One of the most amazing and beautiful European palace ensembles is located near St. Petersburg and is known as Peterhof. History briefly describes the creation of this amazing place. Let's try and we will quickly walk through the most important stages of Peterhof’s life.
Good place
Legend says that the place for this city was chosen by Peter I. In 1705, a small ship, “Munker,” docked on the Gulf of Finland, 40 km from St. Petersburg under construction. From here, the horizons of the Baltic Sea and the vast island, where at that time the construction of the formidable fortress - Kronshlot, were well visible, were clearly visible.
In 1708, the first references to the wooden
palace of Peter I, built on the Popovskaya Manor, appeared
, which the tsar himself called the "mansion". Thus began the story of Peterhof.
Front Residence Project
In 1710, the first steps were taken to transform the Khromans into the magnificent palace ensemble Peterhof. The story tells that Peter I, after defeating Sweden, made a trip to France. There he studied the layouts of the brilliant French royal residences - Choisy, Trianon, Versailles. At the same time, special attention was paid to various technical solutions and details of the device parks and fountains.
In 1716, the king wrote from France the famous architect Alexander Leblon, appointing him the architect-general of the future Peterhof. Italian architects Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli, Nicolo Michetti, masters of the fountains - the Venetians Giuliano and Giovanni Baratini - brought many ideas to life.
First discovery
Work on the construction of Peterhof was carried out with fabulous speed, and in August 1725 its grand opening took place. By this time, most of the fountains were already operational, the Sea Canal was dug and a park planned, and small palaces, Marly and Monplaisir, were also erected.
The honor to make the first layout of Peterhof fell to M. G. Zemtsov, the famous Russian architect. Prior to this, there were no premises for peasants who built it on the territory of the complex. Thanks to a clear layout, Peterhof received two additional buildings - for the state peasants the Master Corps was built, for the court - the Cavalier.
The lapidary factory, formed in 1725, was the first industrial facility that Peterhof received. The history of its occurrence is closely related to the construction of this architectural masterpiece. The main objective of the factory was the processing of stone, which went to the construction of palaces and architectural structures of the future city. By this time, work had already begun on the construction of a water conduit, which was supposed to feed the fountains of Peterhof. The history of this powerful hydraulic structure began in the bed of the Ropsha River . It was her water that was supposed to provide water to all the fountains of the park ensemble named Peterhof.
The history of the palace in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
During the reign of Catherine I and Anna Ioannovna in Peterhof, the ideas and architectural improvements of Peter I were implemented. When Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne, she invited the son of the famous Carlo Rastrelli, who by that time had already established himself as a brilliant architect. Francesco Rastrelli led the reorganization of Peterhof. Under him, the Upper Chambers were transformed, the Upper Garden was decorated. A new Elizabethan building was also erected, which organically entered the already equipped Peterhof.
History is silent about any cardinal changes during the reign of Catherine II. All transformations in this period were reduced to changes in the interior decoration of the palaces and renaming of the Elizabethan building in Catherine.
By the time of ascension to the throne of Paul I, the architectural structures of Peterhof were in urgent need of major repairs, and the cascades of fountains were practically inactive. It took years of mass reconstruction of the entire palace complex. The scale of the work was so large that the final restoration of Peterhof fell already at the beginning of the 19th century, when the son of Paul I, Alexander I, sat on the throne.
Peterhof in the 19th century
By the beginning of the century, in the Peterhof settlement there were fifty houses of inhabitants and various non-residential buildings - stables, sheds and more. Alexander I ordered the reconstruction of the most ugly buildings. Projects for new homes were developed by V.P. Stasov and others. The transformed buildings served as barracks for several cavalry regiments.
Under Nicholas I, the territory of Peterhof was expanded through the purchase of land east of the Lower Park. Since 1826, the buildings of Peterhof have been supplemented by a two-story Cottage, which belonged to the wife of Nicholas I - Alexandra Fedorovna. Later, the Farm Palace was built and the Landscape Park was laid out.
The accession of Alexander II was marked by the opening of the railway that connected Petersburg and Peterhof. The history of the palace complex until 1917 is the brilliant life of brilliant ladies and gentlemen, members of the royal family and noblemen of St. Petersburg.
Peterhof in the 20th century
After the revolution, the entire palace and park ensemble was nationalized. In 1918, the first excursion of workers passed through its brilliant halls. But the complete restoration of the destroyed ensemble took about 10 years. By 1926, the fountains of the lower park were reconstructed, and by 1930, fountain pipelines were replaced and the overgrown Upper Garden was restored.
The Great Patriotic War did not spare Peterhof. Most of the exhibits were destroyed or stolen, and the architectural structures turned into a pile of debris. After the liberation of Peterhof in 1944, repair and restoration work immediately began, which lasted about 30 years. Only in 1973 the palace and park complex was restored to its original form, and since then Peterhof has not tire of winning the hearts of both Russians and foreign tourists.