Priory Palace

59°33′29″N 30°7′17″E

Priory Palace

Priory Palace (Russian: Приоратский дворец) is an original palace in the formerly royal town of Gatchina, Leningrad oblast, Northwest Russia, a suburb of Saint Petersburg. It was built in 1799 by the architect Nikolay Lvov on the shore of the Black Lake (Chyornoye ozero / Чёрное озеро). Constructed for the Russian Grand Priory of the Order of St John, it was presented to the Order by a decree of Paul I of Russia dated August 23, 1799.

Features

The Priory is the only surviving architectural monument in Russia built mainly by the technology of earthwork: layers of compacted loam are poured with lime mortar. The walls of the palace, the fence, and the court buildings were built using this technology.^[1] The retaining wall is made of the famous Pudost stone, with which many of Gatchina's buildings were built.^[2]

Priory Palace

The researchers note the precision of the layout of the Priory, the original composition, and the characteristic refusal of symmetry.^[2][1]

See also

• Rammed earth – Construction material of damp subsoil