Description of the attraction
Fountain "Neptune" is one of the fountains of the palace and park ensemble "Peterhof". In 1736 in the main basin of the Upper Park was placed the sculptural fountain composition "Neptunov's Cart". The sculptures were made of lead and decorated with gilding. In the center of the composition there was a figure of Neptune with a carriage, also "riding" on horses and dolphins. A gilded copper ball rose from the fountain's central stream. After multiple restorations, the Neptunov Cart was removed in 1797. Instead of it, a new ensemble appeared - "Neptune", which continues to this day.
The fountain figures were originally created in the German city of Nuremberg. In 1660, the sculptor Georg Schweiger and the goldsmith Christoph Ritter presented a model that so far only consists of components. After Schweiger, together with his student Jeremiah Eisler, worked on the model until 1670, but the complete collection of figures was completed only in 1688-1694. The casting was done by Heroldt. The fountain was never exhibited in Nuremberg, but despite this, it became known as a specific landmark, even while in the warehouse.
In 1796, most of the figures were acquired by Russia and transported to Peterhof. The copy currently installed in the Nuremberg city park has been there since 1902.
The townspeople of Nuremberg, ordering the fountain, wanted to perpetuate the memory of the Peace of Westphalia, which was the end of the Thirty Years War, which was not easy for Germany, which lasted from 1618 to 1648. The composition included 27 figures and decorative elements. A pool with a pedestal was already built on the square of the local market to install a fountain group, when it turned out that there was simply not enough water for the fountains to work in city rivers. In this regard, the sculptures were dismantled and placed in a barn. Here they lay for about a century, until in the 80s of the 18th century, traveling around Europe, the future Russian Emperor Paul visited Nuremberg. It was he who acquired the composition, which was estimated by the city authorities at a huge sum for those times - 30,000 rubles.
At first Pavel thought to put sculptures in his residence in Gatchina. But in 1798 it was decided: "The Neptune fountain brought from Nuremberg should be put in the Peterhof Lower Park …". But here, too, the installation of the fountain was not successful due to insufficient water supply to the pool. Then another decree followed, according to which it was decided to place the sculptural composition in the Upper Park, in the pool, which remained from the disassembled "Neptunova Cart". This was done in 1799.
The water decoration of "Neptune" consisted of 26 different water jets. From the former decoration of the fountains, only dolphins and two lead garlands of oak leaves, flowers and shells were left.
The figure of Neptune can be seen in the middle of a large rectangular pool, measuring 92x33 meters, on a high granite pedestal, decorated with 4 gushing mascarons. The flat area around the pedestal, laid with tuff, bears the figures of paired groups of riders on hippocampus (sea horses with wings), who chase dolphins. Also, the pond is decorated with 8 figures of dolphins, from the jaws of which you can see the rising low streams of water.
During the Great Patriotic War, all fountain sculptures were dismantled and sent to Germany. But very soon, in 1947, the sculptural group was again taken to Peterhof and installed in its original place. However, the Neptune fountain was launched only in 1956.
