Peterhof was formerly the residence of Russian tsars.It is by right considered the largest pearl in a wide variety of historical monuments of architecture and park art of St. Petersburg. This ensemble is beautiful not only in spring and summer, but also at any time of the year. I must say that tourists are entertained not only by walking around beautiful places and majestic palaces, but they are also satisfied with multimedia shows with various pyrotechnic effects and elements of laser animation, festivals, exhibitions, etc.
general description
Peterhof in St. Petersburg isa museum-reserve located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. It includes palace and park ensembles, built for almost two centuries. In the 18th century, the Lower and English parks were laid and developed, as well as the Upper Garden. The ensembles of the XIX century include Lugovoi, Kolonistsky and Aleksandrovsky parks, the dacha of Alexander II and Sergievka. But the central place in all this composition is still occupied by the Lower Park with its unique fountains. And together with the Upper Garden it forms the oldest part of the whole ensemble.
Its distinctive feature is that it is located in close proximity to the sea. Nine parks are in the museum-reserve "Peterhof". Map of seaside parks shows that four of them border on the Gulf of Finland - this is Lower, Own dacha, Sergievka and Alexandria.
History of occurrence
The place where Petrodvorets is now, alsoPeterhof, first mentioned in 1705 in the marching magazine of Peter I. And nine years later the king thinks about erecting here his country residence. In all respects, it should not have been inferior to the French Versailles.
Peterhof can rightly be called the child of PeterGreat. Until now, his drawings and drawings have been preserved with notes made by the hand of the Tsar himself. The construction work proceeded at a rapid pace, and by the end of the summer of 1723 Petrodvorets was solemnly opened.
Old Peterhof
So they call the western part of the city, which they knowall over the world thanks to the ancient majestic palace and park ensemble. By the time of the formation of peasant settlements here, Petergof is conventionally divided into New and Old. The first buildings began to appear on the site of the current buildings. It is believed that the Old Peterhof emerged much earlier, even before the construction of the Great Palace with its parks and fountains.
Simultaneously with the laying of the city of St. Petersburg, the tsarPeter I began the construction of the Kronstadt fortress. And as you know, you can get there only by the waters of the Gulf of Finland. Since the sea was not always calm, it was not safe to get there. That is why in the area of Old Peterhof the king ordered to build a small pier, from where the ship went with him to the island of Kotlin. This option was considered less dangerous ferry.
Almost near the pier,small forts for Peter I and his courtiers and a small Annunciation church. Unfortunately, these buildings are not preserved. Later on the site of the old church in 1776 a new church appeared - the Signs of the Blessed Virgin. Her architect was Felten. Then, next to her, the headquarters building and the barracks of the Konnogrenadersky regiment were rebuilt.
At first, for the builders of the king's residence,houses, but then changed their minds and decided to move the ensemble to the east. Therefore, in 1710 a second settlement arose, which was the beginning of the construction of the New Peterhof.
Grand Palace
This is the most significant and large building of allpalace and park ensemble. It is located on the border of the Lower Park and the Upper Garden. The palace itself was erected on a ledge, whose height is 16 m. It is perfectly visible from the sea. In addition, it is above all cascades and fountains.
The length of the Grand Palace on the facade is about300 m. In his mind, one can immediately understand that the building was built in two stages: first, the middle part of the building with a balcony, preserved from the Petrine era, and later the side buildings, wings and figured roofs (built already in the middle of the 18th century). The interiors of the palace are decorated in three main styles of the time. Here the classicism, baroque and rococo were bizarrely connected.
I must say that during the Great Patriotic Warwar on the orders of the German command, the Grand Palace was blown up, and it was not until 1951 that it was rebuilt. By the way, restoration works are carried out to this day.
Marley Palace
It is located at the westernmost border of the Lowerparka. The palace is a square two-story building, above which there are balconies with gilded forged bars. Somewhat rustic in appearance, but nevertheless enough graceful silhouette of the building is reflected in the mirror waters of the ponds. From it in the form of rays depart three alleys, running through the entire park.
The interior decoration of the palace is very modest.It stood in its original form almost until the end of the XIX century, until it found cracks in its walls. Then the architect Semenov made an interesting proposal, which he later implemented: he completely disassembled the building of the Marley Palace and assembled it again with a precision that struck all, but on a concrete foundation. During the Great Patriotic War, the building was largely damaged. His complete restoration was completed only in 1982.
Fountains of Peterhof
Even during the life of Peter I was designedset of fountains. They are cascading structures that are known in many countries of the world. On the territory of Peterhof there are 4 cascades and 173 fountains. The most popular is Samson tearing the jaws of the lion.
A distinctive feature of these fountains is that,that in their device pumps are not provided. Engineer V.Tuvolkov managed to create a truly unique system that supplies all the fountains of Peterhof with water. The fact is that in 22 km from the garden and park ensemble, Ropshinsky keys are beaten from under the ground, and the water from them gravitates into a special water conduit leading to sluices and basins, and then directly to the fountains. This was made possible by the natural elevations typical of this area.
The Great Cascade
This is one of the largest fountains inworld, and from the very beginning it was conceived as an ornament of the main entrance of the Grand Palace. It is a wonderful combination of rapidly flowing water and immovable sculptures.
The Grand Cascade consists of 64 fountains and 255bas-reliefs and sculptures. All this composition is united in one artistic design, designed to show the greatness and power of the Russian state. Its construction began in 1716, and in 1723 it was already put into operation. The sketches for him were created by Peter I.
Parks
Peterhof is famous not only for its famouspalaces and fountains, but also numerous parks. Slowly strolling, you can not even notice that one gradually turns into another. Some of them are not quite like traditional parks. They are more like a forest in which alleys are laid. Parks of this type are called landscape.
The first of them appeared in the era of governmentCatherine II. He was called English, since his organization was engaged in the Englishman James Meders. The center chose a beautiful pond, which appeared under Peter the Great in 1720.
The Alexandria Park is considered to be the largestonly in the territory of Peterhof, but also in the world, since its area is 115 hectares. It is located to the east of the Lower Park and is separated from it by a stone wall, and on the other hand it is limited by the Znamenka Manor.
The lower park is perhaps the most populartourists. Here, most of the royal buildings and fountains are located. In its territory are palaces such as Nagorny, Marly, Monplaisir, as well as a pond, a large grotto, etc. All this appeared during the reign of Peter I. Subsequently, the Lower Park was decorated with other beautiful structures, including the Golden Marlin Mountain , Lion cascade and many other fountains.
Excursions
In the summer of 2014, 96 years have passed since that day,when a professional excursion was held for the first time in the large Peterhof Palace. Today there are 25 museums on the territory of the palace and park ensemble.
Excursions to Peterhof are organized and conductedonly professionals, but also workers of various structures. Therefore, wishing to admire the beauties of this historical monument, it is not out of place to learn in advance how much the entrance to Peterhof costs, as the prices in these services vary.
The cost of the tour depends onevents, included in it, as well as from the time of its holding and the level of qualification of the guide. Individual visits are more expensive, but much more profitable, and more fun, to join groups of tourists. In addition, the larger the group, the cheaper the tickets to Peterhof.
You can go on a trip and yourself,for example, on a fixed-route taxi, by train or by water. In the same place, on the spot, you can buy tickets for entrance to Peterhof and move around the territory of the museum-reserve, as you wish, but such an occupation is very tiring. Much better prepared and thought out by professionals of the travel company excursion route. Often it turns out to be not only profitable financially, but also promises a lot of pleasant surprises.
Cost and duration of excursions
How much is the entrance to Peterhof of one person?On average, it will cost from 1 thousand rubles and more. The price depends on what exactly you would like to see, the time spent on the territory of the museum-reserve and the type of vehicle, where you are going to come and go from here.
That the tour was not too tiring andbrought only joy from the masterpieces seen, you should not choose a visit time of more than 5-6 hours. During this time it is quite possible to enjoy the view of the Grand Palace, fountains and parks, as well as learn many interesting stories from an experienced guide. In addition, there is no need to plan anything else on this day.
A special pleasure in the summer season canto deliver tourists a boat trip along the Neva on the "Meteor". It includes a sightseeing tour and all the beauties of Peterhof in different versions. By the way, such water entertainments, as a rule, are booked in advance. For those who want to save a little, there is such an offer: on a tour to go on water, and back on the bus, or vice versa.
Foreign citizens who want to visitpalace and park ensemble, it will be necessary to know in advance how much is the entrance to Peterhof, since the prices for them are slightly higher than for Russian citizens. Children under 3 years old are served free of charge, and discounts for tickets are given to students and schoolchildren.
What you need to know
Before visiting Peterhof in St. Petersburg, you need to know some of the rules and restrictions that exist on the territory of this historic reserve:
● The cost of the tour always includes the price of the ticket for the entrance to the Lower Park, guide services and transport costs for the travel of tourists back and forth;
● the palaces of the Lower Park are always closed on Mondays and on the last Tuesday of the month;
● Every day the Grand Cascade fountains are solemnly launched at 11.00;
● Photographing in all museums of Peterhof without exception is strictly prohibited;
● video and photography in parks are allowed only from a tripod, but for this you will have to purchase an additional ticket;
● fountains and the Lower Park are open daily: on weekdays - from 10.00 to 18.00, and on holidays and weekends - from 10.00 to 19.00.
How to reach by land
There is a palace and park museum just 29 km from St. Petersburg, on the territory of Peterhof. This can be accessed in many ways.
The train departs from the Baltic station,you need to go to the station called New Peterhof. Prices vary from 50 to 70 rubles. Then there are buses, which for 15-20 minutes. take you to the fountains. You can also stroll through Alexandria or, as the locals call it, Proletarian Park, then go through the city straight to the fountains. It takes a little time - only about half an hour.
From the Baltic station and from the metro station"Avtovo" go by shuttle to Petergof. Tickets cost about 80 rubles. Opening hours are from 6.00 to 24.00. On holidays and weekends, the queue for these buses is quite large, so you need to prepare for the fact that it will have to stand in no less than half an hour. On weekdays the shuttle buses reach the fountains in about 30-40 minutes, but on condition that there are no traffic jams on the roads.
How to get to the water
By water to the historic complex you candeliver and "Meteors." They depart from several embankments of the city of St. Petersburg. The most convenient of them is at the Hermitage, since it is located in the center, besides it fits well into any tourist route. The journey time is 30 minutes, and the ships are sent every 15-30 minutes. Tourists they deliver directly to Peterhof. Museum address: St. Petersburg, Petrodvorets, Razvodnaya street, 2 (former Comintern).
There are some subtleties here.Therefore, you need to understand what and how much it costs. Entrance to Peterhof will have to be paid separately directly to the pier, upon arrival to the place, as the cost of the ticket to the Lower Park is not included in the fare on the "Meteor". The fact that the exit from the pier leads only through the ticket office, so the permission to enter the museum-reserve will need to be paid necessarily.
It is also worth noting that by acquiringtickets to the "Meteor" back and forth, to visit the Upper Garden on them will be impossible, since they operate only once. In addition, leaving the Lower Park, you can get back to it only if you repeatedly buy entrance tickets to Peterhof.
Every year, about 3 million people from all over the world are striving to enjoy the majestic beauty of the palaces, the numerous fountains and the truly unique parks of Peterhof.
