St Petersburg Part 12 - The Peterhof Palace and Gardens

I thought the gardens of the Catherine Palace were simply beautiful, but nothing prepared me for those established by the husband of Catherine I, Peter the Great. This huge, spectacular, beautifully designed complex, comprising palaces, gardens, sculptures and fountains, was modelled on the Palace of Versailles. 

Apart from all the water, there was gold and green everywhere - gold sculptures, gold fountains, gold domes, bright green lawns and countless lovely trees of many varieties. The bright sun made the gold glow! It looked simply magical! 

What was interesting was that none of the many fountains work by the use of water pumps. The natural slope of the land and some nearby water sources have been used in the most ingenious way, using a system of underground pipes and a canal that was constructed to carry water through the gardens.

We seemed to walk miles as we explored these incredible gardens. The beauty of them was that they are always open to the people so they can have times of pure happiness and peace. There was one spot where water kept squirting on people as they walked past - the squeals of delighted children running through the random squirts of water was a joy to hear. 

We did not have time to view the palace, but although by now it was hot, these gardens were the best aspect we could have seen in our limited time. 

Looking down at some of the landscaping from the front of the palace. What a vista! 

Looking down at the canal and the tallest fountain from the front of the palace.

The central fountain of the garden, depicting Goliath pulling apart a lion's jaw. This was to commemorate Russia defeating Sweden in a war between the two powers. Unfortunately the original was removed by the Germans in 1949. This is a replica. 

Looking up at the palace and some of the fountains playing on the sloping lawns.

Another view of the main fountain.

This sculpture was on the edge of the same pond.

I zoomed into part of the palace from below to capture this lovely roof.

Large golden turtles in another pond.

The pond in which the golden turtles were seen.

From above this looked like a large chessboard, with water cascading down over it.

Yet another fountain in this Garden of Eden, this time with a statue of Adam. A matching fountain and statue of Eve was further along the path. 

Tranquility! This photo was taken along the path between Adam and Eve.

From a little bridge over the canal looking back at the palace.