Paterhof

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History
General information
Facts

history
Peterhof is a small town, suburb of St. Petersburg. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, at a distance about 30 kilometers south-west of the center of St. Petersburg.
Peterhof got its name from the German word Peterhof - "Peter's Court". From 1944 to 1997 the town was called "Petrodvorets".
Peterhof was founded in 1710 as the emperor's country residence. It received the city status in 1762.

The Peterhof ensemble consists of a set of palaces, gardens, museums and other buildings. It subsequently became the most lavish and popular of the Russian royal summer residences.

The Grand Palace is located in the heart of Peterhof. It is built in the Baroque style. The author of the project is Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
The palace is a three-storey building of almost 300 metres in length. Until 1917, it was the residence of the Tsars. In 1918 it was transformed into a museum.

The most famous town landmark is the "Peterhof" museum. The Museum Peterhof includes: "Peterhof Grand Palace," "Upper Garden", "Lower Park" and other objects.

The most interesting place for tourists (in summer) in Peterhof is "Lower Park". Lower Park has an area about 102 hectares. The park stretches from west to east along the coast of the Gulf of Finland by 2.5 kilometers. Its width from north to south is about 500 meters.

The main decorations of the park are its fountains. There are about 150 of them.

The Grand cascade is the most impressive fountain construction of the Peterhof ensemble.

"Samson Rending the Lion’s Jaws" is the main sculptural group of the Grand cascade.

In 1990 the Peterhof ensemble was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.