1.5. Regular gardens of Russia Regular parks of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland

Already in the time of Peter the Great, the Petersburg – Kronstadt road was built on the high sea terrace of the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, which received the name Peterhof. Along it, by special order of Peter I, plots of noble people were located (each with access to the sea). At the same time, the palaces with their facades and front courtyards with flower beds, fountains, and sculpture were deployed in the direction of the Peterhof Road. To the south of the road, construction was forbidden, and “protected forest groves” were preserved here. As a result, the Peterhof ceremonial road was formed as a series of exquisite regular ensembles and greatly surpassed the royal road Paris-Versailles in beauty.

Here the most outstanding palace and park ensembles were created - Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum (Appendix, fig. 60) in order to emphasize the prestige of Russia, which has become one of the strongest states in Europe. In their compositional solution, a number of common features can be traced: the use of the upper sea terrace for building a palace, which becomes the dominant feature of the ensemble; device of the access channel and parterre; the completion of the prospects of pavilions, fountains, sculpture or views of the Gulf of Finland; use in plantations mainly local breeds.