home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Petergof is a small town on the southern coast
- of the Gulf of Finland, 29 km from
- St.Petersburg. Founded during the lifetime of
- Peter the Great, it was for two centuries, up to
- the Revolution, the summer residence of the
- Russian tsars.
- Petergof makes a fascinating picture in
- summer, when all its 142 fountains are playing.
- Water for their more than two thousands spouts
- is supplied from the ponds through a system of
- pipelines under natural pressure. No pumps are
- required.
- Work on the Great Palace began in 1714. In
- 1746-55 it was reconstructed by B. Rastrelli,
- who designed the |Winter Palace|Custom1|O:1|. A splendid
- view opens from the terrace of Great Palace: 37
- large gilded sculptures, 150 small decorative
- figures, 29 bas-reliefs, scores of fountains and
- magnificent grotto on the hill slope from the
- Grand Cascade Complex. At the head of the
- Grand cascade, in the center of an oval
- reservoir stands the large gilded statue of
- Samson ( architect C. Rastrelli ). It stands at the
- beginning of a straight canal leading to the sea,
- which was once the main entrance to the tsars
-