Orphan Institute (Gatchina)

The Orphan Institute in Gatchina was established by Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1803 as a Rural Educational Home and changed its name several times, becoming the Gatchina Orphan Institute of Emperor Nicholas I in 1855. The institution was housed in a specially reconstructed three-story stone building, formerly the Prince Orlov's Cattle Yard. In 1848, a women's boarding school for the children of officials was established at the institute, which was transformed into a women's gymnasium in 1867. The last director from 1906 to 1917 was retired Major General Mikhail Konstantinovich Geyshtor.