Viking Homelands: St Petersburg Peterhof I (9/5/2018)

Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Another day in St Petersburg, Russia! Today our optional excursion was to Peterhof Palace and Gardens. (We had never paid for optional excursions on the Viking river cruises, but this is our third on the ocean cruise! There are so many optional excursion choices, I can understand why some people are continuing this Bergen to Stockholm trip by staying on the ship for Stockholm to Bergen!)

Kent mails the postcard for Cousin Mary;
we hope she gets it!

A motor coach ride to the southwest towards Peterhof.

What is that row of winged things?

Oh, light stanchions for the highway below!

Storage for all those apartment block renters?

Light stanchions that make it look like we are driving through
a whale skeleton, on the Western High Speed Diameter toll road

Petergof Golf Course (for some reason the name of the town
is translated as Petergof, rather than Peterhof)

Peter & Paul Cathedral (1904) in the area called
Петергоф/Petergof, home of the Peterhof Palace

It is no longer just Italy that hides its landmarks behind scaffolding due to constant renovations!
We snuck up on the Peterhof Palace from the side and waited in the rain to enter.

View across the Upper Park or Garden of Peterhof Palace toward
some uncovered spires of the Peter & Paul Cathedral (KSS)

In the palace, we had to wear protective shoe coverings;
we were asked to not skate on the wood floors,
but sometimes they were so polished that they were slippery and
shuffling worked best to maintain balance

Main staircase (by Francesco Rastrelli)

Let me stand on my head to take a photo of the
main staircase ceiling fresco of Tsarina Elizabeth
as an allegory of Spring (by Bartolomeo Tarsia)

Ballroom

Ballroom ceiling fresco, Parnassus (by
Bartolomeo Tarsia), which was the home
of the Muses, and shows Tsarina Elizabeth
as patroness of the arts

The infinity mirror effect in the ballroom

Ballroom flooring

Chesme Hall (1779, redesigned by Yuri Velten) with
paintings of 18C Russian naval victories over the Ottomans

We will see when the designs of Francesco Bartolomeo are retained, that they are Rococo in style, while the redesigns by Yuri Velten are more Classicist.

Throne Room (redesigned by Yuri Velten)

Throne Room flooring, almost looks three-dimensional!

Chair of State in front of a painting of
Catherine the Great on Her Horse Brilliant
(1762, by Vigilius Erichsen)

Audience Hall (1753, by Francesco Rastrelli)

Tamiko & Kent in the Audience Hall with
the infinity mirror effect again (KSS)

Throne of Nicholas I

White Banqueting Hall (1774-1775, redesigned by Yuri Velten)

The table was set for 30 people, and many of the pieces were Wedgewood

Western Chinese Lobby (1760s, by Vallin de la Mothe)

The Western and Eastern Chinese Lobbies, built to display the Oriental collections, were small rooms and we were to walk through without stopping. Stern Russian matrons guarded each room in the palace and kept the traffic flowing. The alarm system was sensitive enough to go off if you brushed against the rope barriers or an elbow or hand crossed over them.

Picture Hall is the oldest part of the palace, being
the original mansion (1714) built by Peter the Great;
it was redesigned by Francesco Rastrelli, then in
1764 by Jean-Baptiste Michel Vallin de la Mothe

There are 368 portraits by Pietro Rotari,
because Catherine the Great admired his work
and bought all his paintings left to his widow

Palace Reception Room (1770-1773,
redesigned by Yuri Velten)

The Patridge Reception Room is known for its
precious silk (1760s, by Philippe de La Salle)
that has since been reproduced in Russia (KSS)

Divan Room with a grand Turkish divan

Divan Room flooring

Tsarina's Study (by Francesco Rastrelli) was more
likely used as a game room, and has a gilded
sofa and chair by Georges Jacob of France (KSS)

Large Blue Reception Room and the breakfast table

Large Blue Reception Room and the dinner table

Large Blue Reception Room chandelier
with blue ceramic work (KSS)

Blue and white ceramic stove for heating

More flooring

The Oak Study (1714-1721, by Jean-Baptiste Le Blond) of Peter the Great
with mostly original carved light oak panels (1718-1721 by Nicholas Pineau)

Peterhof was to a great extent designed by Peter the Great, who built a summer palace here when he was unable to create the gardens he wished at the Summer Palace within St Petersburg.
Next: St Petersburg Peterhof II.