Peterhof

According to James Cracraft, author of The Petrine Revolution in Russian Architecture, the location of Peterhof was chosen in 1705, by Peter I himself (185). Located approximately 30km from St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, Peter I saw this location as an ideal stop in his way from St. Petersburg to the naval base at Kronshtadt. Once this location was chosen, temporary wooden quarters were built (185).

The official planning of Peterhof began in 1710. Peter initiated this planning in May of that year, and named the place Peterhof after himself (185). His elaborate plans included a complex park, in which were scattered fountains and cascades. Throughout this park would also be scattered various palaces and pavilions. According to A History of Russian Architecture, by William Craft Brumfield, in 1714 the architect Johann Friedrich Braunstein was commissioned to build two main structures, along with designing the Upper and Lower parks and a grotto in front of the main palace (218). Once the grounds of Peterhof were completed, it was seen as "gardens, pleasant places, groves of trees, and water, all in harmony with one another" (Cracraft, 217).

Peterhof is a complex of buildings. The most significant of which is the main palace. According to Y. Doroshinskaya and V. Kruchina-Bogdanov, in Leningrad and its Environs, the grand palace, originally named Uphill, was under construction from 1714-1724 and was under the control of architects including, J. Braunstein, J.B. Leblond, and Nicola Michetti (235). Braunstein was originally in charge of the main palace, while Michetti worked with the design of the fountains and cascades.

In 1716 J.B. Leblond took over the project, while Braunstein continued work on the other buildings (218). According to the article "The West Comes To Russian Architecture", by Lindsay Hughes, in 1717 Peter wanted to see the palace transformed into a French style, much like that of Versailles. The palace ended up as a three story structure marked by a "pediment and Corinthian pilaster" (Brumfield, 218). The main principle in designing Peterhof was the use of symmetry (Brumfield, 218).. The main palace is an example of this as it has the central part of the castle with two symmetrical wings extended to either side.

Leblond decided to widen the canal that was leading from the grotto in front of the main palace to the gulf. Leblond also devised an extensive hydraulic plan for the park, including intricate fountains and cascades. Leblond's work led Brumfield to describe Peterhof as the "most complex ensembles of fountains, cascades, and decorative ponds in Europe, thus proclaiming the resources and might of Russia's transformed autocracy" (220). Leblond's main duties in the palace were interior design, as most of the structure was already in place. The exterior had been completed before Braunstein left. However, after Leblond's death in 1719, the lead architect once again shifted (Brumfield, 219).

Nicola Michetti continued the work on the main palace and devoted his attention to developing the Upper and Lower parks in a French style. This style would imitate Leblond's (Brumfield, 219). In 1721 a fire in the main palace led to a restoration by Michetti. The restoration retained the paneling of light oak carved under Nicolas Pineau (Brumfield, 219). Also in 1721, Michetti expanded Leblond's plan with galleries and pavilions extending from either side of the central structure, yet maintaining the symmetry (Brumfield, 219).

Besides the main palace there are several other main structures. Mon Plaisir was known to be Tsar Peter I's favorite place. The construction of Mon Plaisir started in 1714 and ended in 1717 under the supervision of J. Braunstein, J.B. Leblond and N. Michetti (Doroshinskaya, 327). It is located on the eastern half of the Lower park, near the sea, one of Peter I's great joys in life. The palace was built according to one of Peter the Great's own drawings (Doroshinskaya, 327). Mon Plaisir included a Chinese study "decorated in Chinoiserie lacquer work." It is regarded as one of few examples of 18th century Petersburg architecture to use brick without stucco on the exterior (Brumfield, 219).

Another of the famous buildings on the Peterhof grounds was the Marly Palace. It was built in 1723 by J. Braunstein, located on the western edge of the park. Like Mon Plaisir, the Marly palace is on the sea (Doroshinskaya, 327). It was kept as one of the Tsar's private residences and featured an orchard, hot houses, poultry pens, cellars, fish and breeding ponds. It was decorated with carvings, majolica, paintings, mouldings and lacquered panels (Doroshinskaya, 327). Marly palace was known for its "rusticated plaster strips and finely calculated relation between the design of the windows and the proportions of the two floors" (Brumfield, 220). As in the rest of Peterhof, water played a major role in the grounds around Marly palace.

The Hermitage Pavilion was designed by J. Braunstein as well. In 1723, the project was given to Mikhail Zemtsov. It was under construction between 1721 and 1724. The Hermitage was intended as a place for leisure (Brumfield, 221). Like Marly, the Hermitage was located in the western corner of the park and was designed to receive the social elite (Doroshinskaya, 338). It featured broad French windows to view the park and the Gulf of Finland. Another interesting feature was an elevator mechanism that would convey the guests to the 2nd floor. In this way the guests and the Tsar could be in complete privacy. This feature is an ingenious example of Russian engineering (Doroshinskaya, 338).

One other building of Peterhof is The Cottage. It is located in Alexandria Park. The landscape garden of this palace was laid out in the 19th century. The interior of the palace was decorated with mouldings, cornices and wood carvings (Doroshinskaya, 338). The Cottage was seen as the "epitome of taste and stimulated the fashion for Gothic design" (Brumfield, 394).

In addition to the many buildings, the most prominent and exquisite feature of Peterhof is the water works. Cascades, fountains, and a canal worked throughout the grounds were used to appease Peter the Great's love of water and the sea. In this way Peterhof relates back to St. Petersburg. The city was built on the sea and canals and rivers are used throughout the city making it a unique and original place. The use and power of water at Peterhof is symbolic of Peters conquering of the elements, just as he did in Petersburg (Brumfield, 220).

The Grand Cascade was worked on by the architects J.B. Leblond, J. Braunstein, N. Michetti, and M. Zemtsov through its construction years of 1715 to 1723. Sculptures were designed by M. Kozlovsky, V. Shchedrin, and F. Schubin. Overall the Grand Cascade includes 37 gilded statues, 150 small decorative sculptures, 29 bas-reliefs, two cascade staircases, 64 fountains, and a grotto on top of a hill slope (Doroshinskaya, 231). The most famous of the fountains featured in the Grand Cascade is that of Samson. This statue was designed Carlo Rastrelli and first cast in 1735 by M. Kozlovsky. Located in a large semi-circular pool, Samson is seen "rending the jaws of the lion" (231). The most powerful jet of water in the park shoots from the mouth of the lion.

At the bottom of the cascade a canal leads out to the Gulf of Finland. This canal was used as the ceremonial entrance to the royal palace. The approach was decorated with 22 marble cups shooting up jets of water. This was often referred to as the "alley of fountains" (Doroshinskaya, 232).

In the eastern side of the Lower Park is the Chess Hill Cascade, built by N. Michetti in 1721. The cascade was later rebuilt by M. Zemtsov in the 1830's. The water in this cascade trickles down sloping terraces lined with black and white marble squares. This checker pattern is used to set off "mountain rocks" that ornament the grotto. The top grotto is decorated by 3 dragons. The steps going along the side of the cascade are flanked with marble statues of the Greek Gods. There are also two fountains located in front of this cascade built in 1739 by I. Blank and I. Davydov. These fountains were redesigned at the end of the 18th century by B. Rastrelli. Before the remodeling the fountains were reminiscent of those in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome (Doroshinskaya, 233).

On the western side of the park another cascade balances with that of Chess Hill. The Golden Hill Cascade was designed by N. Michetti and M. Zemtsov. It is marked by a 22 step staircase tiled with gold leaf, a balustrade, and a parapet decorated with a statuary (Doroshinskaya, 234). Two columns of water known as "Les Menagères" which are 30 cm in diameter are another key feature of this cascade. The columns are hollow but this is not noticeable from the outside (235).

Not to be forgotten are the many different fountains of the park. At two points where the paths leading from the Grand Palace to Mon Plaisir and Marly intersect with a path that leads across the park are found the Adam and Eve fountains. These are marble statues commissioned by Peter the Great from the Italian sculptor G. Bonazza and designed by N. Michetti (234). These fountains maintain the overall symmetry and balance of the park.

Another noted fountain is the Pyramid fountain. It consists of 505 jets of water shooting up at varying heights to form a 7 step pyramid (233). The Sun fountain is found at the center of a rectangular pool in which 16 bronze gilded dolphins arranged in a circle shoot curving jets of water. This appears as a "transparent, lacy goblet." In the center of this is a tall pillar with a gilded disc that rotates on an axis with tiny mists of water around it, giving off the look of the sun (233).

There is also a series of fountains known as the Jester Fountains. When a guest steps near one of these fountains, a mechanism is triggered and the fountain activates often leaving the visitor wet. These fountains include The Bench Fountain, in which a visitor sits down and a series of "mischievous jets of water spring up and for a spherical canopy over his head" (233). There is also The Mushroom arbour in which " the unwary visitor is trapped by a circular curtain of water falling from the roof" (233). One of the most well known of the Jester Fountains is the Oak erected in 1735, designed by Rastrelli. The entire structure is made of metal and conceals nozzles that shoot water when activated (233). All of these fountains proved to be a feat of water engineering.

Until 1917 Peterhof was property of the Romanov family. After the October Revolution, much of Peterhof was turned into a museum and a recreation complex and became property of the state(230). It featured both picture galleries and history museums. The complex of Peterhof was no longer seen as a work of art.

During World War II the Nazi's wreaked havoc on Peterhof as well as the city of St. Petersburg. At the Beginning of the war the name of Peterhof was changed to Petrodvorets to make it sound less German (Cracraft, 184). Peterhof was occupied by the Nazi's from September 1941 to January 1944. Much of the Grand Palace and the cascade were blown up. Marly Palace and a large section of Mon Plaisir along with the greenhouses were burnt down (230). In addition, a large part of the Hermitage pavilion was destroyed. Many of the statues were stolen or disappeared. Over 34,000 paintings and sculptures were destroyed (231). The beautiful fountains were put out of service when the intricate water system was destroyed. Also much of the gardens and other landscaping was mined (231). The devastation was immense.

Among the other devastations of the war was the loss of the statue of Samson. This was taken away during the war and later had to be recast by the Soviet sculptors V. Simonov and N. Mikhailov (232). Mon Plaisir was used as an artillery site for the Germans to shell Petersburg (then Leningrad) at a close range. Nearly all of Marly Palace was blown up by a delayed action land mine (327).

Restoration of Peterhof began almost immediately after it location was recaptured by the Russians. The restoration was done according to old plans, sketches, and photographs (236). This was done in stages. First was the preparatory stage which took place between 1944 and 1945. All the mines were cleared from the land and the rubble and ruins were removed. Also new trees were planted. The second stage from 1945-1951 involved the restoration of the fountains and the decorative sculpture (231). However, according to P.J. O'Rourke in the article, "Deep in the Heart of Siberia", the fountains did not begin to function again until 1996. The final stage of the rebuilding took place between 1952 and 1960. This involved the rebuilding of the palace and the landscape architecture (Doroshinskaya, 231).

Today Peterhof looks approximately like what it did before the war. However, the original beauty of this place doesn't seem to impress the modern visitors in the same way. "I was standing in the appalling Throne Room. Gilded rococo moldings oozed from the walls and ceilings. Too many mirrors and windows gave the room a shattered fun-house light. A dozen immense purple-glass chandeliers from a whore's idea of paradise cluttered the space overhead, and underfoot an ugly jigsaw puzzle of parquet flooring spread for acres in all directions" (O'Rourke). The only thing that seemed to thrill the author of this article was the sale of vodka at the concession counters.

This is only one look at the beautiful grounds and buildings of Peterhof. It took over 100 years to fully create this masterpiece of architecture and Russian culture. Peterhof is most often seen as the work of art that it truly is. Peterhof is a wonderful example of its first owner's love of the sea and the ways in which Peter the Great over came the elements, much in the same way as he built St. Petersburg.

André, Jean-Claude.. 15 Nov. 1997. The Sun Rises to the East. 5 Apr. 2002 http://www.solest.com/divaguer/157.htm

Brumfield, William Craft. A History of Russian Architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Cracraft, James. The Petrine Revolution in Russian Architecture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988.

Doroshinskaya, Y., and V. Kruchina-Bogdanov. Leningrad and Its Environs. Trans. I. Rakhmanina. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1979.

Hughes, Lindsay. "The West Comes to Russian Architecture". History Today 9 (Sep 86): 27-34.

O'Rourke, P.J. "Deep in the Heart of Siberia". Rolling Stone 747 (14 Nov. 1996): 86-97. EBSCOhost. 1 Apr. 2002

Peterhof. 9 Apr. 2002 http://www.peterhof.dax.ru.

Petrodvorets. 2000-2002. Escorted St. Petersburg Tours. 9 Apr. 2002 http://www.tourguide.spb.ru/peterhof.htm.

Rudneva, Natalia and Alexei Grif. Peterhof. 2001. Internet Art Resources. 8 Apr. 2002 http://www.peterhof.org/ind.html.

The Official Site of the City of St. Petersburg. 5 Apr. 2002 http://eng.gov.spb.ru/culture/museums/peterhof.

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last update: 5/3/02