Restored fountain "Neptune" in Peterhof pleased the audience

Peterhof is the most popular of all the suburbs of St. Petersburg. The palace and park ensemble is recognized as the highest achievement of Russian culture and is an example of the synthesis of architecture, sculpture, engineering art. A unique fountain complex, located in the Upper and Lower Gardens, has long been recognized as a true miracle of the world. To supply it with water, a unique system with ponds was built.

Each fountain has its own history and destiny. Today we are talking about a composition called "Neptune", which was updated and presented to the audience in April 2016.

Upper park

Occupying an area of about 15 hectares, the Upper Park is known for its small picturesque gardens, arched alleys, colorful flower gardens, but the main role, of course, is given to fountains with sculptural compositions. Around each of them there are symmetrical green lawns with trimmed plants.

Sightseeing of Peterhof

Located in the Upper Park, the fountain "Neptune", numbering about forty large figures, is set amidst a water-filled basin. This is the most significant and large-scale creation, which is the main attraction of Peterhof.

Initially, in 1736 a lead composition "Telega Neptunova" was installed. The main sculpture was supplemented by proud horsemen on mythical horses, figures of women with oars and dolphins, and in the center was a gilded ball cast from copper, lifted by silvery water jets.

Fountain, built by German craftsmen

In 61 years the composition was dismantled due to frequent restorations, and instead a bronze fountain "Neptune" was installed, which was waiting for its turn in Germany for more than a hundred years.

The fact is that as early as 1660 German sculptors were engaged in the creation of a fountain, which was to become a symbol of the end of the last 30 years of war and the Peace of Westphalia. However, as it turned out, in the city of Nuremberg this system can not function because of insufficient water supply. And the local authorities called it "an inappropriately expensive monument."

Buying composition by the emperor

The future Emperor Paul I, traveling incognito, saw the cascade and fell in love with it. And after his coronation, he returned to Germany, where the Neptune fountain was in disassembled form in a warehouse, and bought for huge money in order to install it in his residence in the future.

However, Gatchina did not have enough water to maintain its life, and therefore it was decided to install a cascade in Peterhof at the site of the dismantled composition.

Since 1799 the majestic sculpture, which turned out to be the oldest among all the complexes, pleases the eyes of the visitors of the Upper Park.

Neptune Fountain in Peterhof: description

The composition of the Baroque monument includes more than 30 figures. Squeezing in his hand, the trident Neptune is surrounded by rushing riders, gentle nymphs and blowing into the shells of the newt boy.

His figure rises on a high granite pedestal, decorated with images of dolphins, oak leaves, flowers. The ancient Roman god of the sea is surrounded by 26 upward streams of water and gives the impression that he controls the elements.

The pedestal is located on a large platform, complete with sculptures of horsemen galloping on winged horses, and in a huge pond there are figures of eight dolphins.

Noteworthy fact, but the inhabitants of the German city could not reconcile with the loss of the fountain, and at the beginning of the XX century an exact copy of the work of art was installed.

Dismantling during the war

During the Great Patriotic War, the Neptune fountain was dismantled and taken as trophies by the Nazis to Germany. But in 1947 the stolen masterpiece stored in the bunker was returned in 12 boxes, however, without the figures of the rider and Apollo, which were newly cast by our masters for the remaining casts of plaster, and after 9 years the cascade once again towered in the old place.

First restoration

Falling to the share of the fountain of the test reflected not in the best way on its appearance: there were ugly cracks and chips. In 2015, the fountain "Neptune" in Peterhof, whose photo is presented in the article, was closed for the first many years of restoration. The pond was cleaned and its bowl lined with natural stones, the construction of the bottom of the reservoir was recreated, the pipeline, steps and marble plates of the fountain were replaced.

All the cracks disappeared, the deformations were eliminated, and the master restorers recovered the lost images from the documents of the two-headed eagles that survived in the archives, as well as small details on the sculptures around Neptune.

Updated composition

On April 5, 2016, the restored complex was restored to its original location. By the new season, the renewed fountain "Neptune" in Peterhof pleased all those who came to enjoy the views of the palace complex, and on May 21, he took part in the traditional festival of cascades.

This is one of the most refined and majestic compositions known to the whole world.