Prima meniune pe care o face Petru cel Mare legata de site-ul Peterhof apare n jurnalul su n

anul 1705, pe timpul Rzboiului de la Marea Nordului. Petru considera site-ul ca un loc bun pentru a
construi o locatie pentru utilizarea n deplasarile la i de la cetatea de la Kronstadt de pe insula
Kotlin. Petru a nceput construcia Monplaisir (plcerea mea) n anul1714. Palatul, bazat pe
schitele sale proprii, a fost construit aproape de rm. Acesta a fost folosit ca Palat de Vara pentru
Petru si anturajul sau fiind folosit si pentru oaspetii care veneau din Europa prin portul de la
Kronstadt. Pereii acestui palat au expuse sute de picturi, pe care Petru le-a adus din Europa.

Eng. Peter the

Great first mentions
the Peterhof site in
his journal in 1705,
during the Great
Northern War, as a
good place to
construct a landing
for use in travelling
to and from the
island fortress of
Kronstadt. And in
1714, Peter began
construction of the
Monplaisir (my pleasure) Palace based on his own sketches of the palace that he wanted close to
the shoreline. This was Peters Summer Palace that he would use on his way coming and going from
Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt. On the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of
paintings that Peter
brought from
Europe.
Cascada Mare
(The Grand
Cascade). Cascada
este modelata
identic cu cea
construit de
Ludovic al XIV-lea
la Chteau de
Marly. In centrul
cascadei este o
grot artificial cu
dou etaje,
construita din piatre
maro cioplite n
interior i exterior. Interiorul grotei conine n prezent un muzeu modest, care prezinta istoria
fntnii. Unul dintre exponate este masa pe care este asezat un castron de (artificial) de fructe, o
replic similar celui construit sub conducerea lui Petru. Masa este echipata cu jeturi de ap care
sunt actionate atunci cnd vizitatorii ajung la fiecare fruct expus, caracteristic din grdinile
manieriste, care a rmas popular n Germania. Grota este conectat la palat prin partea ei
superioara, dar i prin spatele ei, printr-un coridor ascuns.
Eng. The Grand Cascade is modelled on one
constructed for Louis XIV at his Chteau de
Marly. At the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with
two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It
currently contains a modest museum of the fountains
history. One of the exhibits is a table carrying a bowl of
(artificial) fruit, a replica of a similar table built under Peters
direction. The table is rigged with jets of water that soak
visitors when they reach for the fruit, a feature from
Mannerist gardens that remained popular in Germany. The
grotto is connected to the palace above and behind by a
hidden corridor.
Izvoarele Cascadei se afl mai jos de peter i pe fiecare parte a acesteia. Apele fluxului sunt ntr-
un bazin semicircular, pe punctul terminus al Canalului spre mare, aliniat cu fantana lui Samson. n
1730, Fntna lui Samson a fost plasata n acest bazin. Aceasta descrie momentul n care Samson
deschide flcile unui leu, reprezentnd victoria Rusiei asupra Suediei n Rzboiul de la Marea
Nordului, fiind de dou ori simbolic. Leul este parte din blazonul national al Suediei i una dintre
marile victorii ale rzboiului a fost ctigat de ziua Sf. Samson. Din gura leului iese un jet de 20 de
metri de apa de mare pe vertical, cea mai mare din toate fantanile de la Peterhof. Aceasta
capodopera a lui Mihail Kozlovski a fost jefuit de ctre germani n timpul celui de-al doilea rzboi
mondial. O replica a statuii a fost instalata n 1947.

Eng. The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the
grotto and on either side of it. Their waters flow into a semicircular
pool, the terminus of the fountain-lined Sea Channel. In the
1730s, the large Samson Fountain was placed in this pool. It
depicts the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion,
representing Russias victory over Sweden in the Great Northern
War, and is doubly symbolic. The lion is an element of the Swedish
coat of arms, and one of the great victories of the war was won on
St Samsons Day. From the lions mouth shoots a 20-metre-high
vertical jet of water, the highest in all of Peterhof. This masterpiece
by Mikhail Kozlovsky was looted by the invading Germans during
the Second World War; see History below. A replica of the statue
was installed in 1947.
Bibliografie, note
si citate:
King, Greg. The
Court of the Last
Tsar. Hoboken:
John Wiley & Sons,
2006.