Description of the attraction
Konstantinovsky (Strelninsky) park is an original solution to the theme of a regular seaside park. It owes its appearance to Peter I, and its creation dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. For some time, the Strelna residence competed with Peterhof, since the palace in Strelna was made on a larger scale than even the Upper Chambers of Peterhof.
Developing the thought of Peter the Great, on whose instructions the first wooden palace was built, a palace and a garden in front of it, named Strelninsky, were created and renamed in the 19th century after its new owner, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, into Konstantinovsky.
If we consider the palace of Peter the Great as a small architectural sign, then the Konstantinovsky Palace looks like a monumental symbol in the panorama of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The architectonics of the palace and the surrounding landscape are inseparable, thanks to the belvedere, which crowns the building, cut through by arched openings, the triple arcade of the middle volume of the palace, the mezzanine windows, from which a beautiful panorama of the park continued by the sea is visible.
Strelninsky Park covers an area of 132 hectares and consists of the middle part of the park, or the central region, and the lateral, eastern and western regions. Its borders are: the Gulf of Finland - in the north, the Petrovsky Canal - in the west, the Zhukovka river - in the east, the Upper Garden - in the south.
The central region, covering an area of 45 hectares, is a park from the first quarter of the 18th century. Its distinctive feature is the presence of channels. The Middle Canal is located along the axis of the palace. He directs the perspective, which begins with the triple arcade of the palace, towards the sea. Two channels parallel to it, bearing the names of the East and West, clearly define the boundaries of the rectangular territory. Two transverse channels connect the longitudinal channels to each other. The first transverse channel located next to the coastal strip, intersecting with the central channel, turns into the Ring channel. Like a frame, it frames the round Petrovsky Island. The second transverse channel connects the three longitudinal channels and is at the same time the border that divides the park into four parts. Four bosquets fit into this water frame. Their planning is based on the intersections of radial and radial alleys, with the organization of sites of different shapes and sizes at the intersections. The bosquets adjoining Petrovsky Island are transformed into islands by canals. This combination of three geometrically regular islands is the most original motif of the seaside regular gardens. It is interesting that the interpretation of the garden as an island, a kind of earthly paradise, which is separated from the rest of the world, was used for the first time in the compositional solution of the Summer Garden. The canals are crossed by bridges connected by a system of perimeter alleys. Triangles, stars and other geometrical figures, clearly visible in the garden plan, testify to the regular nature of the park's layout.
The canals of the Konstantinovsky Park are flowing, they connect to reservoirs that were built in the time of Peter, and go out into the bay through the Western Canal. The park canals are at the same time water alleys, which were intended for walks on small boats. Even a project was developed to connect the Strelna and Peterhof canals. As a defining element of the park's layout, the canals have a significant decorative effect: their clearly organized, directional perspectives, which go into the bay area, optically connect the park and the sea.
For Strelna, Peter, unlike Peterhof, conceived a whole system of canals. Peter I presented his idea to B.-K. Rastrelli, and he, having arrived in St. Petersburg in 1716, immediately began to create a model of the Strelna ensemble. The implementation of the scale model proceeded simultaneously with the construction of three canals running from the palace to the sea. In September 1716, Rastrelli was replaced by J.-B. Leblon.
According to the project of Rastrelli, the Eastern and Central canals were dug, and the West began. Leblond, in spite of the fact that he criticized Rastrelli's project, did not cancel the canal system, but put it in the basis of the park's composition. Simultaneously with the work of J.-B. Leblon over the details of the project and the embodiment of his idea, in 1718 the Italian architect S. Cipriani was ordered to another project of the palace and garden. Cipriani used the drawings that were sent to him from Russia. But Peter I did not approve the project of S. Cipriani. The final stage in the formation of Strelna Park is associated with the work of N. Michetti - he was the author of the palace project and the solution of the garden layout, where he made the second transverse canal.
Strelna Park is the lower one. A natural slope rises above the park, which crowns the palace. The eastern and western terraces are divided into two parts by a descent. Pools of irregular shape are located on the axis of the slopes. The composition of the vast landscape parts combines two types of alleys: curved and straight. The western region includes a large Trekov meadow, on the southern edge of which there are ponds: Melnichiy, Foreliev, Karpiev.
The park in Strelna impresses with its unusual design, which has no analogues in the European park construction of the first half of the 18th century. Today, the Konstantinovsky Palace and park have been restored and are the residence of the President.
