Peterhof

Peterhof, (originally Piterhof, Dutch: "Peter's Court") is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great, and sometimes called the "Russian Versailles". It is located about 20 km west and 6 km south of St Petersburg, overlooking the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The same name refers to the adjacent town of 82,000 people.

History

Peter the Great first mentions the site in his journal in 1705, during the Great Northern War, as a good place to construct a landing for the use of ships traveling to and from the island fortress of Kronstadt. In time, though, the monarch changed his mind, and decided to build a sprawling residence here, on the model of Versailles. Construction was completed in 1725. (Peter had also entertained plans of a similar palace at Strelna, a short way to the east, but these were abandoned.)

Related Topics:
Peter the Great - 1705 - Great Northern War - Kronstadt - Versailles - 1725 - Strelna

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Peterhof originally appeared quite differently than it does today. Many of the fountains had not yet been installed. The entire Alexandrine Park and Upper Gardens didn't exist. (The latter 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.

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Perhaps the most important change made to 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 Bartolomeo Rastrelli by Elizabeth of Russia. Likewise, the Grand Cascade was more sparsely decorated when initially built.

Related Topics:
1745 - 1755 - Bartolomeo Rastrelli - Elizabeth of Russia

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The augmentation of Peterhof's original fountains and the addition of new ones continued well into the 19th century.

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Peterhof was captured by German troops in 1941 and held until 1944. In the few months that elapsed between the outbreak of war in the west and the appearance of the German Army, employees were only able to save a portion of the treasures of the palaces and fountains. An attempt was made to dismantle and bury the fountain sculptures, but three-fourths, including all of the largest ones, remained in place. The occupying forces of the German Army deliberately vandalized Peterhof, particularly out of spite after the breaking of the siege of Leningrad. 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, but it progressed slowly, and is still not entirely complete.

Related Topics:
German - 1941 - 1944 - Siege of Leningrad

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The name was changed to 'Petrodvoréts' ("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.

Related Topics:
1944 - 1997 - Soviet - Russia

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