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Peter the Great palace
Peter the Great Palace is the central
part of Peterhof ensemble. Its elegant 3-storey
facade flanked with glass galleries and shining gilded domes
of Peterhof Church and Coat-of-Arms pavilion is seen from
far away. Peterhof palace stands on a 16-m terrace
above Peterhof Lower Park. Peter the Great first
developed his idea to create Peterhof in 1714. He
personally drew sketches of the future Peterhof palace
and park.
Peterhof was opened in 1723. Great
Peterhof palace was originally of a smaller size. The
building had been many times redesigned and rebuilt until in
1747 Peter's daughter Elizabeth commissioned the Italian
architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to put up a new palace.
Luxury and room sizes of new Peterhof palace were
strikingly impressive. The palace room plan
corresponded to the royal gala procession rituals:
ceremonies of empress's appearance in front of the court and
guests. Luxurious gilded staircase led to no less luxurious
Ante-room decorated with gilded wood carvings and paintings.
The gala enfilade seemed endless.
Baroque style soon went out of fashion and
was succeeded by Classicism in 60-s of XVIII century. Major
architectural changes were done in 1770-s by the architect
Y. Felten. He redesigned palace interiors in classical
style.
The result of more than 200-year construction
history was Great Peterhof palace where side-by-side
with Peter the Great's time interiors glowed Gala
baroque rooms of mid. XVIII century, elegant classical and
second rococo halls of XIX century.
In XVIII-XIX centuries Peterhof palace
was the official state residence of the Russian royalty. It
was the venue of important state events, gala dinners and
masquerades. More than 3000 guests would attend Peterhof
balls. More than 10 000 candles would be lit on gala
occasions.
After Bolshevik Revolution Peterhof palace
was nationalized and turned into a state museum.
During WWII Peterhof palace was
completely burnt and destroyed. Only in 1957 Palace facade
was restored anew. Admission to the palace started in 1964.
Location:
30km (18 miles) south from St.Petersburg,
onshore of the Finnish Gulf.
Open:
summer season
10.30-18.00. It is
necessary to book your entrance to the palace in advance due
to high tourist flow.
closed - Monday, last Tuesday
winter season (from the middle of October):
10.30-18.00, ticket office - 10.30-17.00
closed - Monday, last Tuesday
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Shore excursions in St.Petersburg
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