World famous suburbs

Petergof is located on the southern shore of the Finnish Gulf 29 kilometers away from St.Petersburg. Petergof is an immensely luxurious and beautifully preserved Imperial estate. It combines several ornate palaces, a number of beautifully landscaped parks and a dazzling array of magnificent statues and fountains, lending it the epithet "The Russian Versailles". Petergof is a historical and architectonic monument of the 18th - 19th centuries. Its construction started in 1714. During ten years the LowerPark with its canals and the UpperPark were laid out. The Upper Garden is a pretty baroque "formal garden". The focal point of both the Lower Park and the Upper Garden is the magnificent GrandPalace ("Bolshoi Dvorets") with the Grand Cascade ("Bolshoi Kaskad") in front of it. The Grand Cascade flows spectacularly from beneath the palace towards the Baltic Sea and is one of the largest fountain ensembles in the world. From the Grand Cascade's largest fountain, decorated with a magnificent gold statue of Samson battling with the lion, a channel flows through the park to the pier, where hydrofoils and boats from St.Petersburg dock. Multiple fountains and pavilions (the MonplaizirPalace, the Marlyand, the Hermitage- not to be confused with the Hermitage museum) are scattered throughout the park and in a quiet corner of the AlexandriaPark visitors can wander through the carefully preserved Cottage palace of Nicholas I. On the territory of the reserve you can visit museums: Catherine's Block, Marli, the church of St.Alexander Nevsky (Gothic Capella), the Benois family museum and the Bath Block. The Monplaisir Palace is the oldest building in Peterhof where Peter had his living quarters.  Petergof is the kingdom of fountains, the magical play of water that brings you back to epoch of Peters the Great.

Tsarskoye Selo. In the seventeenth century there was a Finnish farm here at Dudorovsky eminence called "Saari mois" in Finnish language. In 1708 it became a possession of the Russian Tsar, and the Finnish toponymy word "Saari mois" was transformed into "Tsarskaya Mysa" that sounded more Russian. In 1708-1724 Tsarskaya Mysa was the residence of Peter the Great's wife, the Empress Catherine I. From 1741 Tsarskoye Selo became the residence of the Empress Elizabeth. During her  reign, the architect Rastrellicreated a magnificent EmperorPalace, a brilliant masterpiece of Russian baroque. At the same time the Hermitage and Grotto Pavilions were built, regular Upper and LowerGardens were laid out, and the Lower Garden was decorated with sculptures. During the reign of Catherine II (1760-1790) the ensemble of Tsarskoye Selo was supplemented by the creations of Rinaldi, Felten, Cameron and Qvarenghi. The Cold Bath-house, the Agate Pavilion, the HangingGardens with a sloping platform, and the CameronGallery, which represent the prominent masterpieces of the classical architecture were erected to the drawings of Cameron. In 1811 the northern wing of the Great Palace was turned into a Lyceum - an elite school for the boys from the noble families. In the first intake of 1811 there was Alexander Pushkin, the most famous Russian Poet. It was in Tsarskoye Selo where he started writing poems and won his first popularity.  The CatherinePalace is a magnificent baroque-style palace. The Great Hall of the palace and the Golden Enfilade of formal halls amaze with luxury of their decoration. When you enter the palace halls, you feel the spirit of the eras of Elizabeth and Catherine, and, to a certain extent, the age of Emperor Alexander I. You will be able to see rare objects of applied arts. The Great Catherine's Palace in the centre of the Catherine's Garden, both named after Peter the Great's wife Catherine I, was built for their daughter, Empress Elizabeth. As many as six times the palace was constructed and destroyed again as not meeting the Empress's desire for grandeur before in 1752 the reconstruction was finally entrusted to Rastrelli. The architect took advantage of all the baroque exuberance in ornamental depiction. The new almost 300 metres long palace was decorated with balustrade, vases, statues, sculptures, all of them gilded with pure gold. Even the watchman's cabin near the Palace was gilded plentifully. The true glory of the Palace is the AmberRoom - mysterious of the world's works of art. The exquisite room made of several tons of the golden tree resin - the lightest gem in the world - is often referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Reconstructed and reborn Amber Room was opened on 31 May, 2003. The restoration works began in 1999 and cost about $3,5 mln. The estimated value of the vanished Amber Room is more than $142 million.

The Pavlovsk palace and park ensemble is located 27 kilometers away from St.Petersburg. In 1777 Catherine II gave the grounds to the Great Duke Paul as a summer residence. The intensive establishment of the Pavlovsk Park, Palace and pavilions started in 1780. C. Cameron spent over twenty years of his life to create the Pavlovsk ensemble. The Pavlovsk Park is one of the pearls of the world landscape art. Each of the seven major park districts is marked by poetry, where the beauty of the northern nature is combined with exquisite skill of artists.

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