Peterhof

On Saturday we took the hydrofoil out to Peterhof – Peter the Great’s summer palace about 30 kilometres west of St. Petersburg, containing a series of palaces, gardens and fountains. The Lower Gardens contain the majority of Peterhof’s fountains. Near the middle of the Lower Gardens stands the Grand Palace and below the Palace is the Grand Cascade. These features are the centrepiece of the entire complex.

At the center of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains a modest museum of the fountains’ history. The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side of it. Their waters flow into a semicircular pool, the terminus of the fountain-lined Sea Channel. In the 1730’s the large Samson Fountain was placed in this pool. It depicts the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Russia’s victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade. The Samson Fountain is supplied by a special aqueduct, over 4km in length, drawing water and pressure from a high-elevation source.

After returning from Peterhof, we walked down to the Church on Spilled Blood to check out the Vernisazh Markets. We found plenty of traditional Russian Souvenirs here, and had fun bargaining with the stall holders and their limited English.

We then made a stop off at our favourite Russian pastry cafe – Smolesky to pick up some dinner before walking back over the Palace Bridge to our apartment to watch the White Nights Festival – The Scarlet Sails.