Peterhof Palace is somewhere to admire the architecture and beauty of the palace and the gardens and water features that bring out the very best of this ornate and beautiful place. The palace is raised above the most impressive of all the features the water feature that lies below the steps from the palace entrance. Around and beyond the feature lies the gardens and the splendour you would expect from such a grand and ornate building.
The grand cascade as it is known is the place where you can admire the full beauty of the palace and the Samson Fountain is at the centre of the area.
Peterhof Palace has become famous for the fountains that are outside of the palace and thousands of visitors every year come to this area just to marvel at the ornate craftsmanship and work that has gone into creating one of the most impressive features in this area. When you come to visit the palace you can learn more about the history of the fountain and how it came about, there is a small museum next to the grotto on either side. The Samson Fountain depicts the moment that Russia secured victory over the Swedish in the Great Northern War and there are two reasons why the fountain does this. Firstly the Lion represents the element on the Swedish coat of arms and the second symbol is the victory was declared on Samson day. Samson slaying the lion represents the victory and success in the battle and the fountain has a 20 metre high vertical water jet shooting from the jaws of the lion’s mouth. However the one on show today was damaged during the Second World War by the Germans looting parts of the fountain and it had to be rebuilt and a replica was installed in 1947.
Of course the impressive Samson fountain runs like clock work day in day and probably the most impressive part of the fountain is the way it uses technology to feed the water around the fountain. Instead of the water gathering from a basin at the base of the fountain, which is very common in modern day fountains the water is gathered from natural springs that run under the ground. The water from the springs is then collected in the storage tanks or reservoirs in the upper gardens of
Peterhof Palace and due to the elevation this creates the pressure and drives the water around the fountains. This is a perfect solution to ensuring that there is enough water flowing through the fountain at all times and keeps the very impressive Samson Fountain flowing all year around. Within the lower gardens of the palace there are other fountains to admire and these are often more unusual and the variety of style and creativity is very impressive. There are often designs that have been put in place to create an interaction with the visitors to the palace and the children and adults will take a soaking if they are not too careful.
Chris Courtis is a writer for soothingwalls and they sell
Water Fountains for indoors and outdoors of the home or office.
