Which was founded in the early years of the city's founding by a large group of architects and gardeners. Peter I dreamed of creating a garden in the Versailles style. First, he rested in his house and monitored the progress of work, and then lived here with his family in the summer.

Opening hours of the Summer Palace of Peter the Great in 2020

• The museum is open only during the summer period (from May 1 to September 30). Summer in mind a large number wishing to buy tickets really buy only in the first hour of the box office. Ticket offices are open from 10:00 every day except Thursday and Tuesday. Thursdays from 13:00. Tickets are sold daily for the current day only.
• Visiting is possible only as part of a group. Tickets are on sale at the box office of the palace.
• On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, sessions are at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 and 19:00.
• On Thursdays sessions at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 and 20:00.
• On Saturdays and Sundays, sessions are at 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00 and 19:00.
• Show times are for individual visitors.

The cost of tickets to the Summer Palace of Peter the Great in 2020

• Full ticket - 500 rubles
• For students and pensioners - 250 rubles
• For children (under 16 years old) - free of charge

How to get there

On the second floor of the building, in addition to the kitchen, dressing room and room for maids of honor, there is a throne room, a bedroom and a nursery, as well as a dance room. Particularly attractive is the Green Cabinet, decorated with picturesque inserts, stucco and gilding.

If someone decides to become a nerd - best place than a garden for this can not be found. And the history of vegetables can be very fascinating. Here, for example, everyone remembers well the history of the potato. The fact that potatoes were brought to Europe from America, that they didn’t “see through” them right away ... Peter brought them to Russia, but it spread after the war with Napoleon, when economic Cossacks brought trophy potatoes from France in bags and planted them in their gardens ... But her first harvest was obtained in the Summer Garden.

The history of other vegetables is no less informative. In the Summer Garden in St. Petersburg under Peter I, there was an Apothecary Garden, in which garden and greenhouse plants,as well as spicy and medicinal herbs. In this historic garden in the bosquet "Red Garden" you can attend a lecture and learn that the Tatar-Mongols brought onions to us, that the new fashionable purple carrot is just a well-forgotten old one, about royal methods of getting rid of mosquitoes and moths, in a word - about kings and cabbage. In any case, we can say with certainty that Peter ate both cabbage and artichokes, and Peter's cooks knew what to do with hyssop, parsnips and asparagus. I have long wanted to write about the plants that became the prototypes of jewelry, but under the impression of the opportunity to look into the pot to Peter the Great, I will be a little distracted by the topic of the day.

This picture gives an idea of ​​what vegetables could be present on the table of a European in the 18th century.

In the Pharmaceutical Garden of Peter I in the Summer Garden in front of the greenhouse, there are guided tours (by the way, free of charge) dedicated to the plants grown here under Peter. Many of these plants appeared in Russia thanks to Peter. Excursions (very interesting) are conducted by Viktor Melnikov, the garden has its own VKontakte group - Botanical excursions in the Summer Garden.

On the first bed, thyme or thyme (or Bogorodskaya grass). On the second bed, onion-batun and onions, which are cut so that there are fresh feathers - chives.

On the right is melissa and peppermint. By the way, mint was used as an air freshener - for example, it was rubbed on benches at weddings.

This is tansy - earlier, with its help, they got rid of domestic insects, including mosquitoes and moths :))

This is a very noble vegetable called artichoke. AT Ancient Rome only patricians were allowed to eat it. One or two fruits grew on one bush, and even the middle was cut out of it - of course, such a vegetable is not enough for everyone. There is only one artichoke in the garden - it has already bloomed and now it is not good for food, it will go for seeds. Now artichokes are sold in supermarkets, they are popular in many countries, but we have no idea what to do with them.

Carrots did not immediately become the orange vegetable that we are used to. Now purple carrots are coming into fashion, in fact the very first carrot was just purple, but they were not very fond of using it in cooking, because it gave them a pale purple, not very appetizing shade. It has recently become as pretty as it is now, and the white and yellow carrots that were eaten before are now grown only as fodder. This culture came to us from Afghanistan.

colorful carrots

This is how carrots bloom

Still Life with Game, Vegetables and Fruit by Juan Sanchez Cotán, 1602, Prado Museum (Madrid). A celery-like vegetable is the Spanish artichoke (on the right), more precisely cardon. As a result of thistle breeding, an artichoke with a developed inflorescence and a cardon, a vegetable with a developed stem, were obtained.

Marigolds - they are sometimes sold as saffron in oriental bazaars

Also marigolds, on the right is kohlrabi cabbage along the edge and white in the middle

Hyssop, spice and ancient medicinal plant

Potatoes white and red. After the potato came to Europe from America, it was grown in flowerbeds for a long time because of the flowers and tried to eat the berries, but they were bitter. 5-pointed potato flower worn as decoration

Cabbage on the left, hyssop on the right

One of the names of wormwood is vermouth, absinthe was also made from it.

Orange trees had bitter fruits, so they preferred oranges, but orange flowers were very much appreciated.

orange trees

Parsnip

Asparagus - in the picture a bunch of asparagus is tied, on the right she is in the garden

Rue flower in the form of a Maltese cross

Ruta fragrant - spice and medicinal plant. The flowers are in the shape of a cross, so it was attributed a religious meaning. Used for sprinkling temples before Sunday Mass.

Also sage

Dwarf sunflower - imported from America, and sunflower oil was invented here in Russia

Oregano - especially many bees fly around it

Oregano close up

This is blue cyanosis, the leaves are similar to mountain ash

Basil - noble in translation. In skillful hands, he acquired magical power. It happens green too, but in our country it does not take root due to low frost resistance. Smells divine.

Nasturtium flowers look like helmets, and the leaves look like shields, that is, war trophies - hence its Latin name "trophae". Ate everything, starting with the roots.

I also forgot to take a picture of calendula and strawberries. Under Peter, shag was grown here. At the heart of Peter's garden is a plan of monastic European gardens. In terms of a cross of two paths, in the center is a fountain. The monasteries were at the same time fortresses and the source of water was important for them.

garden roses

This is the gardener's den

Such a charming bouquet was formed from what we had to smell. The bouquet is completely unique, there may not be another opportunity to get plants from historical beds

This oak at the time of the foundation of St. Petersburg was about 40 years old - the oldest tree in the Summer Garden.

Lattice of the Summer Garden

300-year-old lindens of the time of Peter the Great

Cowberry

old linden

Fountain "Crown"

summer palace Peter I in St. Petersburg was built in 1711–1712. designed by architect Domenico Trezzini. Architects and sculptors from Western Europe were involved in the design of the facades and interiors of the Summer Palace: Andreas Schluter, Georg-Johann Mattarnovi, Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Leblon.

The Summer Palace of Peter I has a happy fate: after the death of Peter the palace never rebuilt, although there were some losses in the interior decoration. To this day, the layout and appearance of the building, the picturesque ceiling lamps of allegorical content, pine wardrobes, tiled stoves and wall decoration with painted Dutch tiles, wood paneling of the ground floor rooms, interior decoration of the Lower and Upper Cooking Rooms and the Green Cabinet have been preserved unchanged. The unique wind instrument in the Cabinet of Peter I still shows the direction and strength of the wind, as well as the time. On the second floor there is a Danzig closet, in which, according to legend, Peter I kept his underwear and over the knee boots.

The Summer Palace is valuable not only as one of the early architectural monuments of St. Petersburg, but also as evidence of the tastes, interests, aspirations of Peter the Great, which were reflected in the architectural features of the monument.

For the arrangement of his residence, Peter I chose a habitable and advantageously located manor on a cape between the Neva and Bezymyanny Erik (now the Fontanka River), where the estate of the Swedish major Erich Berndt von Konow (Konau) was located - a small house with a utility yard and a garden. At first, Peter could use the Konau house for living, but, perhaps, even then he built his own house for him. Ivan Matveev (Ugryumov), who from 1705 to 1707 supervised all engineering and construction work on the former Swedish manor. It was this building that I saw in 1710–1711. the author of "Description of St. Petersburg and Kronshlot": "Right by the river," he writes, "is the royal residence, that is, a small house in the garden of the Dutch facade, colorfully painted with gilded window frames and lead ornaments."

At the direction of Peter, a stone building was built on the site of his former house according to the project of the architect D. Trezzini. On April 17, 1712, Peter had already moved to live in the Summer Palace, and a year later the royal residence was visited by "overseas" guests: c.) they approached me, that is, to my very chambers .... "

After the death of Peter I, the Summer Palace lost its significance as a royal dwelling. For some time court servants lived here. . During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter's daughter, who honored the memory of her father, "dilapidated" things were repaired, and in the first half of the 19th century the former royal residence began to be used as a place for the summer residence of prominent dignitaries of that time.

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, an exhibition of monuments of the Petrine era was held in the Summer Palace. From imperial palaces, the Hermitage, the State Archives, portraits and engravings, banners, military weapons, pieces of furniture and applied art, books, drawings were delivered. The bed of Peter I from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, presented at the exhibition, is still on display at the palace.

After 1917, the palace was preserved as a historical and architectural monument, but did not yet have the status of a museum. In 1925, the palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the historical department of the State Russian Museum, and exhibitions were held in it that were not related to the historical past of the palace.

Since 1934, the Summer Palace of Peter I has become an independent museum of a memorial, historical and artistic nature. At the exposition of the museum you can see the clothes of Peter I, furniture, paintings and engravings, objects of applied art of Peter the Great's time.

During the years of the Great Patriotic War The Summer Palace was damaged by a blast wave, but the damage was eliminated already in 1946, and the next year the palace-museum was opened to visitors. In the 1960s the palace underwent a comprehensive restoration under the guidance of the architect A. E. Gessen.

Since 2004, the Summer Palace has become part of the State Russian Museum. In 2015–2017 the complex restoration was carried out in the palace, which was preceded by the painstaking work of historians and art historians. During the restoration process, the atmosphere of the royal dwelling of the beginning of the 18th century was restored in the palace.

Of particular note is the restoration of the picturesque plafonds in seven rooms of the Summer Palace, after which the darkened unique painting was brought closer to its original color. There was a feeling of air and soaring allegorical figures.

In the Green Cabinet, where Peter's rarities were placed in special showcases, which marked the beginning of the history of the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, the unique wall painting on wood of the early 18th century was cleaned and strengthened. The oak doors and shutters have been restored in the palace, and the parquet floor and fabrics on the walls have been updated in accordance with historical materials. 19th century window frames have been replaced.

Particular attention was paid to the famous wind instrument (anemometer), which was ordered by Peter I in Dresden and installed in the Summer Palace in 1714. The device combines three dials: one of them is an hour, the other two are indicators of the direction and speed of the wind. The arrows of the right and left dials are connected to the weather vane located on the roof through a shaft cut through the wall. The device is an integral part of the Summer Palace, its most unique rarity. The wind instrument has a carved frame, on which mythological characters are represented: the lord of the winds Eol, the lord of the seas Neptune and sea emblems - ship rudders, oars, tridents and a crown of rosters crowning the frame - the prows of ships.

Experts carefully approached the restoration of the Lower and Upper Cooks, finished with painted Dutch tiles. In Nizhnyaya Povarna, a black marble shell is presented, which is part of the water supply system of the time of Peter the Great. Under the building of the palace, a brick vaulted tunnel has been preserved, which provided the operation of a flow-flushing sewer - the first in St. Petersburg.

A renewed gilded weather vane shone on the roof of the palace.

Studying the history of the appearance of gardens in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo, one involuntarily plunges into the unfamiliar activity of Peter I as the organizer and creator, the zealous owner of the first gardens, unfamiliar to most of us.

He carefully preserved the forests during the initial construction of the city. The most valuable of the broad-leaved species - oak - was almost never found. And those trees that met were especially protected. In the first description of Petersburg in 1710-1711. mention is made of Peter's order to keep "in special honor" two old oaks that grew on the coast of the island of Retusari (Kotlin). They were surrounded by a fence, in the shade they arranged a gazebo overlooking the sea, in which the king liked to "sit with shipbuilders." But in the descriptions of the city five years later, these oaks are no longer mentioned.

The special predilection of Peter I for oak was explained by the fact that it was the main tree species from which ship hulls were then built. One of the ships of the young fleet built in 1718 was even named "Old Oak". It was said that Peter the Great himself planted acorns along the Peterhof road, wishing that oaks were bred everywhere. Noticing that one of the nobles smiled at his labors, he turned around and said in anger: “I understand, you think I won’t live to see mature oaks. True, but you’re a fool. over time, they built ships from them.

Extremely rare in the forests of the time of Peter I, another valuable broad-leaved species - beech. Perhaps the last copies of it were found in the 50s of the last century on the Duderhof heights.

When building up the city, Peter I preserved the mother forests as much as possible: a small spruce grove was left on the banks of the Neva in front of the current Trinity Bridge; another spruce grove was preserved on the banks of the Moika, opposite the Particular Shipyard; the spruce forest was left on the island during the construction of New Holland. The latter was declared reserved by Peter, which marked the beginning of the history and the very protection of urban nature. The laws were strict: for cutting down protected forests, as well as trees suitable for the construction of ships, "the death penalty will be inflicted without any mercy, no matter who it is" (decrees of Peter I of November 19, 1703, of January 19, 1705) . Judging by the fact that the decrees were repeated, logging continued, there were punishments for them, but, as historians say, it did not come to the death penalty.

But the forests, of course, were doomed to cutting down, since the city was being built, and the main material at first was wood. In addition, the owners of estates along the Fontanka were ordered to cut down dense forests in order to deprive the habitats of "dashing people" who "repaired attacks" on the townspeople.

Arrangement of the first gardens

Gardens at the beginning of the 18th century were arranged in the Dutch style, which Peter I loved so much. As a child, he grew up in such gardens in Moscow, which were strongly influenced by the Dutch Baroque. This love for beautiful gardens, trees, fragrant flowers and herbs stayed with him for the rest of his life. Passion for gardens was supported by considerable knowledge in botany and horticulture. Peter I, in fact, was the first and chief landscaper of St. Petersburg. He single-handedly decided which plants would grow here, and he dealt with this with enthusiasm, as well as with many other urgent matters. Where does such love and knowledge in gardening come from?

According to the historian I. E. Zabelin, "none of our ancient Tsars, in his home life, was engaged in agriculture with such passion as Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich" (Peter's father). "... due to the liveliness of his character, he indulged in every business with special fervor" and, in addition, "he loved to bring every business ... to complete deanery and dispensation." It is surprising that he went down in history under the name of the Quietest... The fruits of his labors were extensive gardens in Izmailovo and Kolomenskoye, in which not only ordinary fruit trees and berries grew, but also rare, even exotic species for the Moscow region: walnuts, Siberian cedars , fir. A grape garden was also planted, but the Astrakhan vine grew poorly there.

(It is interesting that at the behest of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and with his participation, the first Russian ship "Orel" was built on the Oka River. Historians find a similarity between the profile of the boat on the spire of the Admiralty with that first ship. So the passion for building ships, apparently, is also not accidental in the life and works of Peter I).

Peter, in all likelihood, inherited from his father a taste for gardening. He planted the same gardens at the palace in Preobrazhensky, where he lived at the beginning of his reign, before leaving for St. Petersburg. Overseas curiosities were grown in the gardens of Peter: cypress that wintered under cover, many flowers from Western Europe. Tulips, daffodils, carnations, marigolds, marigolds (calendula), yellow lilies and other rarities bloomed here. Rose hips were held in high esteem, which was then called "common color" (real roses were not yet grown in Russia at that time). Peter especially loved fragrant herbs, wrote out their seeds and ordered them to be planted along the paths: rue, tansy, hyssop, "German mint", kalufer (or kanufer, balsamic chamomile - a perennial from the Caucasus, Asia Minor, spicy grass, added to snuff in the XVIII century). It was from the Moscow region and Moscow that Peter ordered plants to be sent for planting in St. Petersburg. In the spring of 1704, the first flowers and herbs were sent to equip the Summer Garden.

It is known that the Summer Garden was "divorced in 1711 according to a plan drawn by the sovereign himself" (SN Shubinsky). Peter I took care of planting gardens not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Moscow, Taganrog, Riga, and Ukraine. He entered into all the details of garden construction, gave orders, being abroad; subscribed to books on gardening, created projects for new gardens.

Judging by the papers of the king, he himself ordered tree seedlings from Holland through Revel, as well as from Moscow, Lvov, the Siberian province, and Ukraine. He especially loved lindens, familiar to northern places, chestnuts. The trees were removed under the supervision of gardeners, with every precaution to preserve them. In 1712, 1,300 lime trees were ordered from Holland. In addition, elm, cedar, hornbeam, larch, and poplar were imported to Russia from Holland. Oaks, which Peter cherished so much, were imported from the surrounding Novgorod places.

As early as 1707, foreign gardeners were invited, capable of replanting large, mature trees without damage, as was done at the French court. One of these masters was Martin Gender, a gardener from Potsdam. Letters from Peter to Apraksin have been preserved: "... you can buy young orange, lemon and other trees, which are a curiosity here.

Plant in boxes to be transported next spring. "For the wintering of heat-loving fig trees (figs), grapes," warm anbars "(greenhouses) were built. The more extensive economic ties with Europe became, the more diverse the range of plants that were planted in St. Petersburg and its surroundings.

There are many documents that confirm this. T. K. Goryshina in the book "The Green World of Old Petersburg" cites interesting information about it. So, in 1719, an order was sent to the gardener Schultz in Hamburg for "3000 pcs. Hispanic syringa (lilacs), 100 pcs. roses, 20 pcs. Terry clematis, cherries of low trees" (i.e., bush form), a lot of apricots, peach, chestnut trees. The gardener Steffel was ordered to send an extensive set of seeds and bulbs of flower plants, spicy and fragrant herbs, and another "2000 arshin bukshbomu". This was the name of boxwood - an evergreen shrub, which in the 18th century was grown in a sheared form to create continuous linear borders, while measured by arshins (1 arshin \u003d 711.2 mm). Orders like this one were sent to Amsterdam, Gdansk, Sweden. Even in Peter's decree (dated January 3, 1717, to Konon Zotov) regarding the sending of noble children to France to study naval service, there is an unexpected indication at the end: "Also look for laurel trees that are put in pots so that from the ground to the crowns they are no higher stems like 2 feet" (1 foot = 304.8 mm).

For heat-loving southern plants, greenhouses had to be built. Trees were brought from Moscow, Novgorod district, from areas north of St. Petersburg. Plants were brought from Sweden on ships specially sent there. For the parks of St. Petersburg, hundreds and even thousands of broad-leaved trees were brought: lindens, maples, elms. It is known that in the spring of 1723, about eight thousand seedlings of linden, ash, elms and maples were brought to the Summer Garden. European gardens and parks were mainly created from these rocks. Thanks to the undertakings of Peter I, these species from exotic plantations have now become predominant in the green attire of the city, its gardens and parks.

The decisiveness, speed and onslaught of Peter were also reflected in the methods of landscaping the city. He had no time to wait for small seedlings to grow up; he needed to plant large, mature trees. In a letter to Major Ushakov dated February 8, 1716, Peter orders to prepare lindens near Moscow in the winter, cut off their tops and take them to St. Petersburg in the spring. Such transportation by carts on horseback took at least three weeks. It soon became clear that it was not The best way transplants. We started summer transplants with a clod of earth, which turned out to be much more effective. Even winter digging was practiced with the help of a special machine, digging up trees until spring. In this way, it was possible to transplant even very capricious breeds. But the main thing, of course, was the most thorough care of highly professional gardeners for each plant.

It is curious to note that the requirements of imported plants for heat did not bother the customer too much, the "southerners" were simply placed in greenhouses. They were attentive to the soil conditions in which plants grew in their homeland. For example, when ordering horse chestnuts in Holland, Peter I ordered to take trees growing on different soils, while collecting and sending soil samples in "bags" in order to select the most suitable land for planting.

In the post-Petrine era, the composition of the foreign flora largely depended on the then working foreign gardeners, who brought their own tastes and preferences to the appearance of city gardens and parks, in addition to colossal professional experience and knowledge. Naturally, German gardeners ordered many plants from Germany, the Dutch - from Holland. During the construction of the Tauride Garden at the end of the 18th century, the work was carried out by the English gardener W. Gould, and most of the trees and flower plants were brought from England. There were even garden incidents: in mid-eighteenth century, working in the Tsarskoye Selo park, the gardener Jacob Rekhlin insisted on uprooting most of the main tree species - linden, already growing in it, as "not very decent." It was replaced with sheared yew and laurel in tubs. (It should be noted that in the last few years the front part of the regular park and the square in front of Catherine Palace were again decorated with tubed laurel trees with spherical and pyramidal crown shapes).

History of Dutch gardens in Russia

Trying to rebuild the Russian way of life, Peter began precisely with the creation of gardens, sending his people abroad to study the Dutch gardening art. Peter's favorite gardener was the Dutchman Jan Rosen, who also created the Tsarskoye Selo Garden. At the request of the sovereign, a sculpture was added to the classical Dutch garden, which decorated the alleys and labyrinths of the garden. The ideological idea of ​​this innovation was to introduce elements of a European, secular attitude to the world and nature into the worldview of visitors. New for them, pan-European emblems were introduced into the minds of Russians. In this regard, in 1705 in Amsterdam, on the orders of Peter, the book "Symbols and Emblems" was published, which was later reprinted several times.

The book presented examples of the symbolic system of gardens, their decorations, triumphal arches, fireworks, sculptural decorations of buildings and gardens. In fact, it was a new, secular "primer" of the sign system instead of the old, ecclesiastical one.

In an effort to establish closer cultural ties with Europe as soon as possible, Peter I sought to make it understandable and familiar to Russian educated people ancient mythology. Landscape gardening art was the most accessible and at the same time very active. The Summer Garden, as the first urban garden, became a kind of "academy" where Russian people passed the beginnings of European cultural education. Labyrinths of sheared living plants were arranged there according to the samples of Versailles, as well as plots from people's lives on the themes of "Aesopian parables". Peter so valued Aesop's Parables as an important element of the new European education that they were translated by Ilya Kopievsky and published in Amsterdam in Russian and Latin among the first books. The same plots were used in the construction of parks in Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo.

Historians note Peter's special love for rare flowers (their seeds and seedlings were ordered from abroad), for "porcelain sets for decorating flower beds", and also an addiction to garden crackers. A variety of cracker fountains still attract the attention of numerous guests of the beautiful parks of Peterhof.

The Dutch garden was filled with fruit trees and shrubs, arranged in a regular pattern, and always full of flowers. The owner's house could be located on the side of the main axis of the garden, on both sides of which there were terraces and green "studies". (The Summer Garden is an example.) In Dutch gardening, it was customary to plant a house (or palace) thickly with trees. So in the Old Garden of Tsarskoye Selo, the trees formerly closely adjoined the garden facade of the Catherine Palace.

These old linden trees mostly survived the Great Patriotic War. In the 60s, the reconstruction of the Old Garden began in order to revive its regular "Versailles" appearance, in imitation of which it was created. Each reconstruction of historical objects, whether architectural monuments or parks, which are living objects that change over time, causes discussions among specialists and society about exactly what period of the existence of this object should be restored historical appearance. In the case of the Dutch Garden in Catherine's park Tsarskoye Selo, the choice was made in favor of the period of the greatest prosperity of the park and the palace in the middle of the 18th century, during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. Most of the old trees, which could no longer be cut according to the rules of a regular garden, were cut down, to the great chagrin of many admirers of Tsarskoye Selo gardens.

In the future, the concept of "Dutch garden" came to mean a small garden near the house with large quantity colors. It began to have a similar meaning in English language, being called "Dutch Garden". "Dutch gardens" belonged to the gardens of the romantic type. Such were the gardens of the Russians estates XIX century, being an integral and organic part of the transition from the architecture of the house, the mansion to the landscape part of the manor park. D. S. Likhachev in his book "Poetry of Gardens" describes in great detail and fascinatingly the history and various styles of gardens from different times and countries, including the romantic gardens of Tsarskoye Selo.

History of plant species new to St. Petersburg

At the beginning of the 21st century, we got used to the abundance of ornamental plants growing in private gardens, parks, and just on city streets. But it was not always so, and in fact ornamental gardens are still very rare.

Most often, our private gardens resemble those old Dutch gardens, from which they began to decorate the capital and its suburbs. And they certainly planted fruit trees, berries, garden vegetables and many flowers. How did the accumulation and enrichment of types of ornamental and food crops, ways of caring for them occur? And again we have to return to the times of Peter the Great.

Thousands of people were employed in the construction of St. Petersburg. Working conditions in the local climate were monstrously difficult. In order to somehow maintain the health of workers and the army, by decree of Peter in 1714, an Apothecary garden was founded on one of the islands in the delta of the Neva River. There began to grow a variety of medicinal plants. But Peter's idea from the very beginning was much broader than this practical task.

Gardeners were charged with the duty to breed rare "overseas" plants. Subsequently, the Pharmaceutical Garden grew into the Medico-Botanical Garden. On its basis, in 1823, the Imperial Botanical Garden was established, which by the beginning of the 20th century became one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, a center of botanical science. His collections of living plants, herbarium, collection of botanical literature become known far beyond the borders of Russia.

The collection began with herbaceous plants, but by 1736 it also included tree species of about 45 items. The collections were continuously replenished by botanists after each expedition. Over the years, the number of only tree species acclimatized in our conditions reached 1000 names, not to mention herbaceous garden and greenhouse plants. Further, the Botanical Garden became a source of introduction into the culture of St. Petersburg and its environs of new, many hundreds of species of ornamental plants adapted to local conditions.

Special scientific institutions collected collections of agricultural crops, developing new technologies for their cultivation, creating new varieties and hybrids. The Institute of Plant Growing, its Experimental Stations, located throughout the country, became such an institution. Since 1938, the Control and Seed Experimental Station in Pushkin has been studying and introducing ornamental crops into the production and landscaping of the city. AT best years her work in the collection and production, there were more than 1300 species and varieties of ornamental plants, including open and protected flower crops, flowering shrubs and a large arboretum. The history of many now familiar ornamental plants began in past centuries.

It is interesting that the tree-like caragana (yellow acacia, as it is colloquially called) so common now in landscaping was "introduced" into plantings by the scientific gardener G. Ekleben, who in 1758-1778 served as the chief master of the Imperial Gardens. He was an ardent supporter of the cultivation of the "Siberian pea tree", as this breed was then called, not only as an ornamental, but also as a food plant, eating its fruits as food like peas and lentils. True, the nutritional merits of caragana were not recognized at that time. Getting acquainted with the history of ornamental gardening in St. Petersburg, we will learn about plants that were fashionable at different times, how to cultivate them and preserve northern places. In the first half of the 18th century, roses and boxwood were considered the most fashionable. And now their usual shelter for the winter with spruce paws, felt, matting was invented by the Dutch gardener B. Fok.

Many ornamental plants in those days were bred as spices: levkoy, anemone, golden rod (solidago), gentian (gentian) and other species.

In St. Petersburg, there were attempts to acclimatize foreign plants for practical use, and not only for decorative purposes. These experiments were carried out by the Free Economic Society, established in 1765. In 1801, Alexander I granted him the western half of Petrovsky Island. Forage grasses (sainfoin, alfalfa, timothy), buckwheat, oilseeds, dyeing and fragrant herbs, as well as sesame and cotton were sown on a plot of land cleared from the forest in the hope of proving that "all this can be born near St. Petersburg."

One of the historians of St. Petersburg subsequently reacted very critically to the new undertakings, but rightly noted the undoubted value of these experiments. This enriched the future cultural flora of our places, and also became one of the sources of urban weeds. In the course of these experiments, it was possible for the first time to grow from larch seeds, which so adorned the city and its parks. But in general, the daring experience did not bring the expected result, and in 1836 the land was taken away from the Free Economic Society, and it was allowed to build dachas on Petrovsky Island.

In general, the number of species of foreign plants in St. Petersburg was quite significant, although not all attempts at acclimatization were successful. This, together with the ensemble architecture, also made the capital different from the rest of the country. Many species have found their way into greenhouses, and others have been called "cultural fugitives" by botanists because they actually seeped through garden fences and dispersed into streets, wastelands, lawns, and other habitats. Already in late XIX century (and now too) wild garden flowers came across in the city: early American aster, Central European daisy, subtropical cosmea, Asian aquilegia, now - the ubiquitous North American Jerusalem artichoke. One of the wild medicinal chamomiles - fragrant - from the Aptekarsky Island spread not only in St. Petersburg, but also went further, deep into Russia and the Far East.

Elena Kuzmina

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The Summer Palace of Peter I is considered one of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg. The house is in a very beautiful place called the Summer Garden. This park was laid out at the beginning of the 18th century, when northern capital just started building up. To work on his summer residence, Peter I invited eminent architects and garden masters. The king dreamed of building a Versailles-style garden here. Looking ahead, let's say that he succeeded and until now the Summer Garden remains one of the favorite places for tourists and residents of the city to relax.

The Summer Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg is not splendid. This is a very modest building in the Baroque style, quite unlike the royal mansions.

Peter chose the place for the Summer Palace between the Neva and the Fontanka (in those years - the Nameless Yerik), just where the estate of the Swedish major Erich von Konow was located. It was here that a small two-story building was built. stone house designed by architect Domenico Trezzini. True, initially Peter made the plan of the house on his own, and Trezzini only corrected it. It should be noted that the Summer Palace of Peter I is not distinguished by pomp. This is a very modest building in the Baroque style, quite unlike the royal mansions. The layout of both floors is exactly the same. There are only 14 rooms, 2 kitchens and 2 internal corridors. On the first floor there were rooms of the king, on the second - his wife Catherine. The owners used this house only in the warm season - from May to October. That is why the Summer Palace of Peter I has thin walls and single frames in the windows. The facade of the palace is decorated with 28 bas-reliefs depicting the events of the Northern War.

On the roof of the Summer Palace of Peter I there is a copper weather vane in the form of St. George the Victorious slaying a snake. The weather vane sets in motion the mechanism of the wind device located inside the house. The wind direction and strength were indicated on a special instrument panel. This device, unusual for that time, Peter I ordered in Dresden from the court mechanic.

Despite the external simplicity, the Summer Palace of Peter I had everything that was required for the needs of the sovereign. In the waiting room, he read letters, dealt with complaints, and occasionally received visitors. In the neighborhood there was a lathe and a machine tool, for which Peter worked, a bedroom, a dressing room, a kitchen, a dining room and a large assembly room. For the guilty, a punishment cell was provided. The interior decoration of the palace in allegorical form glorified the victory of Russia over the Swedes in the Northern War. On the second floor were Catherine's bedroom, a nursery, a room for ladies-in-waiting and a separate room for dancing.

Interestingly, in the Summer Palace of Peter I, a sewage system was equipped - the very first in all of St. Petersburg. The building was washed from three sides with water, which entered the house with the help of pumps. The flow of the Fontanka River served as the driving force behind the sewage system.

Next to the palace is another building - Human chambers. The famous Amber Room, a huge library and numerous collections of various things that Peter collected were located here. For example, the anatomical collection of the Dutch scientist Ruysch was kept in the Human Chambers. In fact, this house housed a large museum: here the king brought various curiosities, mechanisms, many compasses, astronomical instruments, stones with inscriptions, household items of different peoples and much, much more.

The Summer Palace performed its main function as a country residence of the tsar until the middle of the 18th century. Then officials began to use it. For some time the palace even stood abandoned. This is what saved it from restructuring. In 1934, the historical and art museum was located here. The building was damaged during the Great Patriotic War. But a large-scale reconstruction in the mid-50s of the 20th century helped to completely restore the palace. Today the residence of the tsar is part of the Russian Museum, anyone can go inside and find out how Peter I lived.

Practical information

Address of the Summer Garden: St. Petersburg, Kutuzova Embankment, 2. The nearest metro station is Gostiny Dvor. Entrance to the garden is free, opening hours - from 10.00 to 20.00. Day off - Tuesday.