
There is another version according to which the place of Gatchina once housed the pagan temple of the pagan goddess Khocheni, hence the name of the village of Hotchino.
By the middle of the XVII century, instead of a dull consonant “x”, the letter “g” appeared in the name, as a result the village became known as Gotchino, and then Gotchinsky Manor.
By the end of the same century, the name "Gotchino" finally goes into modern form. Emperor Alexander III often called these places "dear Gatchino."
In 1923, Gatchina was renamed. The Leningrad region in those days underwent serious transformations, so Gatchina turned into Trotsk. Lev Davydovich Trotsky repelled the Krasnov-Kerensky campaign in 1917, and also became an active participant in the defense of Petrograd in 1919. It was for these merits that a decision was made to encourage Trotsky, and as a pleasant gift Gatchina was renamed Trotsk.
After Trotsky was expelled from the USSR (1929), the city became known as Krasnogvardeisk. During the Great Patriotic War (1942), the fascist invaders named him Lindemannstadt in honor of the commander of the 18th Army. This name was not adopted by the state authority of the USSR. In 1944, the city was returned to its historical name - Gatchina. The population knows the history of their small homeland, is proud that every corner of this amazing place is filled with important historical moments for the country.
Pride of the townspeople
What else is Gatchina proud of? The population of this city is aware that in 2015, their small homeland was awarded the honorary title "City of Military Glory." During the Great Patriotic War, German invaders were in this territory.
It was at this time that the Gatchina palace and park ensemble was seriously destroyed. After the war, reconstruction work was carried out in the city, new residential areas appeared, the Institute of Nuclear Physics was created, and large industrial enterprises began to function.
The convenient geographical location of Gatchina made this city a major industrial center of the Leningrad region. In 1985, the Gatchina Palace opened some halls for free visits after serious restoration work.
In 1999, Gatchina became the winner of the All-Russian contest aimed at identifying the most comfortable Russian city with a population of up to one hundred thousand. The population proudly speaks of such a high achievement.
Until 2010, the city had the status of a historical settlement. However, according to the order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Gatchina is currently deprived of this status. The population of the city still considers their city a place with a unique history. Here they try to take care of all cultural and architectural objects.
Ecology and climate
What climate is characterized by Gatchina? It is characterized by an Atlantic climate, which has some features of the continental. Summer in the city can be quite hot, and winter is much colder than in St. Petersburg. In January, the average daily temperature is - 8 ° C, in July its indicator is estimated at +17 ° C.
Considering that large industrial enterprises are located on the territory of the city, the level of air pollution exceeds normative indicators.
Gatchina time zone - UTC + 3.
City population
The area of Gatchina is 28.7 km 2 . In terms of population, this city occupies a leading position in the Leningrad region. At the end of 2014, about one hundred thousand people lived here, and the population continues to grow. This population growth can be explained, in particular, by the fact that many residents of St. Petersburg prefer to purchase housing here. In Gatchina, the cost of apartments is much lower, so in the morning people leave for work in St. Petersburg, and in the evening they return to their convenient and comfortable apartments.
Symbolism
The coat of arms of Gatchina was approved in 1980 by the Decree of Paul I. In 1917 it was canceled, but since 1995 it is again considered the coat of arms of the municipality "Gatchina City".
The coat of arms of the city of Gatchina was approved by Paul on December 13, 1800. On November 10 (23), 1917 it was canceled, since 1995 the city of Gatchina has been used as the coat of arms of the municipality. In the upper part of the shield, in a golden field, is a symbol of Russian statehood - a two-headed eagle. It is black in color, has golden paws and a beak. Red scarlet tongues are crowned with three emperor crowns. The middle crown is large. The eagle holds a scepter and power in its paws . On his chest is a silver Maltese cross under the crown of the Great Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Above the cross is a scarlet shield, which is burdened with the golden monogram name of Emperor Paul I. Under the cross on a blue background, the golden letter G is visible. The main colors of the coat of arms are:
- the azure background personifies greatness and softness;
- yellow tone is associated with generosity, justice, wealth;
- the scarlet color is symbolized with fearlessness, courage, courage;
- white background is associated with purity and innocence.
National composition
The predominant share of the population of this city is Russian people. That is why for Gatchina interethnic conflicts and problems are uncharacteristic. There are no migrant workers in this city, it is difficult to see people without a certain residence (homeless people) here. A significant number of pensioners live in Gatchina, many young mothers with strollers, slowly strolling along the ancient streets of this beautiful city of the Leningrad Region.
Characteristics of the areas
From the administrative point of view, Gatchina is a single whole, but residents unofficially subdivide several large microdistricts on its territory: entrance, airfield, Khokhlovo, center, Marienburg.
This area is located at the entrance to the city from the side of St. Petersburg, where the Kievskoe highway smoothly passes into the street on October 25, the main highway of Gatchina. On the south side, the area is limited by the 7th Army Street, which is a conditional border from the central part of Gatchina. There are new residential complexes in the area, the 121-Gatchina series with nine-story panel houses predominates. Buildings are characterized by high thermal insulation characteristics, the presence of loggias, a triple version of their glazing. The area has excellent infrastructure, so many young families live here.
Center
This area is a substantial part of the housing stock. Here are brick houses built in the second half of the last century. Despite its considerable age, there are quite expensive apartments here. The charm of these places gives the developed infrastructure, green picturesque courtyards.
Aerodrome
This area of Gatchina is separated from the central part of the city by rail. It is located near the Gatchina Baltic Station. The name of this area went to him as a “legacy” from those distant times when the operating aeroflot was located here. Among the main advantages of this area are the proximity of the station and the public transport environment, including St. Petersburg routes.
Conclusion
Living in this city is pleasant and comfortable, as it has a full infrastructure, excellent transport network. In addition to numerous fixed-route taxis, there are also social buses on which elderly people prefer to get into the Northern capital. In addition, you can get to St. Petersburg and by electric trains that come to the Baltiyskaya metro station.
There are no problems in the everyday life of citizens. Gatchina has many food supermarkets.
Many Gatchins go to work in St. Petersburg. But this does not mean that there are no vacant places inside the city. There are many shopping centers, grocery supermarkets, so merchandisers, sellers, cashiers, freight forwarders are required.
The city has large enterprises:
- Gatchinsky house-building plant, which is considered the largest construction company in St. Petersburg.
- Gatchinsky SSK (Lenstroytrest).
It is difficult to find in Gatchina such a person who would not know about the unique historical past of his small homeland. There are always many tourists who dream to see with their own eyes the unique monuments of the local architecture, take pictures on the background of the most beautiful scenic spots of this city of the Leningrad Region.