Third Port of Call: St. Petersburg, Russia (Part 3)

We all took advantage of this break
in the crowds to take a clear picture.

Our next stop was Peterhof, otherwise known as Peter's Yard or Peter's Garden. The "Peter" in this case was Peter the Great. This was the Romanov summer estate. Peter the Great was very well-traveled, especially for someone living in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His visit to Versailles was an obvious inspiration for his 350-acre back yard. Construction began in 1714. According to our tour guide, Nadya, there are 1,411 fountains in the grounds. She has not counted them herself, and said it gets tricky because some fountains have multiple fountains within them, but 1,411 is the official number.

The fountains are run by a smart watering system, using gravity instead of pumps to move the water. 

Back in Peter the Great's day the area was a forest, but in the early 18th century the French-style of gardening was becoming very popular. Versailles was completed in the early 18th century, having been under construction for 40 years, starting in 1661. In his day there were 200 gardens. Today the gardens are a blend of the wild style preferred by Catherine II, and the manicured style preferred by Peter the Great.

Peterhof Palace was designed similarly to Catherine Palace, except yellow instead of blue. I'm sure there are other differences. At the top of the castle is a doubled-headed eagle in a weather vane (okay, it is really triple-headed, but the double-headed eagle is a symbol of the czars).

The canal in front of his home runs into the Gulf of Finland making travel easy for Peter the Great. The fountain behind us was made in 1735.

At some point in the park we spot a red squirrel. Living in the Princeton area, I see black squirrels on a regular basis, along with the grey ones, and an occasional albino. But red ones? Peter the Great imported them from England. They have since mixed with the native grey ones.

Within the garden is a separate garden called a hermitage. The word hermitage means to be a hermit, to escape from royal duties and be alone. Keep this word in mind for the next day when we visit a large museum called The Hermitage. According to the Peterhof website, the hermitage in this garden was the first one built.

The fountain with granite columns features a lion statue with his paw on a globe. This is the symbol of St. Peter (whom Peter the Great was named after). I could not get a good picture of the statue, but he reminded me of the Trenton State College lion, but with a ball instead of a snake under his paw. In this image, the lion never sleeps and keeps an eye on St. Peter. 

How many fountains in this picture?

Another fountain. This one seemed to go on forever. To quote something I heard on a tour of Versailles -- all that glitters is gold. Also according to the Peterhof website, this fountain is 50 years older than the gardens, having been created in 1650-1660. Fun fact.

Close up of the top of that fountain with Poseidon.