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The Summer GardenThe Summer Gardens are of the same age as the city itself. In 1704 on the order of Peter I they started to plant various trees and flower seeds and also marble statues and columns were brought to Saint Petersburg from all parts of Russia and Europe. It was a regular garden with a geometrical pattern of crossing alleys, with the statues and fountains symmetrically arranged. Originally the Summer Gardens' fountains were provided with water by special mechanisms from the Nameless River that consequently got the name of the Fontanka (Fountain) River. Later to improve the water supply the Ligovsky Canal was created. It ended in a pool dug especially for this purposes. In the 1720s the Lebiazhya (Swan) Ditch was laid that separates the Summer Gardens from the Field of Mars. Thus the Summer Gardens surrounded by the Neva, Fontanka, Moika and the Swan Ditch became an island. The Summer Palace is the oldest stone building in Saint Petersburg. It is built in the Baroque style of the period of Peter the Great by Domenico Trezzini during 1711-1714. The Summer Gardens were a royal residence for gala occasions. As the Summer Palace was too small for grand-scale entertainments, in the summer time royal receptions and celebrations were held right in the Summer Gardens' alleys. Temporary grottos, pavilions and even a maze were constructed to amuse Peter the Great. The Emperor took special care in acquiring the sculptures that were not only to decorate the garden but to glorify the transformations he was introducing into the state system. According to the tsar's directions statues were bought or ordered in Europe, especially in Venice. At present among the 250 sculptures decorating the garden there are about 90 statues and busts that make up a unique collection of Italian Baroque sculpture. The terrible storm and flood of 1777 caused the Summer Gardens irreparable damage. After this disaster the former decoration was never restored and the Imperial summer residence was moved to the suburbs. In 1773-1786 the famous railing was put up on the side facing the Neva by architects Yuri Felten and Petr Yegorov. In 1826 the Coffee-house was erected in the back of the Summer Gardens on the site of the grotto to a design by Carlo Rossi. In 1827 the Tea-house was built not far from it by Ludovik Charlemagne. In 1855 the monument to the fabulist Ivan Krylov by Petr Klodt was put up with the help of voluntary donations. It was the first monument to a man of letters that was erected in Russia. In 1839 a vase of pink porphyry on a pedestal was installed on the bank of the pond near the southern gate. It was made in the town of Elfdahlen and given as a present to Nicholas I by the Swedish king Charles XIV. |
 
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