An Amazing World in My Eyes: Monplaisir Palace

Date of construction: 1714-1723 Architects: Andreas Schlüter (1660-1714), Johann Friedrich Braunstein (? -?), Jean-Baptiste Leblond (1679-1719), Nicolo Michetti (1675-1759)

Aerial view of Monplaisir Palace and gardens

On the very shore of the Gulf of Finland is the favorite country palace of Peter I - "Monplaisir" (French monplaisir - "my pleasure"). The idea of the building was determined by the outline and schematic drawings of the king himself, outlining not only the location, but also the internal layout, some elements of decorative decoration, etc. The Monplaisir appearance reflected the extraordinary personality of the first Russian emperor, his aesthetic tastes, interests and affection: the decoration was clearly conceived under the influence of Dutch architecture of the 18th century, which is why the palace was sometimes called the “Dutch House”. The French ambassador Campredon wrote: "The rooms at Monplaisir are small but very comfortable, and imitation of the Dutch economy and tidiness in the kitchens, as well as in the paved terrace by the sea, is noticeable

A magnificent picture unfolds before visitors arriving to Peterhof by sea: a high terrace reinforced with huge granite boulders and encircled by an elegant white balustrade echoing the outline of a single-storey brick building with a tall roof. This is Peter the Great's palace called Monplaisir. Attached to its central block are two recessed galleries with structures known as lusthaus pavilions. The walls of the galleries are pierced with narrow glassed doors alternating with deep semicircular niches emphasizing the massive bulk of the walls which protect the area from the northern wind.

Monplaisir is as old as Peterhof itself. The history of the whole palace and park ensemble began with the construction of Monplaisir. The palace was Peter the Great's favourite creation, and it was he who gave it this name. The Emperor himself chose the site for the construction and sketched the layout of the building. It is hardly possible to find any other place where his personal habits and tastes could be so strongly felt.

As is the case with a number of other monuments dating from the first quarter of the eighteenth century, no reliable data on the designer of the palace of Monplaisir have reached us. Many researchers are inclined to believe that it was designed by Andreas Schluter, an architect who worked in Russia for some time before his death in 1714. In any case, his assistant and pupil Johann Braunstein was responsible for the building work and interior decoration there.

The complex took its shape mainly towards the mid-eighteenth century. It is called Monplaisir ("my pleasure" in French) and derives its name from Peter the Great's small amusement palace, although previously the building had been called the Dutch House for the resemblance of its layout and its facade and interior decoration to small "burgher" dwellings in Holland.

In 1714, Peter began construction of the Monplaisir Palace (French: "my delight") based on his own sketches. He "сhalked out not only the site but also the inside layout, some elements of the decorative finish, etc". Based in a Dutch style, this was Peter's summer retreat (not to be confused with his Summer Palace) that he would use on his way coming and going from Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt.

The idea of the building was determined by the outline and schematic drawings of the king himself, outlining not only the location, but also the internal layout, some elements of decorative decoration, etc.


	Sea view from	the Terraces near Monplaisir.

The Eastern Gallery on the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of paintings that Peter brought from Europe.

The Eastern Gallery and rooms of the palace are decorated with paintings of Western European painting of the XVII-XVIII centuries, most of which relate to the original collection, collected by Peter.

The galleries and rooms of the palace are decorated with paintings of Western European painting of the XVII-XVIII centuries, most of which relate to the original collection, collected by Peter. To place a large collection of Chinese porcelain in Monplaisir, a corner of the East, the Lacquer Cabinet, was created. Its walls are decorated with large black and lacquer panels with miniature paintings made in the Chinese style. On the shelves-consoles attached between the panels, there is oriental porcelain, which was extremely appreciated in the Petrine era and was the subject of special pride of the owners.

On crossing the threshold of this study, the visitor suddenly finds himself in the magic oriental kingdom - the walls in the room are faced with black lacquer panels set in ornate red frames. The painting on a black lacquer ground is executed in gold with figures in relief. The pictures feature landscapes, gardens, scenes of hunting and fishing, birds and plants. Fixed on the vertical strips between the panels are carved and gilded brackets with their shelves supported by putti and sirens.

The painting on a black lacquer ground is executed in gold with figures in relief. The pictures feature landscapes, gardens, scenes of hunting and fishing, birds and plants. Fixed on the vertical strips between the panels are carved and gilded brackets with their shelves supported by putti and sirens.

The shelves are used to display pieces of Oriental porcelain which found their way to Monplaisir in Peter's time.


	The Lacquer Study.	Shelves with Porcelain pieces

the Lacquer Cabinet, was created. Its walls are decorated with large black and lacquer panels with miniature paintings made in the Chinese style. On the shelves-consoles attached between the panels, there is oriental porcelain, which was extremely appreciated in the Petrine era and was the subject of special pride of the owners.

The main hall, located in the center of the palace, is one of the best achievements of Peter's Baroque. The characteristic themes of the changing seasons, the variability of the universe, built on four elements, are reflected in the sculptural and pictorial design of the dome. Noble waxed oak was used to decorate the walls in the English manner. The Grand Hall of Monplaisir is a witness to a wide variety of events. Family celebrations and victories of Russian weapons were celebrated here, receptions of foreign ambassadors were held.

The characteristic themes of the changing seasons, the variability of the universe, built on four elements, are reflected in the sculptural and pictorial design of the dome.

Detail of Ceiling in the The Central Hall

Noble waxed oak was used to decorate the walls in the English manner. The Grand Hall of Monplaisir is a witness to a wide variety of events.

The huge glass goblet on the table reminds of a serious punishment: the fine “Big Eagle Cup”, which was filled to the brim with wine during feasts and brought to the violators of the rules introduced by the Czar.

Rare cookware items are on display in a neat Dutch-style Kitchen. Here sometimes the wife of the tsar Ekaterina Alekseevna also cooked. A feature of Monplaisir cuisine is the presence of a stone sink for washing dishes, the water for which was supplied through a pipe from the Sheaf fountain. The plumbing and flow-washing sewerage created for Monplaisir were significant innovations for the 18th century.

the Kitchen of the Marly Palace, too, was built in the "Dutch manner"

On the shelves, tables and the stove are typical kitchen utensils of the first half of the eighteenth century - English tinware, German vessels, copper cauldrons and pots made at the Urals factories, Dutch and German pottery.

The Pantry The door from the Kitchen opens to the room where kitchen utensils and table-linen were stored. It is the only room, the walls of which are smoothly plastered. But even this interior, in spite of its purely utilitarian purpose, has some decorative features - the unusual pattern of its parquet floor, its fireplace decorated with moulding and, lastly, the majestic painted composition showing a woman with a burning brazier, an allegory of Winter, on its ceiling. As any pantry, it contained glassware and ceramic vessels: Dutch fa؟ence dishes and vases, Russian bottles, decanters and all sorts of goblets and wine-glasses. Standing on the fireplace are eight brown stoneware tea-pots which were, according to tradition, presented to Peter the Great by the Chinese Emperor.


	The Pantry.	Philippe Pillement.	The ceiling painted over stuccowork

The Pantry

The study of Peter I is connected with the marine theme. One of the most important activities of the king was the creation of the fleet. The office windows overlook the Gulf of Finland, Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. The lower part of the cabinet walls is decorated with tiles, on which the masters depicted 13 types of sailing ships of that time. Funny monkeys in the ceiling painting remind of traveling to overseas countries. Navigation and measuring instruments, presented on the shelves of the supply cabinet, testify to the marine occupations of the emperor - an expert on shipbuilding and maritime affairs.

The Bedroom is adjacent to the Maritime Study. Originally its walls were lined with Dutch green cloth, but already in the 1830s the worn-out lining was removed. Now it has been replaced by olive-coloured woollen fabric which perfectly harmonizes with the oak doors and the tracery of the windows. A particular air of festivity is lent to the interior by its fireplace, the shield of which is decorated with an amazingly elaborate moulded pattern. In the centre of the room stands a huge bed with a canopy over it and next to it is a table-top brazier executed in the eighteenth century by Spanish craftsmen from the town of Pamplona. The wooden mug with a set of glasses and a saltcellar put inside was made and painted by master-craftsmen from Arkhangelsk. The jug and the tub for washing, coated in black lacquer, are of English work. All these objects were Peter the Great's personal belongings.


	The Bedroom.	Gerard Dou. "Food Shop".

Bedroom of Emperor Peter I in the Palace Monplaisir in Peterhof Museum State Open air Museum Peterhof St Petersburg Author Ukhtomsky Konstantin

The Bathhouse Wing of Monplaisir from the ocean

Monplaisir sits at the very tip of the Peterhof property, overlooking the gulf of Finland in an almost rural way. Monplaisir was completed in 1723, but it was not until the death of its founder, that Catherine (who would later become Catherine the Great) added the bathhouse wing. It is those later additions that will give you an intimate glimpse into the bathing culture at the Russian court.

As you enter the bathing wing of Monplaisir, you will most certainly be struck by the fact of how small it at all is. When you read the histories and visit all the spectacular palaces around St. Petersburg and Moscow (wrote about the spectacular Kremlin here; and Catherine Palace here), you soon get the impression that under the reign of the tsar’s everything had to be larger than live. But apparently, when in private, there was a grand need for intimacy. Though I really have to say that it all reminded me pretty much the luxury hotel I was staying during my time in St. Petersburg

Attached to the eastern wing from the side of the Monplaisir Garden is a single-storey building with a tent-shaped hipped roof. This is the so-called Bath House. Originally, the Monplaisir estate included, among other household structures, bathing pools and baths built in 1721-22. In 1748, instead of Peter's small wooden bath house, a new one, also in wood, was erected there and a crystal bath inserted into a copper casing was installed. In 1765, the construction of a swimming pool with a lifting bottom and an inlet of sea water began. Unsalted water was fed from the Moujichok (Peasant) Fountain in the centre of the pool. The work was finished only in the 1770s when pipes were laid along the perimeter of the octagonal pool inside with water-jets spouting from them. Later, already in 1800, the moujichok was replaced by a tall gilded column with water-thrusting sphere on top. Thus the construction of a trick fountain over the Imperial bath was completed. In addition to the room containing a bathing-pool and a shower-bath, the Bath House had cold-water bathrooms and a Russian steam-bath, as well as the Toilet Room and the Entrance Room.

In 1865-66 the old wooden wing was replaced by a new stone building erected to the design of the architect Eduard Hahn. Redesigning the building he tried to retain the eighteenth-century style - he even simply imitated the architecture of Monplaisir. However, the evident lack of integrity in the design of the facades and the apparent overloading with details betray a nineteenth-century builder. Nevertheless, the architect left intact the original layout of the building, the bathing-pool with a fountain and the steam-bath. The Bath House had retained such an appearance until World War II, but during the occupation of Peterhof its interiors were destroyed. Now their restoration has been completed and soon a museum of the history of daily life shall be opened there.

A small Chinese garden in the so-called landscape style adjoins the Bath House from the east. The garden was designed by the architect Eduard Hahn in 1866. The creators of such gardens aimed at reaching the maximum variety of landscape scenery. To enliven the flat relief of the area, a hillock was raised there. Mounted on its top is a marble sculptural group, Cupid and Psyche, a copy of Canova's original. This spot affords a splendid view of the gulf. On the northern slope of the hillock is a tufa grotto with two marble stepways shaped as shells. The brook running from the grotto streams down the edges of the shells and feeds water to the small pond which has a tufa island with a fountain jet in the centre of it. The structure is known as the Shell Cascade. The clusters of trees, the small brook with humpbacked bridges spanning it, the marble statues, the winding walks and the flower-beds, all adds to the special air of cosiness and splendour characteristic of the Chinese Garden.

Small as the bathhouse is, it is equally as odd: Within you will find a wooden contraption with a stair and handrail attached to a copper rim.

It really makes you savor modern technology and inventions in a very special way. If you have a look at the other bathtubs within the Bathhouse Wing of Monplaisir, the odd feeling lingers. But then again you should be very aware of the time these facilities had been built. 18th century Europe was not a period in history famous for its cleanliness. What the tsars installed here was indeed the state of the art at that time. Remember that warm water was considered harmful until the 19th century. Also, be aware that complicated plumbing systems were all but lost since the Roman times and were only about to reemerge for indoor applications.

But to stay true to the facts: It is a common misconception that people of the 18th century were excessively dirty. They did, however, have a different take on cleaning. You’d have to skip your morning shower because showers really did not exist back then. It was sponge and basin! Well with one exception – Monplaisir actually had a shower. In the middle of the Bathhouse Wing, you will find an incredibly ingenious pool. Rimmed by yet another handrail, it is best described as an indoor fountain.

Again the sheer oddness of it all is almost overwhelming. Here you have this beautiful fountain – but the floor around it is wooden and the walls around it make you beg for tiles. Also, the amount of water sprouting here and there makes you wonder just how pleasurable this all was. I certainly couldn’t help but wonder how the tsars frolicked among the gurgling waters, wearing whatever the 18th century deemed proper bathing apparel.

Not all rooms of the Bathhouse wing of Monplaisir were made for sheer pleasure. There is also an examination room with some medical instruments from that time. Bathing was, among others, considered a treatment. Quite a modern idea if you think of the extensive spa menus some luxury hotels offer these days.

St. Petersburg is only a couple of kilometers away from Finland. So it comes as little surprise that a sauna can be found in the Bathhouse Wing. The steam room is, all things considered, incredibly modern – having windows to enjoy the ocean vista.

Actually, there are two steam rooms, the one a bit smaller, but just as lovely!

Within in the Bathhouse Wing of Monplaisir Palace, you will also find a huge kitchen. Shiny copper kettles and pans are hanging from large racks. Allegedly Catherine the Great sometimes stood at the hearth herself, cooking for her guests.

The Anti-Chamber in the Bath Wing

During Monplaisir's early period vegetables used to be grown opposite the auxiliary structures within the western limits of the garden and then a small stone orangery was built on the site. In 1748-49 Rastrelli used its foundations with an undercroft to erect a new stone palace, larger than the Dutch House, for Elizabeth Petrovna. The main facade of this palace looked onto the Monplasir Garden and had a porch with its door leading to the Lower Park. The decoration of the palace took a long time and was finished only in the 1750s.

The Baroque interior of the Elizabethan Palace existed for a little more than thirty years. Already in 1785-86 it was completely altered (except for the parquet design and the tiled stoves in some rooms) by the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi, invited to Russia by Catherine the Great. As a result the smooth colouring of the walls, the pilasters and the snow-white reliefs replaced the whimsical gilded carvings, the shine of mirrors and the bright fabrics.

The first of the eight rooms in the Catherine Block, to which visitors proceed from Peter's guest gallery, owes its name to the colour of its walls. The main decorative elements are similar in the majority of the rooms - the classical mouldings, the Empire-style painting in grisaille, the single-tone colouring of the walls and the smooth ceiling, sometimes with a rosette in the centre. All these decorative features are present in the decoration of the Green Reception Room: the coves are embellished with griffins, lyres, armorial trophies, banners, etc.; the frieze is made up of elegant moulded rosettes, while the walls are adorned with round wreaths of almost naturalistically rendered flowers and fruit. Scotti's painted décor which was added, in the 1800s, to the mouldings surviving from the time of Quarenghi has changed the subject-matter of the interior decoration. Fasces, swords and helmets gave an official air to the Green Reception Room. The huge marble fireplace brought from Italy was installed in the room to the design of Quarenghi.

The Empire-style painting of the room organically blends with the splendid furniture of poplar with carved and gilt trimmings, produced in St Petersburg to the design of the outstanding architect Carlo Rossi. (This set of furniture has never left Peterhof.) The artistic bronzework in the collection of the Catherine Block is represented mainly by French pieces from the late eighteenth and early nineteendi centuries. Of particular interest are the clock Apollo's Chariot made by the famous French bronzeworker Pierre-Philippe Thomire after the drawing of Jean-Demosthène Dugoure and the companion tripod bowls from the workshop of the same master-crafrsman. The bronze censer on the table before the sofa is a work by the St Petersburg craftsman de Lancris.


	Catherine the Great.	Gohann-baptist Lampi	the Elder (copy).


	Catherine the Great's formal dress.	Russia. 1770s.

Alexander I Study in the Catherine Block

The two westward-looking rooms are traditionally associated with Alexander I's stay in Peterhof. This Emperor spent a large part of his reign outside Russia, in military campaigns and foreign travels. Everything in the Study reminds the visitor of the heroic years of Russia's war against Napoleons army - the bas-reliefs after models by Fiodor Tolstoi, the paper-weight made of cannon-balls from the Borodino Battlefield, the obelisk in honour of the victory over the enemy's forces, and the cabinet with cups and goblets decorated with portraits of the heroes of the 1812 Patriotic War. Under the portrait of Paul I, on the bureau produced by the famous German cabinet-maker Heinrich Gambs who worked for the Russian court, there are two small incense vases of jasper and rhodonite. They were manufactured about 1811 at the Ekaterinburg Lapidary Factory and presented to Alexander I by Count Pavel Stroganov. The bookcase containing a small library is decorated with gilded bronze busts of the Emperor and his wife, Yelizaveta Alexeyevna, and the corner cabinets are adorned with porcelain vases from the study of Alexander I in the Anichkov Palace in St Petersburg. The Study is one of the three rooms which have preserved their stoves decorated with "landscape tiles" and installed to Rastrelli's design.


	The central feature of the Bedroom is the mahogany state bed, known as ladya (boat). By the foot of the bed stands an unusual linen-basket while at its head are candelabra of gilded and patinated bronze by the famous French bronzeworker Lenoir Ravrio. Nearby is a table with a solitaire tea service manufactured at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg in the early nineteenth century.

Although Alexander did not pay long visits to Peterhof, the summer residence was enriched with new fountains during his reign. At that time the famous Peterhof festivities were inaugurated, which were described in many works of literature and later became traditional. But perhaps the most important mark left at Peterhof by the twenty-year reign of Catherine the Great's grandson is the sizeable addition to the palatial collections of art objects. These included his father's acquisitions in Europe, ambassadorial gifts and private presents. Of note among the bronzework are the objects bought for the Mikhailovsky Palace in 1801 and transferred to Peterhof after the death of Paul I, the owner of the palace, on the orders of his son. These are two censers of gilded bronze with pedestals of green marble, the statues of Zephyr and Flora and two jugs by the foot of the bed.


	The Bedroom of AlexanderI.	Angelica Kauffmann.	"Diana and Endymion".


	The Bedroom of AlexanderI.	Bureau. Master-craftsman Heinrich Gambs.	Russia. 1810s.

In the past, the outer door of the Anteroom was used as an entrance to the Catherine Block. The decor of this room reflects all the three stages in the construction of the building. Thus, its tiled stove of the mid-eighteenth century stands alongside Quarenghi's Classical fireplace. The mouldings on the walls and ceiling made to his design can be seen next to the Empire decoration of the coves and frieze with painted trophies, lyres, helmets and a representation of the goddess of victory putting a wreath on the altar.


	The Anteroom.	Console table.	Late 18th century.


	The room derives its name from the colour of its walls. Here, like in other interiors of the palace, the decorative elements dating from the 1780s, such as mouldings, alternate with the Empire painted decor from the first decade of the nineteenth century. Rastrelli's zigzag-patterned parquet floor has survived.


	The Blue Reception Room.	Clock.	By master-crauftsman Oudin.	France. 1800-30. Gilded bronze.

The huge Yellow Hall with its exquisite Classical decor by Quarenghi is the main interior of the Catherine Block. Its walls are divided by sixteen paired pilasters of the Corinthian order; between them are grotesque stucco mouldings including a classical vase, plant shoots, bowls and a female figure in an oval medallion; over the four doors of the Hall are the bas-reliefs by the sculptor Jean-Dominique Rachette glorifying architecture, music, theatre and science in allegorical form. The interior is lit by seven beautiful chandeliers made of gilded wood and putty by Russian craftsmen in the early twentieth century.


	The gobelin embroidered at the famous Paris Factory in the early nineteenth century after a painting by Charles Steuben is devoted to a memorable historical episode. It shows Peter the Great rescuing fishermen during a storm on Lake Ladoga. The gobelin was commissioned by Napoleon I, but was finished in the reign of Louis XVIII who presented it to Alexander I.

The best decoration of the Yellow Hall is the Guryev Service, the most magnificent among Russian porcelain services. It was named after Count Dmitry Guryev who commissioned the set at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg for the Imperial court. Its original name, the "Russian Service", exactly reflects the subject of its decor. It is a sort of encyclopaedia of Russian life. Its plates contained representations of dozens of various folk types illustrating the population of the huge country, and a wine-cooler bore views of St Petersburg and its environs, as well as sights of Moscow. The painters who decorated the service drew on Johann Georgi's book The Peoples of Russia and Christian Gottfried Geissler's St Petersburg Scenes and Types as well as paintings by Mikhail Vorobyov, Fiodor Alexeyev and Semyon Shchedrin. Three-dimensional objects were adorned with sculptures of young boys and girls wearing Russian national costumes. They were designed by the sculptor Stepan Pimenov. The war against Napoleon's France delayed the creation of the service until 1817. Originally it was intended for 50 persons, but later the number was supplemented several times and towards the end of the nineteenth century the set included about 500 items. The brilliance of this service was emphasized by crystal items commissioned in England by Paul I in the late eighteenth century.