As soon as the site for Peterhof was selected, temporary wooden quarters were built. The Palace would not be started until 1714, even though the city and surrounding areas had already began. Peter successes in implements reforms for his country including military success and expansion. This was because he sought to make Russia more in tune with the western rulers, so he was considered a despot by his own people. In line with the other European rulers, his home was to be extravagant, and would continue to be built for the next decade, without any interruptions.
The palaces and fountains of France had a great impact on Peter the Great, and these were the inspiration for his grand palace. Peter created many buildings and homes that resembled those he saw at the Versailles Palace. These buildings were long and thin, appearing very large when seen from the surrounding gardens. It would be during Catherine the Great’s reign that Peterhof would be completely finished under architect Francesco Bartholomeo Rastrelli.
There were many other buildings constructed in the same form as Peterhof, these include the residential Marley Palace, which overlooked the house, fishpond, vegetable gardens, cellars, and orchards, or the areas that would become the Upper Gardens. The Hermitage Pavilion is another notable feature, which was used as a dining room to receive royalty, but was not completed until one year after Peter the Great’s death. It was notable because it features one of the first elevators in Russia, as well as enormous windows to allow for the viewing of the expansive grounds.
What is considered the Grand Palace today, was, in Peters day, much smaller that the palace dominating the setting today. It was known as the Upper Palace until the mid-18th century when renovations took place allowing this palace to be the dominate structure of the grounds.
The style of the surrounding buildings as well as the original ones was in the gilded and ornamental Baroque style. This was a popular style in Western Europe at the time. Even the additions that occurred over the next 200 years remained in this style. There were also beautiful fountains added to the setting over the years.
