The Peterhof Palace, St Petersburg, Russia July 2008

[Cruachan]

The Peterhof Palace is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland close to the city of St Petersburg. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and it isn't difficult to see why! This place has more gold leaf than a 1960s tobacconist's. I don't want to beat the history of the place to death because it's all over the Internet as it is. Suffice it to say that construction began in 1714 under the direction of Tsar Peter the Great. By 1725 the work was substantially complete although bits and pieces were added after that date. The Palace was occupied by German troops during World War 2 and they more or less immediately embarked on a campaign of destruction, setting fire to the palace and destroying or looting many of the sculptures and art works. Restoration began almost as soon as the war was over and the work continues to this day. So here's a small selection of the several hundred photographs that I took during the course of this visit.

1. Exterior of the Grand Palace showing the Grand Cascade


2. Exterior of the Grand Palace from the Morskoi Kanal


3. The upper gardens - view over the lake.


4. Grand Palace - The Orthodox Church


5. The Ballroom


6. The Ballroom - detail


7. The Throne of Nicholas I


8. Another throne!


9. Throne with portrait


10. Having the lads round for a chinky takeaway and a few tins - do it in style.


11. Afternoon tea anyone?


12. The old "infinite mirror trick"


13. I hate to harp on about it - but this is a fantastic place.


14. Even the central heating system is spectacular - but then with those Russian winters...


15. You wouldn't want to be a migraine sufferer with wallpaper like this...


16. ... or this.


17. View down the Morskoi Kanal to the Gulf of Finland.


Thanks for looking.

J

[MJS]

Oh wow! That's a bit grand

[Cruachan]

Oh wow! That's a bit grand

Yeah - say what you like about the Romanovs, but they weren't ones for knowingly underspending! None of your Ikea or MFI rubbish in there.

[tornado64]

it confuses me what posseses people to destroy something so beautifull !! the mind boggles !!

[Cruachan]

it confuses me what posseses people to destroy something so beautifull !! the mind boggles !!

I completely agree with you, it really beggars belief. But what astonished me about St Petersburg was the mind boggling amount of stuff that had survived the Soviet era. After all, the Peterhof Palace (just to take a single example) must have represented everything that the Bolsheviks and the Communists detested about the Russian royal famil and aristocracy, and yet they didn't destroy it and even restored it after the war damage. And there are literally hundreds of other examples in St Petersburg alone. The Hermitage Museum has over a thousand separate rooms, each of which is packed to bursting point with paintings, sculpture and other works of art. As you wander through the place it suddenly dawns on you that you are staring at stuff that it is probably impossible to put any realistic monetary value on - it's a fantastic, but slightly spooky, experience.

J

[Tankman]

Those decadant Russians I love that giant piece of Blue Spode china!!

[Rebal62]

Beautiful place, excellent photography.

[Nicola]

Crikey - gold leaf you say? Thanks for sharing