St. Petersburg - Peterhof

[Gabi]

Saint Petersburg – the importance and meaning of this city is related with the beginning of a new historical chapter of Russia initiated by Tsar Peter I., the Great. In his younger years, Peter I. travelled through Europe to get know working technologies, industry and the political structures. His goal was to westernise Russia, to open the isolated country to the west.

“The Bronze Horseman” - Tribute to Peter the Great from Catherine the Great in 1782.

In 1703 he founded the city as a monument of his victory over Sweden during the Nordic war. Close to the place, where the Swedes had a fortress named Nyenschanz, he started to build up St. Petersburg with the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The fortress – even at a hazy winter day – an impressive view!

Please, don’t suppose Peter I. being a high-handed personality. The city was named St. Petersburg in reverence to St. Peter, the guardian of the heaven’s door. In 1708, with the battle of Poltawa the Swedes were finally conquered – this opened the entrance to the Baltic sea and therewith – as result - the possibility for an important military step on the way to a world-power. Until today St. Petersburg has a high strategic importance.

During the years which followed, the Newa delta was cultivated and the city was planned by high reputated European architects like Domenico Trezzini, who was the first architect in StP with the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the summer-palace of Peter I. In 1712 Peter I. declared St. Petersburg to be the Russian capital. With this edict, the Russian nobility was obliged to move from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Wooden structures, such as in Moscow, were prohibited , only stone buildings and palaces were allowed. Not avoiding any costs in order to find the acceptance and the good-will of the Tsar, the most beautiful, luxury and splendid palaces were created.
Beginning 1716, Carl-Bartolomeo Rastrelli worked as an architect for Peter I. – his son, Bartolomeo-Francesco Rastrelli continued his father’s work and got one of the most famous architects of St. Petersburg.

The summer-palace, where Peter I. and his family lived, has to be seen in two different perspectives. The interior of the ground floor, Peter’s floor, was not at all flamboyant. Peter I. loved most the civil, middle-class style and his rooms looked like Netherlands in Russia. The first floor, used by his wife was in the typical complex and elaborate and splendid style.

For all representative occasions, Peter the Great started in 1714 the construction of Peterhof .

View from the Baltic sea over the channel to the main palace.

The architects of Peterhof, Jean-Baptiste Leblond (by the way, he was the architect of Ludwig XIV.), Johann Braunstein, Nicolas Michetti, Michail Zemcov and Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli realised the ideas of Peter I. and developed an incomparable ensemble of water, stone and most valuable materials. After more than 9 years of construction works, the opening ceremony on 15. August 1723 was celebrated and the national and international nobility could admire the main palace, the great cascade , the sea channel and 16 smaller fountains around the parks. The famous “Samson” fountain (21 meters high water fountain) was realised in 1735 as an allegory of the victory over the Swedes.

“Samson opening the jaws of a lion”

All following Tsarinas and Tsars enlarged the attractions of Peterhof to more than 170 fountains, 3 cascades, 8 smaller palaces such as Marly, the most beautiful “Mon Plaisir” being Peters the Great’s personal environment, the Orangery, Oranienbaum, Gatcina and the two side wing plates of the main palace including the chapel.

Peterhof, on a total area of about 1.000 hectares is in its entirety a phenomenal composition of architecture, handcraft arts, horticulture arts and high developed technic. Architecture with regard to the realisation of the different styles as classizism and baroque – handcraft art with regard to the gildings, stocco works, the exterior and interior creations – the horticulture arts with regard to the parcel-out and formation of the enormous area – high developed technic with regard to the remarkable water feeding system. Vasily Tuvolkov, a Russian hydraulic engineer, conceived an ingenious system of feeding the fountains. The necessary reservoirs of water were taken from the springs of Ropsha ( 20 km away from Peterhof). Without using any hydraulic or other physical aid, just by the natural pressure, Tuvolkov created this system just under gravity aspects. Until today this system, only improved and extended during the first half of the last century, works and feeds the fountains for about 10 hours per day.

The famous “sun-fountain”

But let us now have a look to some of the most impressive locations:

The stairs to the main Gala Entrance:

One of the allegoric sculptures in the entrance hall. “Spring” by B.-F. Rastrelli:

The ruin of Peterhof after the destroying hatred of the Hitler army:

These pictures illustrate which enormous works had to be done to recreate Peterhof as the monument of the tsaristic epoch.

The throne hall in the gorgeous style of the classizism, restyled by Catherine II. 1763-1780:

The audience hall – a baroque symphony in gold and mirrors:

Bedroom of Princesses Anna and Elizabeth, the later Tsarina Elizabeth I.:

Please take a seat for a noble diner. The porcelain is of origin of the Lomonosov Porcelain Manufactory, which till today produces magnificent fayences. By the way, a visit in the factory at the Lomonosov nab. in St. Petersburg is possible and the factory shop offers a complete range of the very special type of porcelain creations.

Isn’t that beautiful ? Isn't that porcelain-art ?

The portrait gallery. In the early years of Peterhof, this was the most representative room with 368 portraits of only three different models – painted by Pietro Rotari. During WWII all these pictures could be saved. Saved like lots of objects of art – simply by digging in fields and forests.

The “office” of Peter the Great:

Where he founded St. Petersburg, Peter the Great was buried in 1725. In the Cathedral inside the Peter and Paul Fortress. All Tsarinas and Tsars found here their “last home”.

I hope that this compressed exposure could bring over the enthusiastic feeling I have in the meantime looking to the photos I’ve taken, the notes I’ve made during my travels to St. Petersburg and in this case to Peterhof. Whenever I was occupied to understand the development either of a place, either of an person, I “dived-in” in more and more details

f.e. on Peter the Great, on his way of thinking and doing, of his motivation. The more I got known about this period in Russia, the more I got interested to figure out in details, how these 2 centuries until the end of the tsaristic time 1918 influenced this so manifold country.

During my travels I did not only explore the great cities. Smaller towns like Novgorod or Jaroslavl, the countryside around Lake Ladoga and Onega. The regions on both sides of the Wolga-Baltic-Sea-Chanel … all impressions I got there are the reasons for me to say:

“This is the country which touches my heard the most.
This is the country which I will visit as often as possible during the next years.
This is the country, which I will try to get known in details,
in my heard and in my mind.”

And I hope that once I will understand the complete meaning of the term “Russian soul”.

As a little “bonbon” here are links to some moving pictures. The first some impressions of the Peterhof-Night, which takes place twice a year (May and October). The second, some general views of St. Petersburg. Please enjoy !



Moving impressions under:

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/video/qtl/PETERHOF_NIGHT_320x240.qtl

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/video/qtl/PETERHOF_320x240.qtl

Should you have some difficulties to open these little videos from the official site of St. Petersburg, here’s the link where to get the viewer free of charge:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

Thank you for your interest !

Do sswidanja !

Gabi

Copyright text and pictures GD

Ohhh This only makes me even more inpatient to go there too!!!!!!

[Gabi]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Ohhh This only makes me even more inpatient to go there too!!!!!!

Christoph ... and there is so much more to be discovered by you !
For each visitor there, the beauty of such locations is different. One is just emphasized by the architecture, another by the objects of art and the third by the total atmosphere of a location.

Only the one, who simply takes note by his mind, will not discover those very special moments you will have there, if you let the impressions touch your heard.

Gabi

[WayneHazle]

My next door neighbor went to Moscow last year. She toured a lot of churches and said it was unbelievable.

She had a book with amazing photos of many many churches in the Moscow area alone. If I can find out the name of the book I will post it here.

[Jon Conn]

Hallo Gabi,
ein paar wunderbare Fotos hast Du hier eingestellt.
Neu für mich, Dein Copyright in den Aufnahmen.
Leider kann ich kein englisch, sonst würde ich Dir
" fremdländisch " posten. o):-)

Scheint aber ein geschmackvolles Forum zu sein.
Wo wohnt der Admin von dieser Seite ?
Danke für Deine Mail !

LG. Werner

[Gabi]

Privet Jon Conn !

Spassibo !
Das InfoHub hat seinen Firmensitz in California, doch die Mitglieder kommen aus der ganzen Welt - bunt wie die Welt sind die Themen, sind die Ansichten und sind die Menschen hier ... es lebe die Vielfalt !