The Various Buildings Located on the Grounds
Peterhof Building & Fountains Construction
Temporary wooden quarters were built at Peterhof almost as soon as the site was chosen, but planning did not begin until 1710. As construction of the nearby city proceeded, the palace itself was not started in earnest until 1714. By this time Peter the Great had established himself as the conqueror of Sweden. While he had succeeded in implementing vast reforms and military success and expansion, Peter the Great was viewed by his own people as a bit of a despot, in part for some rather brutal reprisals. Of course, this was not unusual for European rulers at the time, but it was thought Peter the Great took a particular delight in it. Also, many were suspicious of his connections with Germany and other European countries -- these alliances would prove more than just friendly ties for the next 100 years. Nonetheless, Peterhof fountains construction continued for over a decade unimpeded.
The palaces, water fountains, and gardens Peter the Great saw in Europe, especially those in France, heavily influenced him. In fact, when the construction of his summer residence, Mon Plaisir (also "my pleasure") Palace, was complete, Peter the Great began building several more buildings inland such as those he saw at Versailles. As such, many of those buildings are very long and thin to give the impression of great size as seen from the gardens. An international team of architects including J. Braunstein, J.B. Leblond and Nicola Michetti planned the initial Mon Plaisir construction. During Catherine the Great's reign later in the century, Francesco Bartholomeo Rastrelli, known for his works in the city, also crafted the final look of Peterhof.
Other buildings in the original design of Peterhof include the residential Marly Palace that overlooked the poultry houses, fishponds, vegetable gardens, cellars, greenhouses and orchards of what would become the Upper Gardens. Also of note is The Hermitage Pavilion, originally intended to be a dining room to receive other royals, though not completed until the year after Peter the Great's death. Designed by J. Braunstein and completed by Mikhail Zemtsov, it features one of the first elevators in Russia and very large windows to view the grounds.
Indeed, what is now called the Grand Palace and that which dominates the landscape was much smaller in Peter the Great's day. Simply the Upper Palace until heavily remodeled and added to in the mid 18th century, the palace became the dominant feature of the Peterhof grounds.
The interiors of the original and subsequent buildings of Peterhof were completed in the heavily gilded and ornamented Baroque style, popular in Western Europe at the time. The additions made over the next 200 years followed the same general style. The Hermitage also had a great many artworks, including fountains, added during these years.