SUMMER GARDENS AND PETER I'S SUMMER PALACE

Summer Gardens (Letny Sad) 191186 St. Petersburg
Open: gardens 10am - 10pm, palace 1lam - 7pm
Closed: Tuesdays and the last Monday of every month
Tel. 314-0374, 314-0456
Nearest metro stations: Nevsky prospekt and Gostiny Dvor

The ensemble of the Summer Gardens and Peter Fs Summer Palace is a magnificent example of early 18th century Russian architecture and landscape gardening.

St. Petersburg's oldest gardens were founded in 1704 in keeping with the instructions and initial design proposed by Peter I. Laid out in the formal style at his summer residence, they were adorned with numerous sculptures and fountains. Unfortunately, the original system of pipes and fountains was destroyed in the flood of 1777 and was never restored.(,0f the 250 marble sculptures by 17th- and early-18th century Italian masters, only 89 have survived. The Summer Gardens were the venue of Peter's famous assemblies (evening parties), and court celebrations. He also received foreign ambassadors here. Until the end of the 18th century they were open only to a select circle of royal courtiers. Gradually, however, they became one of the most popular pleasure grounds in St. Petersburg.

The strict, modest facades of the Summer Palace (1710-14, architects Domenico Trezzini and Andreas Schluter) are decorated with 29 basreliefs which extol Russia's naval glory. The ground floor houses Peter's two reception rooms, study, bedroom and workshop, as well as his dining-room and kitchen. The apartments of Catherine I on the first floor include the Green Drawing-Room, containing period paintings, furniture, tapestries, glassware and china. In spite of the fact that the palace has undergone numerous reconstructions, the finish and decor of the vestibules, the oak stairs and the upper and lower kitchens have survived.

Some of Peter's and Catherine's clothes and other personal effects are on permanent display.

The magnificent wrought-iron railings of the Summer Gardens on the Neva side were designed between 1773 and 1786 by Yuri Velten and Peter Yegorov. The fence on the Moika side was put up in the 1820s by Louis Charlemagne. There is a monument to Ivan Krylov, the famous Russian fabulist, sculpted by Peter Klodt (1854-55), and an Alvdalen vase of pink porphyry installed in 1839 on the bank of the Carpiev Pond. The two pavilions -the Coffee House (1826, architect Carlo Rossi) and the Tea House (1887, architect Charlemagne) - are used for temporary exhibitions.

The Summer Gardens are among St. Petersburg's finest cultural landmarks. A visit to the Summer Gardens is a must for all those wishing to imbibe the city's atmosphere.