Summer Garden, St. Petersburg

Located between the Fontanka, Moika, and Swan Canal is the impressive Summer Garden. It is adjacent to the Summer Palace, residence of Peter the Great. Pushkin, Gogol, Tchaikovsky, and other great artists of the day visited the garden.

In 1704, Peter the Great commissioned Jean-Baptiste Le Blond and Mikhail Zemsteiv to design a garden similar to the magnificent gardens of the Versailles. Magnificent fountains that illustrated stories from Aesop’s fables were very popular with residents. In addition, hundreds of statues from Europe were placed in the garden. A flood in 1777 damaged many of the original fountains and statues. Restoration work quickly returned the oasis to its former state.

Summer Garden has 79 marble statues that were sculpted by leading Italian sculptors of the 17th and 18th century. It is one of the oldest statue collections in Russia. The garden also contains a selection of rare flowers and plants.

Visitors will enjoy the Coffee House, created by designed by Carlo Rossi and the Tea House, designed by Ludwig Charlemagne. There is also a statue of Russian storyteller Ilya Krylov that displays scenes from his stories. The garden is frequently the location of weddings and parties.

Why You Should Visit:
You are taken back to the times of the great Russian novelists, and the time when St Petersburg had tight connections to Central Europe.
Possibly the most beautiful park in St. Petersburg. On a warm and sunny day, it could be Paris.

Tip:
A tea/coffee/refreshment area is available is available in the center of the park, as well as public toilets.