Born Under a Wandering Star: St Petersburg: Hermitage and Peterhof

Travel Dates 4th-5th June 2011

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THE PETERHOF

On the afternoon of my arrival in St Petersburg I visited the Peterhof. The best way to travel to it is via fast boat from a wharf in front of the Hermitage which goes direct to the Peterhof wharf. I enjoyed the boat ride giving a different perspective to the city.

On arrival at the wharf tickets for each section of the complex could be purchased. I did not have time to visit all of the vast Peterhof complex; I spent about three hours wandering the fabulous gardens including lunch in the elaborate tea room.

Peter the Great visited the French Court in Paris in 1717 and immediately decided to build a palace in St Petersburg to rival Versailles, including its wonderful gardens. Planning using French and Italian architects commenced on his return and construction began rapidly. He died in 1725 but the palace complex retained his name and was developed further over the next two centuries.

The name Peterhof was seen as too German after the Soviets took over and they renamed it Petrodvorets but it is now the Peterhof again. It was damaged in the revolutionary war; much more severe damage occurred during the three year Nazi occupation in the 1940s. The Soviet and later Russian governments were able to renovate most of the Palace and grounds after WWII but the task was so great renovation continued into the 21st century. .

I was lucky to have marvellous weather for all of my time in Russia. I will let the pictures tell most of the story.

A feature of the gardens is use of fountains, ponds and other water features. This is the initial scene walking up from the wharf.

The fountains in front of the Palace dominate the gardens.

I enjoyed lunch in the tea room in the one-storey building in the picture.

THE HERMITAGE

I had a very rushed and unsatisfactory visit to the Hermitage as part of my boat tour for reasons I will expand on in the next post. The crowds were great, the noise so loud I could not hear the quiet attempts by my novice guide to interpret the French guide, and it was very difficult to get close to many exhibits. But even that brief and crowded visit was sufficient to be awed by the sumptuous surroundings and priceless exhibits.

In 1754 Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who had inherited her predecessor Peter's envy of European Royalty, decided to build a Winter Palace to rival the best in Europe. The planning and construction of the Winter Palace began but she did not live to see its completion eight years later.

Later, in 1764, a small museum was built near it by Catherine the Great as a court museum. Over the centuries other buildings were built to house the growing museum collection until the Winter Palace and other nearby major buildings also became part of the museum.