Peterhof Palace
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Official name | Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments |
Criteria | Cultural: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi) |
Reference | 540bis |
Inscription | 1990 (14th Session) |
Area | 3,934.1 ha |
Coordinates | 59°53′04″N 29°54′32″E / 59.88444°N 29.90889°E |
The Peterhof Palace (Russian: Петерго́ф,
Construction
The end of the
Throughout the early 18th century, Peter the Great built and expanded the Peterhof Palace complex as a part of his goal to modernize and westernize Russia.[9]
Monplaisir Palace (1714–1723)
In 1714, Peter began construction of the Monplaisir Palace (French: "my delight") based on his own sketches. He "сhalked out not only the site but also the inside layout, some elements of the decorative finish, etc".[10] Based in a Dutch style,[11] this was Peter's summer retreat (not to be confused with his Summer Palace) that he would use on his way coming and going from Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt. On the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of paintings that Peter brought from Europe[12] and allowed to weather Russian winters and the dampness of the sea without heat. In the seaward corner of his Monplaisir Palace, Peter made his Maritime Study, from which he could see Kronstadt Island to the left and St. Petersburg to the right.[13] Later, he expanded his plans to include a vaster royal château of palaces and gardens further inland, on the model of Versailles which would become Peterhof Palace. The initial design of the palace and its garden was done by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Le Blond.[14]
Layout
The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a 16-m-high
Atop the bluff, near the middle of the Lower Gardens, stands the Grand Palace (Bolshoi Dvorets). Behind (south) of it are the comparatively small Upper Gardens (Verhnyy Sad). Upon the bluff's face below the palace is the Grand Cascade (Bolshoi Kaskad). This and the Grand Palace are the centrepiece of the entire complex. At its foot begins the Sea Channel (Morskoi Kanal), one of the most extensive waterworks of the Baroque period, which bisects the Lower Gardens.
The Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain
The Grand Cascade is modelled on one constructed for
At the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains a modest museum of the fountains' history.
The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side of it. There are 64 fountains.
Perhaps the greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.
The Lower Gardens
The expanse of the Lower Gardens is designed in the formal style of French formal gardens of the 17th century. Although many trees are overgrown, in recent years the formal clipping along the many allees has resumed in order to restore the original appearance of the garden. The many fountains located here exhibit an unusual degree of creativity.
The same bluff that provides a setting for the Grand Cascade houses two other, very different cascades. West of the Grand Palace is the Golden Mountain (Золотая Гора), decorated with marble statuary that contrasts with the riotous gilded figures of the Grand Cascade. To the east is the Chess Mountain (Шахматная Гора), a broad chute whose surface is tiled black and white like a chessboard. The most prominently positioned fountains of Peterhof are 'Adam' and 'Eve'.
The Grand Palace
The largest of Peterhof's palaces looks imposing when seen from the Lower or Upper Gardens, but in fact it is quite narrow and not overly large.
The Chesma Hall is decorated with twelve large paintings of the
The East and West Chinese Cabinets were decorated between 1766 and 1769 to exhibit objects of decorative art imported from the East. The walls were decorated with imitation Oriental patterns by Russian craftsmen, and hung with Chinese landscape paintings in yellow and black lacquer. Another room, positioned at the centre of the palace, bears the name of the Picture Hall.
Other features
The Grand Palace is not the only historic royal building in Peterhof. The palaces of Monplaisir and Marli, as well as the pavilion known as the 'Hermitage', were all raised during the initial construction of Peterhof during the reign of Peter the Great.[citation needed]
History
1705–1755
In the early 1700s, the original Peterhof appeared quite different from today. Many of the fountains had not yet been installed and the entire Alexandrine Park and Upper Gardens did not exist. What is now the Upper Gardens was used to grow vegetables, and its ponds, then numbering only three, for fish. The Samson Fountain and its massive pedestal had not yet been installed in the Sea Channel, and the channel itself was used as a grand marine entrance into the complex.
Perhaps the most important change augmenting Peter's design was the elevation of the Grand Palace to central status and prominence. The Grand Palace was originally called simply 'Upper', and was hardly larger than any of the other structures of the complex. The addition of wings, undertaken between 1745 and 1755, was one of the many projects commissioned from the Italian architect
1941–modern day
Peterhof, like
On 23 September 1941 German troops captured Peterhof. Two weeks later, on 5 October 1941, Soviet troops tried to recapture the town and block the highway by naval landing. 510 marines of the
The occupying forces of the German Army largely destroyed[20] Peterhof. Many of the fountains were destroyed, and the palace was partially exploded and left to burn. Restoration work began almost immediately after the end of the war and continues to this day. The Lower Park was reopened to the public in 1945.[21]
The name was changed to "Petrodvorets" ("Peter's Palace") in 1944 as a result of wartime anti-German sentiment and propaganda, but the original name was restored in 1997 by the post-Soviet government of Russia.
The "purpose" of Peterhof was as a celebration and claim to access to the Baltic (while simultaneously, Peter the Great was also expanding on the Black Sea littoral).
Gallery
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Poseidon and the palace church dome
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The 20-metre-high vertical jet of water from the lion's mouth of the Samson Fountain
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Church of the Grand Palace
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The Upper Gardens of Peterhof
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View of the Grand Cascade
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The Hermitage Pavilion in the Lower Gardens
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The GrandThrone Room
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Aviary Pavilion
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Olgin Pavilion
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Tsarina's Pavilion
See also
- List of Baroque residences
- Medici lions; the inspiration for the palace's Lion Cascade
- Peter the Great Statue
- Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments
- List of World Heritage Sites in Russia
- Seven Wonders of Russia
References
- ^ ⟨h⟩ is commonly/historically transliterated into Russian as ⟨г⟩ (g), so DutchPeterhof is transliterated as "Петергoф" Petergof.
- ^ Adrian Room, "Petrodvorets", Placenames of the world: origins and meanings of the names for over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historic sites (1997)
- ^ a b "Peterhof | Russia". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ "Peterhof (Petrodvorets)". Saint-Petersburg.com. 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ "Biography of Domenico Trezzini, architect in St. Petersburg". www.saint-petersburg.com. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ "Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste Le Blond | French landscape designer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ "Second Northern War | Europe [1700–1721]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ "Kronshtadt | Russia". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ "The Modernization of Russia | Boundless World History". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ^ "Государственный музей-заповедник "Петергоф"". ГМЗ «Петергоф» (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ^ "Monplaisir Palace, Peterhof, St. Petersburg". www.saint-petersburg.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
- ^ "The Eastern Gallery". Peterhof State-Museum Reserve. Archived from the original on 2001-12-25.
- ^ "The Maritime Study". Peterhof State-Museum Reserve. Archived from the original on 2006-10-03.
- ^ R.K. Massie, Peter the Great: His life and world (New York: Ballantine Books, 1986), p. 631.
- ^ "The Quizzical Trick Fountains of Peterhof Palace". Outdoor Fountain Pros.
- ^ "Peterhof Fountains, St. Petersburg". www.saint-petersburg.com.
- ^ "Peterhof | History of St-Petersburg". stpetersburg-guide.com.
- ^ "Grand Palace, Peterhof, St. Petersburg". www.saint-petersburg.com.
- ^ http://centralsector.narod.ru/misc/desc/desc5.htm Кольцов Ю. В. Петергофский десант. Спб.:Издательско-полиграфический комплекс «Гангут», 2010.
- ^ "Curating under Communism: 'A Historic Lesson for the Entire World' - SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel.de. 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ^ "Peterhof (Petrodvorets), St. Petersburg, Russia". www.saint-petersburg.com.
Further reading
- King, Greg (2006). The Court of the Last Tsar. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-72763-7.
- Vernova, N (2004). Peterhof: The Fountains. St. Petersburg: Abris.
- Vernova, N (2004). Peterhof: The Grand Palace. St. Petersburg: Abris.
External links
- Official website available in Russian or English.
- Map of Kronstadt in Russian and English showing the central Island of the St. Petersburg after his armed forces took the area from Swedenin 1703. Peter built Peterhof on the southern shore with a clear view of the Kronstadt fortifications and Naval yard.
- Interactive satellite view map of Kronstadt, Peterhof, and St. Petersburg. The Kronstadt Island harbor that Peter the Great built on what was Kotlin Island is in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. The Kronstadt fortifications in shallow water stretch east and south from Kronstadt Island. Peterhof ("Petrodvorets" on this map) is southeast of Kronstadt Island on the shore. St. Petersburg is to the east on the River Neva.
- Official page for Monplaisir Palace, the palace and personal retreat that Peter the Great designed and built for his own pleasure.
- Geographic data related to Peterhof Palace at OpenStreetMap