The history of Peterhof from the reign of Peter the Great until today
One of the most amazing and beautifulEuropean palace ensembles is located not far from Petersburg and is known as Peterhof. History briefly describes the creation of this amazing place. Let's try and we quickly walk through the most important stages of Peterhof's life.
A good place
The legend says that the place for this citychose Peter I. In 1705 a small ship "Munker" landed on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 40 km from the construction of St. Petersburg. From here the horizons of the Baltic Sea and the vast island were well seen, where at that time the construction of the formidable fortress - Kronshlot was conducted.
Project of the main residence
In 1710, the first steps were taken totransformation of the choirers into the luxurious palace ensemble of Peterhof. The story tells that after the victory over Sweden, Peter I traveled to France. There he studied the layout of the brilliant French royal residences - Choisy, Trianon, Versailles. At the same time, special attention was paid to various technical solutions and details of the arrangement of parks and fountains.
In 1716, the king issued from France a famousarchitect Alexander Leblon, appointing him as architect-general of the future Peterhof. Many of the ideas embodied in the life of Italian architects - Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Niccolo Michetti, the master of the fountains - the Venetians Giuliano and Giovanni Barattini.
The first discovery
Works on the erection of Peterhof were conducted withfairy-tale speed, and already in August 1725 its solemn opening took place. By this time, most of the fountains were operating, the Sea Canal was dug and the park was planned, and small palaces - Marly and Monplaisir - were also erected.
Honor to make the first layout of Peterhofdropped MG Zemtsov - a famous Russian architect. Before that, there were no premises on the territory of the complex for the peasants who built it. Thanks to a clear planning, Peterhof received two additional buildings - for the state peasants, the Master's Corps was built, for the courtiers - Kavaler.
The granary factory, formed in 1725,was the first industrial facility that Peterhof received. The history of its occurrence is closely connected with the construction of this architectural masterpiece. The main task of the factory was the processing of stone, which was used to build palaces and architectural structures of the future city. By that time, work had already started on erecting a water conduit, which was supposed to feed the fountains of Peterhof. The history of this powerful hydraulic structure began in the bed of the Ropsha River. It was her water that was supposed to provide all the fountains of the park ensemble with the name of Peterhof.
The history of the palace in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
During the reign of Catherine I and Anna Ioannovna inPeterhof was put into practice the ideas and architectural improvements of Peter I. When Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne, she invited the son of the famous Carlo Rastrelli, who by that time had already proved himself to be a brilliant architect. Francesco Rastrelli led the work on the reorganization of Peterhof. With him, the Upper Chambers were transformed, the Upper Garden was decorated. Also, a new Elizabeth Corps was erected, which organically entered the already equipped Peterhof.
History is silent about any cardinalchanges in the reign of Catherine II. All the transformations during this period were reduced to changes in the interior of the palaces and the renaming of the Elizabeth Corps into Catherine.
By the time of the ascent to the throne of Paul Ithe architectural structures of Peterhof urgently needed major repairs, and cascades of fountains practically did not work. It took years of massive reconstruction of the entire palace complex. The scale of the work was so great that the final restoration of Peterhof was already at the beginning of the XIX century, when the son of Paul I - Alexander I.
Peterhof in the XIX century
By the beginning of the century in the Peterhof Sloboda there wasfifty houses of inhabitants and various non-residential buildings - stables, sheds and so on. Alexander I ordered to rebuild the most ugly buildings. Projects for new houses were developed by VP Stasov and others. The converted buildings served as barracks for several cavalry regiments.
Under Nicholas I the territory of Peterhof was expandeddue to the purchase of land east of the Lower Park. Since 1826 the buildings of Peterhof are complemented by a two-story Cottage, which belonged to the wife of Nicholas I - Alexandra Feodorovna. Later, the Farmer's Palace was built and the Landscape Park was defeated.
The accession of Alexander II was marked by the discoveryThe railway, which connected St. Petersburg and Peterhof. The history of the palace complex until 1917 is the brilliant life of brilliant ladies and gentlemen, members of the royal family and St. Petersburg nobles.
Peterhof in the XX century
After the revolution, the entire palace and park ensemblewas nationalized. In 1918, through its brilliant halls, the first tour of the workers was held. But the complete restoration of the destroyed ensemble took about 10 years. By 1926 the fountains of the lower park were reconstructed, and by 1930 the fountain pipelines were replaced and the overgrown Upper Garden was restored.
The Great Patriotic War did not spare Peterhof. Most of the exhibits were destroyed or stolen, and architectural structures turned into a heap of debris. After the liberation of Peterhof in 1944 immediately began repair and restoration work, which lasted about 30 years. Only in 1973 the palace and park complex was returned to its original appearance, and since then Peterhof has never tired of conquering the hearts of both Russians and foreign tourists.
