Summer Palace

Saint Petersburg

Russia

August 2013

Photos taken by Alex Yu

Peterhof is a palace located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The palace was modeled after Versailles in France, and indeed the entire city of Saint Petersburg was built by Peter the Great in an attempt to transplant the Western European civilization into Russia, which was a backward country in the 17th century. Contrary to the popular belief, St. Petersburg was not named after Peter the Great even though he was the founder of the city. Actually Peter the Great named the city after his patron Saint, Peter the Apostle.

The fountains in Peterhof are very interesting because no electrical pumps were installed into the system. Rather, the aqua shows are run by water pressure only.