Peterhof Palace and Gardens, St. Petersburg, Russia
We visited this Palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, about 25 km west of the city centre. Peter the Great had it built in the early 1700s to be closer to his naval base on Kotlin Island. There are a series of palaces on the property. The first one, called Monplaisir, was built on the shore of the Gulf of Finland within sight of Kotlin Island. It was rather modest, but it was Peter's favorite summer residence for a good part of his life. Monplaisir is the only palace built by Peter the Great that maintains its 18th century character. It is open to the public, but unfortunately, we didn't see it.
Our visit to Peterhof focused mainly on the gardens surrounding the larger royal palace seen here in the background. What most visitors want to see at Peterhof are the fountains that have been compared to those at Versailles. The most spectacular of these is this one called the Samson Fountain, which features Samson, the superstrong biblical character, at the center (see next).
Peterhof Palace and Gardens, St. Petersburg, Russia
We visited this Palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, about 25 km west of the city centre. Peter the Great had it built in the early 1700s to be closer to his naval base on Kotlin Island. There are a series of palaces on the property. The first one, called Monplaisir, was built on the shore of the Gulf of Finland within sight of Kotlin Island. It was rather modest, but it was Peter's favorite summer residence for a good part of his life. Monplaisir is the only palace built by Peter the Great that maintains its 18th century character. It is open to the public, but unfortunately, we didn't see it.
Our visit to Peterhof focused mainly on the gardens surrounding the larger royal palace seen here in the background. What most visitors want to see at Peterhof are the fountains that have been compared to those at Versailles. The most spectacular of these is this one called the Samson Fountain, which features Samson, the superstrong biblical character, at the center (see next).