travel russia st petersburg peterhof exteriors

"Work was halted after Peter's death in 1725, and Petrhof was almost abandoned until Peter's daughter Elizabeth
came to the throne in 1740. Elizabeth commissioned Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who had already completed the Summer Palace
in St. Petersburg, to build a genuinely regal palace. Rastrelli chose to retain the original building within his design,
and the result is supremely elegant and surprisingly restrained. The long, narrow palace, which was built in the last
decade before baroque made way for neoclassicism, has minimal decoration, and Rastrelli's chief stylistic flourishes
are the two white pavilions with gilded cupolas at the end of the wings. Beige and white, the palace is majestic without
being overwhelming, and provides a perfect backdrop both to the elegantly formal Upper Garden, and to the spectacular Grand Cascade."

- saint-petersburg.com


TRAVEL:
August 2009 -


unless noted otherwise all images copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc



View of Peterhof and the Great Cascade from the Lower Gardens, Peterhof, Russia (2009).



The East Chapel, one of a pair flanking the central building, Peterhof, Russia (2009).



Detail of the East Chapel, one of a pair flanking the central building, Peterhof, Russia (2009).



The Lower Gardens looking down over the Great Cascade and Sampson fountains, Peterhof, Russia (2009).



A sample of the crowds, Peterhof, Russia (2009).





copyright d. holmes chamberlin jr architect llc
page last revised april 2015