Description of the attraction
The Grand Cascade is the main structure of the colossal system of Peterhof fountains. It is unique in terms of the abundance of water, size, luxury of sculptural design, graphic variety of water cannons and special expressiveness of each of its elements. The Grand Cascade is an outstanding monument of Baroque art and one of the world's most famous fountain structures
The current look of the Grand Cascade has been taking shape over a century. The idea of the composition of this building belonged to Peter I.
In May 1716, the construction of the cascade began. On July 13, 1721, a test run of water took place in the presence of the emperor. The ceremonial launch of the fountains took place in August 1723 and the Grand Cascade began to function. But at the same time, they continued to carry out construction work. After the launch of the cascade, new mascarons and sculptures appeared.
In 1735, the Samson fountain was installed in the center of the ladle, and in 1738 a group of two tritons was installed in the break of the marble balustrade, blowing into the shells by K. Rastrelli. This completed the essential work on the design of the Grand Cascade.
The center of the Grand Cascade is the Lower (Big) grotto. Two cascading staircases of seven steps delimit the landing in front of the Great Grotto. The stairs are decorated with gilded brackets, bas-reliefs, water cannon jets, and gilded sculpture alternating with vases. The center of the site is the "Basket" fountain. Its waters flow into a ladle along three waterfall steps. A granite cornice with a marble balustrade decorated with vases completes the wall of the Lower Grotto in front of the terrace of the Upper or Small Grotto. With the Great Peterhof Palace, the cascade represents a certain architectural style unity: white and yellow colors, a semicircle of niches and arches, decor, which is subordinated to its three-part division.
Subsequently, the grotto and the cascade were reworked more than once: they replaced wooden pedestals with stone ones, re-gilded sculptures, changed the cordons of the pools, while some of the decorative elements and bas-reliefs disappeared, the fountains in the grotto stopped working. Unfinished restoration of the mid-19th century. became the reason for the distortion of the original appearance of the structure.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Grand Cascade was also badly damaged. The four largest sculptures and all decorative elements that were not evacuated in time disappeared without a trace. But despite this, on August 25, 1946, thanks to the efforts and selfless work of the restorers and the help of the residents of Peterhof, a grand opening of the newly revived fountains took place. And the very next season, the powerful figure of "Samson tearing the lion's mouth", created by the sculptor V. Simonov from the surviving photographs, again began to rise in the canal ladle on the pedestal. The complete restoration of the sculptures and fountains of the Grand Cascade was completed in 1950.
He began a new life in the Grand Cascade in 1995, when restoration work that lasted seven years was completed. This restoration was due to the depressing state of underground utilities and grottoes, which provided water to many of the cascade's fountains. The authors of the project decided to restore also those decorative elements that the cascade had lost over the many years of its service. For this, various documents of the 18-20th centuries were scrupulously studied: drawings of masters of fountain business and architects, prints and watercolors, archival sources and even memoir literature.
The ceremonial launch of the fountains of the already renewed cascade took place on June 4, 1995.138 jets of one of the most perfect fountain structures on the planet shot up and played in the rays of the summer sun.
