Hermitage (Peterhof)

The Hermitage in the Lower Park of Peterhof, founded in the summer of 1721 by the design of Peter I and the project of I.-F. Braunstein, became the prototype for all Russian hermitages. The walls of its hall on the second floor are entirely covered with 124 paintings, for the placement of which, according to B. F. Rastrelli's project, some canvases were completed or trimmed, and guests once ascended here in a special chair. In 1797, after the cable of the lift broke, a staircase was built, and the area around the building was paved with slabs of Putilovo limestone. The moat, drained in the 1770s to protect against moisture, was filled with water again during the 2021–2023 restoration.