2019 Russia #17

July 10, 2015 – The Peterhof.

This is our last full day in St. Petersburg, and we’re going to spend it at the Peterhof. We’ve opted to go to-and-from by high-speed catamaran along the Baltic, so we don’t have to waste time getting in and out of the city, and we have booked a tour with a guide.

Peter the Great originally built it as a summer retreat in the early 18th century (Monplaiser), but then he visited Paris, saw the Palace of Versailles, and said, ‘OK, hold my vodka’. Over the years, it got bigger, of course, and these days it’s a massive tourist draw, meticulously maintained and truly one of the treasures of the Western world. It has a square kilometer of Lower Gardens, a Sea Channel, a Grand Cascade, the main palace, a church, the upper gardens, and a number of secondary palaces.  It was mostly designed and built by the people who built Versailles, but altered somewhat to reflect Peter’s tastes, so it has a unique Russian-European style called Peterine Baroque. 

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These are the fast water taxis that travel between St. Petersburg harbor and the Peterhof.

The reflecting pool, from dockside.

A cottage, or retreat, that was built sometime after the main building was constructed.

The upstairs dining room, where servants are not permitted. Note the table has inner and outer sections.

Servants on the main floor raised the outer table, with all the settings, wine and drinks. Then they loaded the hot food onto the inner table and raised it. Sadly, the guests had to reach out and load their own plates.

Steve, our guide, and our fellow tourist at one of the numerous lower fountains.

Panorama of the Peterhof.

The front staircase from below.

The staircase from the side.

And from above, looking down on the reflecting pool.

The interior staircase, leading up to the main (public) floor.

The main gallery.

A ceiling in one of the galleries. The building is a series of connecting rooms that seems to go on forever. Like an IKEA store, once you get in, there’s only one way to get out, and that’s just keep going!

Chesme Hall. Twelve monumental battle scenes.

The Blue Room, where the Principal Secretary sat and took notes on the events of the day.

One of the official dining, or perhaps banquet, rooms.

A cozy little dinner for 150.

The Empress’ study.

This was originally a weather-vane from a warship. At the entrance to the Standard Room.

The Standard Room.

The passageway leading to the Chapel. It is still in use, and not available to the public.

One of the Upper Gardens from a window in the Peterhof.

And another. The bus tours from the land side include the Upper Gardens plus the main building, while the boat tours from the water side include the Lower Gardens plus the main building. Sadly, we didn’t have another day to do both.

For reference, here’s what the Upper Gardens look like. Don’t believe Steve when he claims that he climbed a very tall tree to get this photo.

And, it’s time to mount our watery steed and head back to St. Petersburg.

Tomorrow morning, we take the fast train to Helsinki. St. Petersburg is a marvelous city! We had four days, and knocked off some of the high spots, but it would be easy to fill a week or two with all of the sights that this city holds. By all means visit if you have the opportunity!