Peterhof - Table of Contents ............... Architecture Around the World
Grand Cascade Fountains -
Peterhof
St. Petersburg, Russia
In
the 1730s, the large Samson Fountain was placed in this pool. It
depicts the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion,
representing Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War,
and is doubly symbolic. The lion is an element of the Swedish coat of
arms, and one of the great victories of the war was won on St Samson's
Day. From the lion's mouth shoots a 20-metre-high vertical jet of
water, the highest in all of Peterhof. This masterpiece by Mikhail
Kozlovsky was looted by the invading Germans during the Second World
War.... A replica of the statue was installed in 1947. Perhaps the greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade. The Samson Fountain is supplied by a special aqueduct, over four km in length, drawing water and pressure from a high-elevation source. - Wikipedia, Peterhof Palace
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