TEFL Adventures: A Brief History of Pavlovsk's Castle of Tsar Paul I (Also known as the building next door to me)

Castle BIP

 Credit: Paulina Golovanova

Pavlovsk, the town where I live and work, is a suburb about 30 minutes away from the St. Petersburg metro station "Kupchino" and an hour away from the center of the city. Although fairly small, it's both peaceful, quiet and pretty, especially in the winter when a fresh snowfall blankets the ground or in the fall when the leaves are changing colors.

View from my bathroom window. 

I consider it more-or-less a sister to the neighboring town of Pushkin, which is notable for both its namesake, the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, and Catherine's Palace, the summer residence for Tsaress Catherine the Great. The world-famous Amber Room is located inside Catherine's Palace, but the town of Pushkin isn't what I'm going to write about.

But enough about Pushkin for now. Heck, I'm not going to be writing an overview of Pavlovsk, which is primarily known for two things - Pavlovsk Park and Pavlovsk Palace, the latter of which being located inside the former. While you have to pay to enter the palace, one can walk around the park for free after 6 pm. 

Instead, let's talk about what I live next to - Castle BIP. Also known as Paul's Fortress or Bastion of the Emperor Paul, Castle BIP was built just for before the turn of the 19th century by order of Paul I. 

There was just one problem. The plans for the future castle were drawn for an area that had been occupied by a Swedish outpost since 1702. When the outpost was torn down so that the castle could be built, a small memorial plaque remembering the outpost was placed at the entrance of Castle BIP. 

As the picture shows, the castle is two stories tall with a courtyard and two round towers. Fortifications, including bastions, ravelins, lunettes and flushes were built surrounding the castle, and the castle was then equipped with 28 cannons.

Castle BIP was further militarized with the presence of a military garrison and the building was then included in the Russian Empire's registry of fortresses. The cannons were fired at noon and the drawbridge leading into the castle was raised at sunset. A small jail was built in the basement for personnel who committed an offense.

However, the castle wasn't always used by the army. From 1807 to 1810, it served as Russia's first school for the deaf. Renovations in 1827 then adapted the castle to accommodate handicapped people. Other rules leading up to the time of the October Revolution included being an infirmary for a cavalry regiment, an educational institution, a parish school and a city college.

After the October revolution, the castle was occupied by the Board of Deputies. Then, for four days in October 1919, General Yudenich based his headquarters there. 

Its roles continued to change constantly during the inter-war years from the mid-1920s to 1941 as it was used as an orphanage, a bank, a recruitment office and a warehouse.

The building then fell into disuse for many years until it was renovated into a hotel and restaurant by Sergei Gutsait, the CEO of "Gutsait Group" - a collection of restaurants and other business projects. Gutsait is also the founder of Gorchakov Memorial School, the school where I work. It's also the reason why I get to live next to Castle BIP as my small apartment building is owned by Gutsait as well.

As for now, the castle's main traffic seems to be for extravagant weddings. For really large groups, the ENTIRE castle can be rented. It's worth looking at the castle's website shows pictures of each bedroom, all of which are uniquely designed. Moreover, the restaurant serves a vast variety of foods (some of which I've never tasted, let alone heard of).

If you want to see the inside of the castle, read the vast assortment of food items on their menus or just read more about the castle, click here to go to the castle's official website. 

 Credit: Paulina Golovanova

Since the castle is located so close to Pavlovsk Park, it's pretty easy for me to spend a whole day relaxing outside. However, Castle BIP is located in an area that can qualify as a park itself. There are small rivers, streams and ponds that run throughout the entire area, and if you get lucky in the early morning or late evening, you can watch spectacular sunrises and sunsets, so long as the weather is agreeable.

Sometimes, living in Pavlovsk reminds me of what it was like living in Hanover, especially since the population of both towns are similar, just as having a castle right outside my window is akin to having Dartmouth Hall or Baker Tower to view (coincidentally, for a time I did have a view of Baker Tower).

I'm not sure for how long I'll remain working at my current job and living at my current apartment, but no matter what, I'll always be able to say I know what it's like to live next to a castle.