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.

Layout

The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a sixteen-metre-high bluff lying less than a hundred metres from the shore. The so-called Lower Gardens (Nizhny Sad), at 1.02 sq km comprising the better part of Peterhof's land area, are confined between this bluff and the shore, stretching east and west for roughly 200 metres. The majority of Peterhof's fountains are contained here, as are several small palaces and outbuildings. East of the Lower Gardens lies the Alexandrine Park, a late addition considered distinct from Peterhof itself.

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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), together with the Grand Palace the centerpiece 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.

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