In 1714, Peter the Great decided to build a country residence that would match the French Versailles in its sumptuousness. Preserved sketches of the tsar, his decrees and notes on documents allow us to state that the founder of Peterhof himself developed the general idea of the ensemble's layout as well as the detailed design of some elements of architecture and fountain structures.
The pace of construction was surprising and amazing. In August of 1723, the solemn opening of Peterhof ("Peter's court", in Dutch) took place. By that time, the Lower Garden had been laid out; the Sea Canal had been excavated; some fountains had been functioning; the Upper Palace had been finished; the Monplaisir Palace, the Marly Palace, the Grand Cascade, various trellis fences and over 20 wooden galleries and pavilions had been constructed; and the Hermitage had been almost completed. Though not yet faced with marble, the Marly Palace had already been used from time to time. Peterhof featured 16 powerful fountains such as the Grand Fountains, the Menager Fountains, the Pyramid Fountain, the Sheaf Fountain, water jets in trellis niches on either side of the canal and the fountain of the Menager Pond. Gilded lead, marble, alabaster and wooden statues, vases and busts stood on cascades, fountains, terraces and avenues. Clipped bushes and trees, patterned flower beds as well as rare plants in painted ceramic planters and tubs with gilded hoops complemented the picture of the Peterhof gardens where the general scale and grandeur were combined with fine details and elegant art decorations of the palace interiors.
The Peterhof coastal residence competed in splendour with the famous royal and princely park ensembles of France, Germany and Italy. Europe was amazed by Peterhof no less than it was amazed by the new capital of Russia, Petersburg.
After Peter the Great had died, opponents of the Petrine reforms in the entourage of the young Emperor Peter II transferred the capital back to Moscow and condemned Peterhof and Saint Petersburg to oblivion leading to desolation and destruction. Only in 1730, by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna who sought to present herself as a worthy successor to Peter the Great, a new wave of construction works started in Peterhof and lasted for ten years. This new wave is fully related to the energetic and manifold activities of Mikhail Zemtsov, one of the most talented Russia's architects of the first half of the 18th century. In 1925, the famous art expert Vladimir Kurbatov wrote: "Russia brought Zemtsov who was a real creator of Peterhof and who managed to bring to life the most advanced artistic ideas that circulated in the community of Paris masters. However, these ideas have been understood and used nowhere except Paris and Peterhof."
The Second World War was a time of ordeals for the Peterhof ensembles. On 20th September 1941, German troops entered Peterhof and occupied it after three days of fighting. The Germans stayed here until 19th January 1944. During that time, they looted and destroyed artistic valuables of Peterhof.
Trees were cut in all the parks; palace buildings, pavilions and bridges were damaged. The most significant damage was done to the Lower Park and the Upper Garden. Anti-tank barriers built out of age-old trees, ditches, trench shelters, blockhouses, trenches, shell craters, barbed wire and mines made the area almost impassable.
The Grand Palace was exploded and set on fire by the Germans. Fire destroyed the interiors of the Catherine Block. A delayed-action mine was used to explode the Marly Palace. Significant damage was done to the Monplaisir Palace, the Hermitage, the Grand Cascade, the Golden Hill Cascade and the Chessboard Hill Cascade. Underground water pipes were put out of operation. The Germans carried away statues of Samson, the Magus, Neva, tritons, lead bas-relieves of the Grand Cascade, and thousands of museum valuables.
Thanks to the work of military engineers and thousands of Leningrad inhabitants who assisted in clearing parks, after the end of the War, on 17th June 1945 the Lower Park was opened to the public and 38 water jets of the park's central part were put into operation on 25th August 1946.
14th September 1947 was a historic moment in the history of Peterhof: that day the gilded bronze group, Samson Slaying the Lion, returned to its place. Having risen from the ashes, Peterhof delights with its synthesis of architecture, sculpture and moving water, of harmony between the works of art and those of nature.
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