PETERHOF--- WONDER OF RUSSIA.

One of St. Petersburg's most famous and popular visitor attractions, the palace and park at Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets) are often referred to as "the Russian Versaille", although many visitors conclude that the comparison does a disservice to the grandeur and scope of this majestic estate.

Versailles was, however, the inspiration for Peter the Great's desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city and, after an aborted attempt at Strelna, Peterhof - which means "Peter's Court" in German - became the site for the Tsar's Monplaisir Palace, and then of the original Grand Palace. The estate was equally popular with Peter's granddaughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains, including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade.

Improvements to the park continued throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Catherine the Great, after leaving her own mark on the park, moved the court to Pushkin, but Peterhof once again became the official Imperial Residence in the reign of Nicholas I, who ordered the building of the modest Cottage Palace in 1826.

Like almost all St. Petersburg's suburban estates, Peterhof was ravaged by German troops during the Second World War. It was, however, one of the first to be resurrected and, thanks to the work of military engineers and over 1,000 volunteers, most of the estate's major structures had been fully restored by 1947. The name was also de-Germanicized after the war, becoming Petrodvorets, the name under which the surrounding town is still known. The palace and park are once again known as Peterhof.

GRAND PALACE

The Grand Palace at Peterhof was designed to be the centerpiece of Peter the Great's "Russian Versaille". Around 1720, the Tsar gave up on attempts to establish his court at Strelna, mainly because the boggy ground proved entirely unsuitable for the canals and fountains that he envisioned. Moving his attentions further east to Peterhof, the Tsar began to draw up his own plans for the grounds and palace. Work had already begun on a modest palace, designed by Jean-Baptiste Le Blond, in 1714, and that building was completed in 1721.

Meanwhile, fired by Peter's untiring enthusiasm, a massive amount of work had been completed around the palace, including the landscaping of the Lower Park, the digging of the Sea Canal, and the building of Monplaisir, Marly Palace, and most of the Hermitage. The original Higher Palace was somewhat inadequate for its surrounding splendours, and Peter instructed Le Blond and his pupil, Johann Braunstein, to expand the building.

Work was halted after Peter's death in 1725, and Petrhof was almost abandoned until Peter's daughter Elizabeth came to the throne in 1740. Elizabeth commissioned Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who had already completed the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg, to build a genuinely regal palace. Rastrelli chose to retain the original building within his design, and the result is supremely elegant and surprisingly restrained. The long, narrow palace, which was built in the last decade before baroque made way for neoclassicism, has minimal decoration, and Rastrelli's chief stylistic flourishes are the two white pavilions with gilded cupolas at the end of the wings. Beige and white, the palace is majestic without being overwhelming, and provides a perfect backdrop both to the elegantly formal Upper Garden, and to the spectacular Grand Cascade.

Inside, the Grand Palace is considerably more lavish, and the fact that the interiors had to be almost entirely reconstructed after World War Two does nothing to detract from their grandeur. A combination of original designs by Rastrelli and renovations by Yurii Felten and Vallin de la Mothe during the reign of Catherine the Great. Further changes were made in the mid-19^th century, but nonetheless the palace's sumptuous interiors have retained a remarkable homogeneity of style.

Visitors entering the palace are confronted by Rastrelli's incredibly ornate Ceremonial Staircase, which sets the tone for what is to come with a magnificent fresco of Aurora and Genius and multitude of gilded statues. Highlights include the richly gilded Ballroom and Felten's splendid white-and-turquoise Throne Room, which has a particularly fine parquet floor. The Western Chinese Study is heavily Oriental, with jewel red and green walls and a beautiful Chinese tea-set. The Drawing Room of the Imperial Suite is equally influenced by chinoiserie, with particularly fine silk wall hangings. The rest of the Imperial Suite, the royal family's private quarters, is furnished in grand 19^th century style. Also of interest is Peter the Great's charmingly simple Oak Study, and the adjacent Crown Room, which was in fact the Imperial bedchamber.

PETERHOF PARK AND GARDENS

The spectacular parkland at Peterhof is remarkable for the sheer variety of styles encompassed in its layout and features. Representing nearly two centuries of European aristocratic fashion executed to the highest standards, Peterhof is like an encyclopedia of park design through the age of empire. Particularly impressive is the fact that the master landscapers and garden designers who worked on the estate at Peterhof managed to overcome the extremely inclement conditions of the northern climate to create a wonderland of greenery and flowers, sweeping vistas and ornate architectural decorations. The first areas of land to be developed at Peterhof were the formal gardens around Monplaisir and Marly, part of the Lower Park. The earth excavated to create the Marly Ponds was used to build a rampart against the sea winds that, along with a 3-meter-high stone wall, surrounds the Garden of Venus, Peter's orchard, with cherry and apple trees, and several charming statues. The garden was created simultaneously with Marly, and completed in 1724. Adjoining the Garden of Venus, the Garden of Bacchus was also begun during Peter's reign, although additions were made to its statuary and fountains throughout the 18th century. The same is true of the gardens around Monplaisir. Also during Peter's reign, and then under Empress Elizabeth, who continued her father's work at Peterhof after over a decade of neglect, the Upper Gardens south of the Grand Palace, which great most visitors to Peterhof beyond the entrance to the park, were laid out, mostly by Jean Leblond and Nicola Michetti. Here, three alleys lead to the Palace, surrounded by formal flowerbeds and low, clipped hedges. Catherine the Great oversaw the creation of the first landscape garden at Peterhof, the English Park, which was designed jointly by English landscaper James Meders and the great Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The park was once the setting for Quarenghi's English Palace, considered one of the finest works of Russian classicism, which was later used as a guesthouse for foreign visitors, and then destroyed by artillery fire in the Second World War. The grounds were again extended considerably during the reign of Nicholas I, who not only commissioned the ALEXANDRIA PARK, but also added large sections of landscaped gardens around the original Lower Park. THE FOUNTAINS OF PETERHOF. The fountains of Peterhof are one of Russia's most famous tourist attractions, drawing millions of visitors every year. Fountains were intrinsic to Peter the Great's original plans for Peterhof - it was the impossibility of engineering sufficiently powerful jets of water that prompted him to move his attentions from the Strelna site to Peterhof - and subsequent generations competed with their predecessors to add grander and ever more ingenious water features to the parkland surrounding the Grand Palace. The most famous ensemble of fountains, the Grand Cascade, which runs from the northern facade of the Grand Palace to the Marine Canal, comprises 64 different fountains, and over 200 bronze statues, bas-reliefs, and other decorations. At the centre stands Rastrelli's spectacular statue of Samson wrestling the jaws of a lion. The vista of the Grand Cascade with the Grand Palace behind it, the first sight to great visitors who arrive in Peterhof by sea, is truly breathtaking. The Grotto behind the Grand Cascade, which was once used for small parties, contains the enormous pipes, originally wooden, that feed the fountains. Elsewhere in the park, the range and diversity of fountains is astounding, from further monumental ensembles like the Chess Cascade and the Pyramid Fountain, to the ever-popular Joke Fountains, including one which sprays unwary passers-by who step on a particular paving stone. The official opening of the fountains at Peterhof, which usually takes place at the end of May, is an all-day festival, with classical music, fireworks and other performances, as each section of the park's fountains is turned on one by one. MONPLAISIR Peter the Great's pet project at Peterhof was this small but charming summer palace, which the Tsar designed by and for himself, although he sought the help of several architects to do so. If you arrive in Peterhof by boat, Monplaisir is one of the first sights to greet you. Sitting in the eastern corner of the Lower Park, right on the shoreline of the Gulf of Finland, Monplaisir vaguely resembles a Dutch Colonial mansion, with its high gabled roof over the central corpus and narrow rectangular windows to keep out the wintry north wind. The facade on the opposite side of the palace is quite different, with long single-storey galleries topped by a balustraded terrace and supported by slender columns. Here, large French windows allow natural light to pour into the rooms, giving the whole building a summery, almost tropical feel. Monplaisir was completed by 1723, and became Peter's preferred retreat, where he entertained only his closest friends and advisors. The rooms inside are almost entirely paneled in oak, and contain an interesting collection of 17th century art, much of which comes from Peter's own collection. Among the highlights inside is the delightful Lacquered Gallery, the creation of which required Russian icon-painters to spend months studying Chinese lacquering. The result is an extraordinary mixture of black, gold and red panels with a distinctly Russian accent. The Assembly Hall, which was the main reception room, used for riotous banquets in Peter's time, is decorated with latticed panels representing Africa, America, and Asia, and intricate rocaille coving. Typically for Peter, Monplaisir displays an intriguing mixture of grandeur and homely comfort, with its pretty Dutch-tiled pantry, where Peter's wife Catherine would herself cook for guests, and the cozy Maritime Study, with tiles representing 13 different types of ship. From the windows, the view across the Gulf to Kronshtadt on one side and St. Petersburg on the other is particularly fine. Added later to Monplaisir are the Bathhouse Wing and Kitchen Block, ordered by Catherine after Peter's death, and the Catherine Wing, which was originally built for Empress Elizabeth, but adapted by Quarenghi for Catherine the Great, who lived at Monplaisir during the last years of her marriage to Peter III. It was here that she heard the news of the coup against her husband that would eventually make her Empress of All the Russias. Inside the Catherine Wing, there are more relics of Alexander I than of Catherine, including his study and bedroom, with an extraordinary boat-shaped bed. Opening Hours: For Monplaisir: June to September, daily from 10.30am to 5pm, closed on Wednesdays. For the Catherine Wing: May to September, daily from 10.30 am to 5pm, closed Thursdays, October to April, weekends only from 10.30am to 5pm. MARLY PALACE Located in the western half of the Lower Park, the Marly Palace is a charming baroque mansion that was built on the orders of Peter the Great as an intimate retreat in the grounds of the Grand Palace. Peter's inspiration was the royal hunting lodge at Marly Le Roi, just outside Paris. Louis XIV had commissioned his residence there as a private, peaceful alternative to Versailles. Peter visited Marly Le Roi during his visit to France in 1717, and, when creating the "Russian Versailles" at Peterhof, he decided to have his own personal sanctuary built in the grounds. This section of the park at Peterhof was the last to be developed during Peter's reign, and it began with the digging of the two ponds - one rectangular, one crescent shaped - that surround the Marly Palace. The ponds were stocked with carp and zanders for the royal kitchen. Work began on the ponds and the landscaping of the surrounding area in early 1720 and, later in the same year, on the house itself. Architect Johann Braunstein originally envisioned a single-storey building, but Peter was dissatisfied with the result, and ordered the addition of a second floor, completed in 1723. Despite this, the building has a pleasantly harmonious appearance - a simple, square baroque mansion with an air of serenity and comfort, accentuated by its multiple reflections in the still waters of the fishponds. Peter had only two years to enjoy his retreat before his death. Marly was no longer used as a residence and, by the mid-18th century, it had become a store for Peter's personal effects, including his wardrobe, official gifts, and various pieces of furniture and art. Many items from this collection are still on display in Marly today. The interiors of the palace are kept as close as possible to the state they were in when Peter died, although they were entirely reconstructed in the late 19th century, when structural weaknesses entailed the rebuilding of Marly almost from scratch. Opening Hours: May to September: daily from 10.30am to 5pm, closed Mondays. October to April: Weekends from 10.30am to 5pm. PETERHOF HERMITAGE Standing on a moted island right on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, the graceful two-storey Peterhof Hermitage was envisioned by Peter the Great as an informal dining room for his closest associates, with a system of pulleys used to serve food and ensure the privacy of the diners. Designed by Johann Braunstein, the Hermitage was begun in 1721, but not completed until shortly after Peter's death. A sandy-pink building with Corinthian pilasters and large arched windows, the Peterhof Hermitage comprises a bright, airy dining room with seating for fourteen on the upper floor, and a buffet and kitchen for service on the ground floor. Originally, the only connection between the two floors was by a two-seater chairlift used to hoist guests up to the dining area. The dining table was also lowered and lifted to deliver orders and serve food, so that the diners could enjoy total privacy undisturbed by servants. The chairlift was replaced with a staircase after Pavel I was stranded in mid-air due to a snapped cable in 1797. The walls of the dining hall are completely paneled with canvases. The original decor of the room included only a few paintings but, in Empress Elizabeth's reign, 151 canvases from Peter's private collection were mounted on the walls. Most of these were destroyed in a fire in 1808, and the current selection dates from the refitting of the building the year after, and from further renovations in 1925. The paintings, landscapes and battle scenes by French, Dutch, Flemish and German artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, were chosen from the stocks of the State Hermitage to approximate the tastes of Peter. Opening Hours: May to September, daily from 10.30am to 6pm, closed on Mondays. COTTAGE PALACE AND ALEXANDRIA PARK To the east of the main park at Peterhof lies an expanse of landscaped parkland in the English style, named after Alexandra Fedorovna, wife of Nicholas I. Originally divided amongst Peter the Great's favourites, including Alexander Menshikov, who began to build a palace here shortly before he was disgraced and exiled, the land was used as a royal hunting ground for most of the 18th century, and then left to go wild after the court moved to Tsarskoe Selo. In 1825, the land was passed to Nicholas I, who commissioned Adam Menelaws, a Scottish architect and landscape gardener, to create an English-style estate with a "cottage" palace and home-farm. This was in part a concession to Alexandra, formerly Charlotte of Prussia, who found the pomp and grandeur of court life oppressive and intrusive. The Cottage Palace was completed in 1829, and became the permanent summer residence of the Tsar's family. Menalaws' unusual design produced a building which is equal parts seaside villa, Gothic castle and English farmhouse, but nonetheless extremely elegant, with a number of charming decorative details. The palace's interiors bear witness to the private tastes not only of Nicholas and Alexandra, but of their children and grandchildren. Particularly impressive are the spectacular trompe l'oeil murals around the staircase, depicting gothic arches and vaults, and Nicholas's Naval Study, with superb views over the Gulf of Finland. The charming, rambling park around the Cottage Palace contains a couple of other interesting buildings, including the ruins of Nicholas's Farm Palace, where Alexander II enjoyed spending his free time, and the small, neo-gothic Alexander Nevsky Church, which was the later Romanovs' private chapel. VISITING PETERHOF If you only have time to make one trip out of St. Petersburg during your stay, then it should be Peterhof, the greatest of all the city's suburban estates. While the best time to visit Peterhof is of course the summer season, when all the varied buildings in the park are open to visitors and the famous fountains are in operation (June to October), this is also the time when Peterhof is most crowded, with long queues for some of the major attractions, and for transport back to the city. There are various transport options to get to Peterhof from central St. Petersburg. Electric trains run from Baltiskiy Station to Noviy Peterhof, and take around 45 minutes. The station is about 20 minutes' walk from the gates to the Upper Garden across Proletarskiy Park, or there are several buses. Alternatively, marshrutka minibuses run from in front of Baltiskiy Station directly to the park gates in Peterhof. There are also marshrutkas from Avtovo (K-424) and from Leninskiy Prospekt (K-242) Metro Stations. The drive from the city should take a little under one hour. Probably the best way to visit Peterhof is to take a hydrofoil across the Gulf of Finland to the jetty at the end of the Marine Canal. Three companies run regular hydrofoil services through the summer months from the Hermitage jetty, Angliskaya Naberezhnaya next to the Senate Building, and Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya next to the Academy of Sciences. It is also now possible to take a helicopter to Peterhof from the Peter and Paul Fortress. There are three flights daily there and back, and tickets cost around $40 one way.