How the fire fountains appeared: the joke of Peter I and the terrible secret of Peterhof

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Imagine: you are walking through Peterhof Park, enjoying the beautiful weather and cultural recreation, when suddenly a stream of water falls on you from nowhere. With a squeal, you leave the "affected area", when you suddenly discover that everything is already over. The cloudless sky seems to be laughing at you. If it were not for wet clothes and streams of water on the park path, one would have doubted whether it really was all this. Congratulate yourself, Peter I himself has just joked with you, you stumbled upon one of his famous joke fountains.

In fact, many of our monarchs had an excellent sense of humor. Of the 8 jokers operating today in Peterhof, only 4 were created or conceived under Peter I. Anna Ioanovna and Catherine II continued the noble deed of pouring guests over him. In Russia today, these are the only such fun, but there are analogues in the world.

The most famous are in Salzburg in the park of the Hellburn Palace. For example, the "Princely Table" jester still pleases tourists. The guests, seated at the stone tabletop, were suddenly doused with streams of water right from under the seats and stones of the pavement. Only one of the stone chairs remained dry, of course belonging to the owner of the palace, Archbishop Marcus Sittikus. Austrian joke water fun is 100 years older than Peterhof and most likely served as their prototype, although Peter himself did not visit Salzburg. By the way, in Versailles, where, as you know, there is a lot in common with Peterhof, nothing like this has ever happened.

Very similar to this fountain "Spray Table" in the Lower Grotto of the Grand Cascade. According to the idea of Peter I, a strolling guest found a small stone table with a dish of fine fruits. Trying to take the "forbidden fruit", which, moreover, turned out to be a skillful stone counterfeit, he poured jets from the countertop. By the way, a feature of some Peterhof jokers is the false hope that you can stay dry if you know the secret of the fountain. In this case, it is a legend that one of the fruits can be taken with impunity. Such an idea is always extremely fascinating for risk-averse people and children. Therefore, after the first surprise, there are always those who want to try their luck again, and then, as they say, "it is all the same already wet."

A similar illusory hope makes children gallop along the pavement at the Divanchiki firecrackers located not far from the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof. They do this in order to find the cherished stone that turns the fountain mechanism on and off. I don't want to disappoint those who believed the guide, but in reality, this process is regulated by an inconspicuous citizen who sits modestly behind. Now you know the most terrible secret of Peterhof, just do not reveal it to your children - do not deprive them of the pleasure of getting a good soak.

By the way, the guides who lead numerous excursions around Peterhof are undoubtedly in collusion with these imperceptible "rulers of the jets". Leading the column of tourists past the fountain, "Dubok", for example, the leader discreetly raises his umbrella or hand and passes without damage to clothing. But the gullible sightseers following him fall under a real downpour falling on them from behind the benches. In this case, you can notice a disguised green booth in the bushes. The one who doused you is hiding in it. In general, this is a greeting from Empress Anna Ioanovna.

The Dubok fountain itself, by the way, is a unique creation of the sculptor and foundry master Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli, the father of the famous architect. When turned off, it can be mistaken for a real tree - so skillfully executed and painted 500 branches and 2,500 leaves. When water is supplied, a thin stream escapes from each branch.

The “Yolochki” fountains were created according to the same principle. Now they work in a constant mode, but in the old days, turned on unexpectedly, probably could bring the guests of Catherine II to a heart attack - they are so similar to the real ones.

Another invention of Russian masters of the same period is the Umbrella fountain, which everyone calls the Fungus. The humor was that the courtiers, who sat down to rest on the benches, suddenly found themselves separated from the rest of the world by a dense water curtain. If you want to go out, please, but only through the water. Now the fountain is turned on at irregular intervals, and the fun is to go inside, wait out the flow, and jump out dry. It is not difficult, but not everyone succeeds.

The last restored Peterhof firecracker, opened in 2001 after an almost 300-year hiatus, was the Water Road. It was, perhaps, the toughest of the water fun of Peter I. Part of the Monplaisir Alley was unexpectedly covered with a real water arch of 300 jets. It was impossible to escape dry from the trap of the "Wet Road", as it was called at court. Probably, such entertainment caused too many inconveniences, so it did not last long in the 18th century. Now it is turned on on a schedule only three times a day for one minute. All comers by this time gather in the right place and stock up on protective equipment. So, if you see that a bunch of people with umbrellas who are waiting for something have gathered near the Roman fountains, you better run away, well, or open your umbrella. After all, walking around St. Petersburg, it is better to have it with you just in case. Suddenly the weather will let you down … or you will be overtaken by a 300-year-old joke from the Russian emperor.

To take a mental tour of old St. Petersburg, see 30 retro photographs of the cultural capital of Russia