Description of the attraction
The Colonistsky Park ("Islands") is a landscape park of Peterhof and was formed in the middle of the 19th century on a deserted, partly swampy land stretching southward from the Upper Garden. The authors of the park project were the garden master Petr Ivanovich Erler, the architect Andrey Ivanovich Shtakenshneider and the engineer M. Pilsudski.
Kolonistsky Park is one of the small parks of Peterhof, its area is 29 hectares. Most of the Kolonistsky Park is occupied by the Holguin Pond, which is surrounded by an alley of silvery willows. The pond is decorated with two islets, on one of which is the Holguin pavilion, and on the other - the Tsaritsyn pavilion. Holguin Pond got its name in honor of the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I - Grand Duchess Olga.
In the 18th century, the area where the Colonist Park later appeared was deserted and deserted. At that time it bore the name "Okhotnoye Swamp", as there were wild game birds in the bushes. Under Nicholas I, not far from Okhotny Swamp, houses were erected, which were intended for German colonists. That is why the park became known as the Colonist Park.
In 1838, the swamp was drained, and a large pond was dug in its place. The pond was 470 meters long, 300 meters wide and 2 meters deep. Its banks were fortified with huge stones and fenced off by an imposing dam, on which an alley was broken. The water for the pond was taken from the Ropsha springs. Until now, the Kolonistsky pond serves as a pool feeding the eastern complex of the fountains of the Lower Park. In the summer, swans were released into the Holguin Pond.
In 1839, work began on the planning and landscaping of the park, which was completed by the end of 1841. During this period, approximately 4,000 trees and over 7,000 shrubs were planted. The activities on the development of the park continued in the future: the redevelopment of its eastern part was carried out, the cape was raised, which cut into the lake, and so on. Ferries went between the shore of the pond and the islands, for which moorings were built in the form of cast-iron vases on pedestals.
In 1842, the construction of the Tsaritsyn pavilion was started on one of the islands of the Olgin's pond. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wished that the pavilion resembled the houses of the ancient Roman city of Pompey, which died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and was erected in the “Pompeian style”. The pavilion was surrounded by a magnificent garden with fountains, gazebos entwined with greenery, trellis corridors (light trellises on arches or pillars), marble benches and many sculptures.
In 1846, a peculiar structure in the style of South Italian villas was erected on another island of the Olgina pond, which was named the Olgina pavilion. It was erected in honor of Olga, the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I, especially for her arrival in Russia for the first time after her marriage as Queen of Württemberg. A staircase decorated with vases was arranged from the building to the lake. The pavilion had a 3-storey tower, on the flat roof of which a platform with a trellis canopy entwined with greenery was built. Each floor of the tower was equipped with one room with a balcony; an internal stone staircase connected the rooms to each other.
All the remaining territory on the island was occupied by a small open garden with narrow paths, which was decorated with statues, busts, marble tables and vases.
The islands served as a place where close friends and guests of the imperial family came for morning coffee or evening tea, where they rode in gondolas and boats, and listened to music.
Currently, the Tsaritsyn and Holguin pavilions on the islands of the Kolonist Park are museums that opened in 2005 after a comprehensive restoration.
