St. Petersburg - Peterhof

---

Today we traveled outside St. Petersburg to the town of Pushkin to see Catherine the Great's summer palace. From there we went onto Peterhof, Peter the Great's summer palace that is called the Versailles of Russia.

Pushkin, Catherine's summer palace, actually dates back to Peter the Great when he gave it to his wife Catherine I. Their daughter, Elizabeth, ordered it expanded from 14 rooms to 300 rooms and each room, like the Hermitage (winter palace) was gilded in gold. This is the place of the famous Amber Room. The room is completely covered in various types of amber. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in there. The original amber was given by the King of Prussia to prevent a war but during the removal of art in WWII the original amber was stolen and never found. The current amber has been collected and the room restored to look exactly as it did before the war.

Afterwards, we went on to Peterhof, Peter the Great's summer palace next to the Baltic Sea. The amazing gardens have 150 fountains, all supplied by gravity from a nearby lake and the water flows into the Baltic from the fountains, so it's not recycled.

On the way to Peterhof is the weekend home of the President. However, Putin is staying there so our guide oh, so subtley stated, the real power just changed office to the Prime Minister. 😱

---

Photos

Grand ballroom
all guilded; muraled ceiling

Wall of pictures
Covered in art Catherine II purchased and if it didn't fit the space, the art was cut to fit in the space so every inch of the wall is art

Detail of wall decoration
each stripe is tin foil; in the late 1700's tin foil was expensive so considered desirable for decoration

Looking back at main fountain
in between main fountain and Baltic Sea

Peter's joke
Peter the Great designed this fountain so someone can make the water squirt when someone walks across claiming that certain stones make water go off

Main fountain from top
see Baltic Sea in background

Russia President's summer home
altho not President, but Prime Minister, Putin stays here. (who is really in power, ;) ...)

Comments

[gretchen]

so, did you get soaked or just let others get that way
=o) I was just wondering if you played Peter's "trick" on others or if Ernest didn't post the photo of you getting wet?? LOL! Amazing photos...

[traveler1215]

Peter's trick
Ernest was the first one to see the guy controlling the water so when I got out there he didn't spray me so much. The others never caught on till we had all walked away and the guide told them

[Deb Garren]

Delft Fireplace
Does it still work: Wow -- it is very cool. One of my favorite things along with the fountains.