Peter the Great’s Summer Palace is the Russian Versailles

Our tour of the Fountains in Peter the Great’s Summer Palace begins in St. Petersburg

You need a visa to visit St. Petersburg … unless you are on a cruise

We took a Baltic Cruise so that we could visit St. Petersburg. We stopped at lots of other cities, but St. Petersburg was the highlight of the cruise. And it was magnificent beyond anything I had imagined.

You can visit St. Petersburg without going on a cruise … but you will need a visa. We pressed the easy button and took a cruise.

We also had to book a tour of St. Petersburg. You can’t wander around the city on your own. Cruise passengers without a visa must stick with the tour at all times. You can’t stay overnight in a hotel.

Visa-Free Entry

Cruise passengers can visit Russia for 72 hours without a visa.

Cruise passengers can enter Russia without a visa only if they have booked tours through companies that are officially licensed by the Russian government.

Our cruise stopped in St. Petersburg for two days so we booked a two-day tour. The tour guide returned us to the ship at the end of the first day of the tour and picked us up again the next morning.

We booked our tour before we left on the cruise. We printed all our documents at home. You need these to disembark.

We booked with TJ Travel. We booked their two-day All Highlights of St. Petersburg tour:
https://st-petersburg-tours.ru/two-day-group-all-highlights-st-petersburg-excursion

The cost of the tour is $285 US per person. This covers admission to all sites, transportation in a minivan, guide, and lunches.

You can also book a tour with the cruise ship. The cost is double.

Essentials for Visa-Free Entry in St. Petersburg

1. No-Visa Entry is only for cruise ship passengers.
2. You need a tour confirmation letter from a Russian travel company to go ashore.
3. You need your passport to go ashore.
4. You are required to depart and return to the port with the tour. You do not have the option to stay in St. Petersburg and return to the ship on your own.
5. Cruise passengers are free to use any authorized local travel agencies (not only cruise ship companies) for visa-free shore tours.

Our cruise had 4,000 passengers. It seemed that everyone was disembarking for a tour of St. Petersburg. Somehow it all worked and we managed to pass through Russian customs. The tour companies were all lined up at the port and we found our way to TJ Travel. We boarded our minivan with 13 other cruise passengers.

Our tour started with a brief drive around the major sites of St. Petersburg. This was helpful to get our bearings and learn a little bit about St. Petersburg.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the most recognized sites in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 by the great visionary, Peter the Great, on a swampy delta of the Neva River that runs into the Baltic Sea.

Young Peter had been heavily influenced by Western European ideas through two of his tutors: Scotsmen Patrick Gordon and Paul Menesius. When Peter became Tsar, he imagined Russia as a great modern European power with St. Petersburg as Russia’s new cultural capital and gateway for maritime trade and intellectual exchange with the more advanced, Western Europe.

Peter’s vision for Russia was further influenced by a long journey he took to northern Europe when he was 25. He visited shipyards, workshops and factories where he learned everything he could about the technology of the day, including shipbuilding, clock-making, copper engraving, even dentistry. He returned to Russia with 260 chests, filled with weapons, tools and scientific instruments.

As Tsar, Peter the Great used his absolute power to drag Russia, kicking and screaming, from an inward-looking, medieval, superstitious, agrarian society into a forward-thinking, modern, commercial empire. He imposed a cultural revolution upon a medieval aristocracy by brutally suppressing any rebellions.

As a symbol of the new Russia, Peter eschewed long medieval robes and imposed French dress. language and manners in his court. He shaved his long Russian beard and forced all state officials to follow suit. For the general populace, he imposed a beard tax.

To help his populace adopt Western ways, he issued two books. The first focused on education, with instructions on how to read and how to count. The second was a book of etiquette, including table manners: Clip your nails. Wash your hands. Sit upright. Do not be the first to grab the dish. Do not eat like pigs. Do not slurp. Do not lick your fingers. Do not wipe your mouth with your hand. Use a napkin. Do not gnaw at bones. Use a knife. (We just need one update for modern table manners: no phones at the table.)

Peter used his absolute authority to create a new Russia in the mould of the great modern European empires.

Peter formed his vision for St. Petersburg when he visited Amsterdam. He imagined a modern Russian port city with canals instead of roads. Thousands of serfs died transforming the swampland of the Neva River delta into Peter’s visionary new imperial capital.

Today, all of the historic city of St. Petersburg, with its monuments and museums, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

But Peter the Great imagined more …

He imagined a summer palace, grander than Versailles

We boarded a hydrofoil for a 45-minute ride to Peterhof, the Summer Palace of Peter the Great. Peterhof is 30 km outside St. Petersburg.

We did not need to arrange transportation or tickets. This was all done through the tour. There were long lineups at Peterhof for those who did not have entrance tickets. We enjoyed our ride on the hydrofoil.

Since St. Petersburg was designed for water travel, an excursion on a hydrofoil is a great way to see the major sites.

Peter and Paul Cathedral, built by Peter the Great, is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg

The cathedral’s bell tower is the world’s tallest Orthodox bell tower.

The cathedral sits within Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel built by Peter the Great to defend his new city from a feared Swedish invasion.

The cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors, from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family who were finally laid to rest in 1998. (more on this in a future post)

The Kempinski is a luxury hotel in St. Petersburg

With a visa, you can stay in a hotel in St. Petersburg and enjoy its famed nightlife. The Kempinski is about $300 US a night. Since we didn’t have a visa, a picture is as close as I could get to The Kempinski.

IN THE VERY HEART OF RUSSIA’S CULTURAL CAPITAL

You may notice a paperclip and papers at the top of the photo. A disadvantage of a tour is that I cannot set my own pace. I cannot stop for a redo when I mess up a photo. I have to live with what I have. Oh well …

St. Petersburg is known as the Venice of the North

Peter the Great wanted to capture the best of Amsterdam and Venice when he designed St. Petersburg with canals instead of streets. He imagined boats in the summer, sleighs in the winter on frozen canals.

In Peter’s day, there were 10 bridges. Today, there are more than 1,000 bridges in St. Petersburg.

We saw some of St. Petersburg’s most famous bridges on our canal tour. Everyone tried to get photos so I mostly have photos of other tourists taking photos of famous bridges. I am happy with this photo of a less-famous bridge with The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in the background.

This is one of the newer bridges in St. Petersburg

This is a section of the Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum

This is the Winter Palace from afar

The Winter Palace was constructed on a monumental scale to reflect the might and power of Russia.

The Winter Palace was the official residence of the Russian Emperors for nearly 200 years. (More on the Winter Palace in a future post on our visit to the Hermitage Museum)

This is our view of Peterhof when we arrived by hydrofoil

Peter the Great was inspired to build Peterhof, his Summer Palace, after visiting Versailles.

Peter wanted to build something greater than Versailles. Since Peter was fascinated by water and its powers, he decided to incorporate fountains in his design of the Russian Versailles.

There are more than 150 fountains in the Upper Gardens and the Lower Gardens that surround the Grand Palace.

The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without pumps

Water flows from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference between the Upper Gardens and the Lower Gardens creates the pressure that drives the fountains.

The force and height of each jet of water is determined by the diameter of its pipe.

Peterhof is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Sea Channel that leads to the Grand Palace is flanked by identical Adam and Eve Fountains

Peter the Great commissioned the Adam and Eve Fountains from Venetian sculptor Giovanni Bonazza. The fountains are replicas of famous sculptures located in the Palace of Doges in Venice, created byAntonio Rizzi, the master of the Renaissance era.

There are eight jets on each side of the fountains to reflect the eight paths that diverge from the fountains into the gardens.

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in World War II, workers tried to bury the fountains and treasures in Peterhof before the arrival of German troops.They were unable to bury most of the fountains because of their sheer size. However, they successfully buried the Adam and Eve Fountains. Peterhof was captured by German troops in 1941 and held until 1944. The German Army largely destroyed Peterhof. Many of the fountains were destroyed and the palace was partially exploded and left to burn. Restoration work began almost immediately after the end of the war and continues to this day. The Adam and Eve Fountains were dug out and restored in 1948.

The Adam and Eve Fountains are the only fountains in Peterhof that are completely intact as commissioned by Peter the Great.

Peter the Great loved his trick fountains

Peter was very tall: six feet, six inches. He had a ferocious temper. Yet, he loved playing jokes on his guests with his trick fountains.

The Magic Oak Tree squirts water from the tip of each branch. Each tulip has a water jet.

The Oak Tree fountain was destroyed by the German troops. Based on drawings and a single surviving branch, the Oak Tree Fountain was restored with 500 new tubular branches and 2500 leaves.

You will get soaked if you sit on a bench to admire the Magic Oak Tree Fountain

There are 41 nozzles hidden behind each park bench. The fountains are activated by stepping on a stone.

Since it was a warm day when we visited Peterhof, many tourists had fun running through the fountains.

The Roman Fountains resemble the fountain in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

This is the chessboard cascade

At the top of the chessboard, there are brightly coloured dragons that spew water from their fanged jaws

This fountain is Triton fighting a sea monster

I struggled to keep up with our tour as I madly snapped photos of the fountains. We were equipped with head phones so I could hear our guide. However, with the crowds, I couldn’t always see our group. Luckily, Norman kept his eye on me and waved his hat in the air when I got lost!

The Chapel in Peterhof sits at the top of the Upper Garden

The Grand Cascade is one of the most famous fountains in the world

There are 64 fountains in the Grand Cascade

The Grand Cascade reflects the vision that Peter the Great had for his Russian Versailles with fountains

This is the view from the Grand Cascade over the sea channel

This is a photo of Versailles from an earlier post

Peter the Great created his own Versailles set high on a hill, surrounded by 150 fountains.

Here is a link to my post on Versailles: https://boomervoice.ca/category/europe/france/versailles/

Imagine seeing Versailles and imagining something grander

Samson and the Lion is the centrepiece of the Grand Cascade

The fountain was commissioned to celebrate the Russian victory over the Swedish troops that gave Russia access to the Baltic Sea. The victory took place on the feast day of St Sampson. The lion is symbolic because there is a lion in the Swedish coat-of-arms.

The Samson fountain disappeared during the German occupation of Peterhof. It was recreated in 1947 from old photos.

The Samson Fountain is the most powerful fountain in Peterhof

A special aqueduct, over 4 km long, was constructed to draw water from a high-elevation and create pressure.

This is Norman’s photo of the Samson Fountain.

I would have liked to have spent much more time at Peterhof but we were tightly controlled by our packed tour schedule. We were on a highlight tour, not a detailed tour, of St. Petersburg.

We did not have a tour of the interior of Peterhof Palace. Instead, we were on our way to see an even grander palace, the Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum, built by Catherine the Great.