During the
communist reign in Russia,
architectural styles could best be
described as bland. Fortunately, the
summer palace of Peter the Great
wasn’t affected.
Peterhof
Known as Peterhof, the summer
palace of Peter the Great is a very
impressive area. The palace is
arranged with a central rectangle
format over roughly two or three
acres. This area is then surrounded by
areas of wood and “nature” as the
Russians call it. Peterhof stands out
like a jewel among the bland communist
structures found in greater St.
Petersburg.
Fountains, Fountains, Fountains
At the time of construction in
1715, Peter the Great was clearly in
his “fountain” phase. Peterhof isn’t
so much a palace as a collection of
some of the most impressive fountains
you’ve ever seen. There are fountains
in the front, back, each side, in the
bathroom and so on. All of them are
impressive and worth a look.
Foremost of the fountains of
Peterhof is the Great Cascade.
Arriving from St. Petersburg by boat,
one is offloaded on a long pier at the
end of the Grand Canal. The Grand
Canal cuts through the woods
surrounding Peterhof directly to the
front of the palace. As you proceed,
you start to notice something big and
colorful at the front of the palace.
Welcome to the Great Cascade.
The Great Cascade sites at the base
of Peterhof and is more impressive
than the palace. Created in the
Baroque style, the Great Cascade is
hard to describe. At its base is a
pool a large pool with rock platforms
crowned by golden statutes spouting
water. Rising up from the pool to the
palace are two sets of steps
surrounding a plateau. The steps are a
combination of black marble inlaid
with gold and white marble. The steps
are crowned with statues and, again,
fountains, which make them a
combination of sprouting water and
cascading falls. All of this is built
up on a collection of rock and rises
over 30 feet to the base of the
palace. As I said, the Great Cascade
is hard to describe. If you would like
to see it, just do a search for
“Peterhof” on your search engine of
choice.
Perhaps the most impressive thing
about the Great Cascade is the power
source. With fountains blowing water
thirty to fifty feet in the air, there
must be some serious pump action at
work? Nope. Peter the Great created a
system that runs entirely off gravity.
Great, indeed!
Day trips to Peterhof are hocked
something fierce in St. Petersburg.
While I usually disdain tourist traps,
this is one you should definitely see.
