Description of the attraction
One of the most popular places for guests of the northern Russian capital is the Summer Garden. Residents of the city also like to spend time on its ancient alleys, under the crowns of trees, admiring its fountains and sculptures. The garden is already several hundred years old: it was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by the decree of the first Russian emperor. The garden was to serve as one of residences of Peter I.
The garden was originally laid out on a regular basis (that is, geometrically correct). The location of its alleys, pavilions, fountains, sculptures obeyed the law of symmetry. Currently, many objects of the garden of Peter's times have been lost, but still a considerable part of them have survived. Some of the objects have been restored.
Garden laying
The garden was laid out in early years of the 18th century … The project was developed Ivan Ugryumov … It was he who established the boundaries of the garden, created its layout. Under the leadership of Ugryumov, the territory selected for the garden was drained. It should be noted that initially it was not suitable for planting trees, so the work on its drainage was of great importance. Created ponds, were built channels … Imported soil was used to create solid soil (it was brought from various places in very large quantities).
Have been landed trees and built fountains … The garden was built harbor … It was necessary so that the garden could be approached by small boats. This harbor does not currently exist.
Soon the garden became the favorite place of the emperor for holding balls, and magnificent fireworks were arranged here. It was possible to get here only at the invitation of the emperor.
In the second decade of the 18th century, the garden was divided by a canal into two almost equal halves. Then it was built imperial residence … Many other objects of the famous garden appeared - for example, Large greenhouse … Marble sculptures were commissioned by Italian masters: these works were to be among the main decorations of the garden. Around the same time period, it began to be used to supply fountains with water. Steam engine (previously, horse traction was used for this purpose).
It is known that the garden had a magnificent poultry house, with some birds being in cages and others flying freely between the trees. There were also four-legged animals in the garden.
An important event in the history of the garden was the visit of the architect to the northern Russian capital. Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Leblond … He was considered one of the greatest European specialists in the creation of regular gardens. He made numerous changes to the composition of the Summer Garden.
Much has been done to decorate the famous garden and glorified Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli (this was already in the 30s of the 18th century).
Garden in the second half of the 18th century
At Elizaveta Petrovna the garden became available to the general public - but only in the days when the empress was not in the city. At first, the garden was open on Sundays and holidays, after a while it began to open on Thursdays. However, not everyone was allowed into the garden, but only those who were neatly dressed.
Until the 60s of the 18th century, the garden was located directly on the Neva bank, but then part of the river bed was filled up. In the second half of the 70s, a storm happened in the city, during which a terrible flood began. Garden fountains were destroyed, and one of the pavilions was also damaged. It was decided not to restore the fountains: their reconstruction would have cost a fairly large amount, while they did not correspond to fashion trends in the field of garden art. The pavilion was restored (more precisely, rebuilt) only at the beginning of the 19th century.
The canal was filled, dividing the garden into two parts. Now the garden space has become one.
In the 70s of the 18th century, the Neva part was created garden fence (that is, the one located on the side of the Neva). The fact is that due to the restoration work that took place on the stone embankment, the garden on this side was not fenced at all for some time. The new fence has become a real work of art. Nowadays, experts argue about who exactly was the author of her project: the documents contain the names of several architects, both Russian and foreign.
The fence was forged Tula blacksmiths … Its thirty-six pillars, as well as urns and vases, were made of granite; one hundred and forty-four bricklayers worked on the creation of these parts of the fence.
In the first half of the 80s of the 18th century, the manufacture of the fence was completed.
From the 19th century to the present day
In the 19th century, several new structures appeared in the garden. At the end of the 30s, one of the foreign monarchs gave the Russian emperor a magnificent stone vase, which became one of the main decorations of the garden. In the middle of the century, a monument was erected on its territory depicting the fabulist Ivan Krylov … The granite pedestal is decorated with compositions that are in fact illustrations for the most famous Krylov fables.
In the 60s of the XIX century, the Neva part of the fence underwent serious changes: chapel, which was erected in memory of the emperor's salvation from a terrorist who attempted on his life. The assassination attempt took place in the garden, while the emperor was walking: a man standing at the garden fence shot at the king, but missed (someone managed to hit the terrorist on the hand). In the post-revolutionary period, the chapel was closed, and later, in the 30s of the XX century, it was dismantled. In the 40s, restoration work was carried out in the garden.
In the XXI century, the garden became part of Russian Museum, becoming one of its branches. Around the same period of time, large-scale restoration work was carried out in the garden. The sculptures and the fence were restored, several fountains were recreated, one of the gates was restored, more than a hundred dry and diseased trees were cut down, several thousand new ones were planted … And this is not a complete list of the work carried out, which lasted about two and a half years.
Sculpture and fountains
Statues and fountains are important decorative elements of the garden.
- Like the rest of the garden statues, sculpture "Minerva" has been repeatedly restored. During the 20th century alone, restorers have worked with it six times. The Carrara marble from which it was made was destroyed for natural reasons: the sculpture has been in the open air for several centuries already. But not only time and weather conditions had a destructive effect on the statue: unfortunately, one cannot fail to mention here the role of vandals who regularly damage garden sculptures. So, at the beginning of the XXI century, another act of vandalism was committed: "Minerva" lost her spear, while her hand was damaged. The statue was restored, but after that it was not returned to its original place, but replaced with a carefully made copy. The original is in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
- To the sculpture called "Youth" fate turned out to be much more favorable: for three centuries it was practically not damaged. However, in the 20th century it was still sent for restoration seven times (although serious restoration work was not required). But the beginning of the XXI century turned out to be fatal for the statue: during a hurricane wind, the trunk of a large tree collapsed on it, as a result of which both of her hands were very badly damaged. The need arose for a serious restoration. After the completion of the work, the statue was returned to its place. A few years later, it was nevertheless replaced with a copy, and the original was placed in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
- In the XXI century, a fountain was recreated called "Tsaritsyn" … It was one of eight water cannons recovered several years ago. When reconstructing them, the data of archaeological research were used. It is known that in the 18th century a water cannon was located on the main alley. It was named after the second wife of the first Russian emperor. She loved to meet guests near this fountain.
- The fountain decorated with double-headed eagles was named "Heraldic" … It is known that in the 20s of the 18th century it was also decorated with “overseas shells”. The fountain has now been recreated.
- "Pyramid" - this is the name of the XVIII century fountain, preserved by historical documents, was received by him for its shape. According to the aforementioned documents, this fountain was once square, but its shape was changed by order of the Empress. The fountain has not survived to this day, but during the restoration work at the beginning of the XXI century it was restored to its original form.
- Multi-jet fountain called "Crown" was, according to the recollections of contemporaries, perhaps the most beautiful of all the fountains of the famous garden. Its numerous jets formed a semblance of a crown, which is why it got its name. Today, visitors to the garden can admire this fountain, recreated several years ago.
- It is impossible not to tell about "Lacoste" - a fountain named after the court jester. It is known that this garden object was a kind of addition to another fountain dedicated to the little dog of the Empress. Although archaeological excavations made it possible to accurately determine the place where the "jester's fountain" was located, this object was still not restored. It was decided to make it a museum. In other words, several of its fragments and drainages are currently covered by a large glass dome, through which they can be viewed in detail.
On a note
- Location: St. Petersburg, Summer Garden.
- The nearest metro stations are Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor, Gorkovskaya, Chernyshevskaya.
- Official website:
- Opening Hours: Depends on the season. From May to September (inclusive) - from 10:00 to 22:00. From October to March (inclusive) - from 10:00 to 20:00. The garden is closed in April (for spring drying). The day off is Tuesday.
- Tickets: not required.
