Fountain ”Neptune” description and photo - Russia - St. Petersburg: Peterhof (Topic)

Fountain "Neptune" description and photo - Russia - St. Petersburg: Peterhof. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Neptune fountain is one of the fountains of the Peterhof palace and park ensemble. In 1736 in the main basin of the Upper Park was placed a sculptural fountain composition "Neptunov's Cart". The sculptures were made of lead and decorated with gilding. In the center of the composition there was a figure of Neptune with a carriage, also "riding" on horses and dolphins. A gilded copper ball rose from the central stream of the fountain. After repeated restorations, the Neptunov Cart was removed in 1797. Instead, a new ensemble appeared - "Neptune", which is preserved to the present day.

Originally, the fountain figures were created in the German city of Nuremberg. In 1660, the sculptor Georg Schweiger and the goldsmith Christoph Ritter presented a model that so far only consists of components. After Schweiger, together with his student Jeremiah Eisler, worked on the model until 1670, but the complete collection of figures was completed only in 1688-1694. Heroldt was in charge of the casting. The fountain was never exhibited in Nuremberg, but despite this, it became known as a specific landmark, even while in the warehouse.

In 1796, most of the figures were acquired by Russia and transported to Peterhof. A copy, currently installed in the Nuremberg city park, has been there since 1902.

The citizens of Nuremberg, ordering the fountain, wanted to perpetuate the memory of the Peace of Westphalia, which was the end of the Thirty Years War, which was not easy for Germany, which lasted from 1618 to 1648 years. The composition included 27 figures and decorative elements. A pool with a pedestal was already built on the square of the local market to install a fountain group, when it turned out that there was simply not enough water for the fountains to work in city rivers. In this regard, the sculptures were dismantled and placed in a barn. Here they lay for about a century, until in the 80s of the 18th century, traveling around Europe, the future Russian Emperor Paul visited Nuremberg. It was he who acquired the composition, which was estimated by the city authorities at a huge sum for those times - 30,000 rubles.

At first Pavel thought to put the sculptures in his residence in Gatchina. But in 1798 it was decided: "The Neptune fountain brought from Nuremberg to put in the Peterhof Lower Park ...". But here, too, the installation of the fountain was not successful due to insufficient water supply to the pool. Then another decree followed, according to which it was decided to place the sculptural composition in the Upper Park, in the pool, which remained from the dismantled "Neptunova Cart". This was done in 1799.

The water decoration of "Neptune" consisted of 26 different water jets. Only dolphins and two lead garlands of oak leaves, flowers and shells were left from the former decoration of the fountains.

The figure of Neptune can be seen in the middle of a large rectangular pool, measuring 92x33 meters, on a high granite pedestal, decorated with 4 gushing mascarons. The flat area around the pedestal, laid with tuff, bears the figures of paired groups of riders on hippocampus (sea horses with wings), who chase dolphins. Also, the pond is decorated with 8 figures of dolphins, from the jaws of which you can see the rising low trickles of water.

During the Great Patriotic War, all fountain sculptures were dismantled and sent to Germany. But very soon, in 1947, the sculptural group was again taken to Peterhof and installed in the same place. However, the Neptune fountain was launched only in 1956.

We also recommend reading House of Kurbatovs description and photos - Russia - Golden Ring: Ivanovo

Topic: Fountain ”Neptune” description and photo - Russia - St. Petersburg: Peterhof.