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99-584: The emperor apparently conceived Catherinehof as the first imperial estate located on the road leading from the capital to his main summer residence, Peterhof . A pet project of Peter I, the estate was abandoned following his death. His niece Empress Anna (reigned in 1730-40) added two wings to the palace, but these were demolished in 1779. As the succeeding monarchs preferred to develop Tsarskoe Selo as their alternative summer residence, Catherinehof suffered from neglect until 1800, when Emperor Paul donated it to his mistress, Anna Gagarina . Four years later,

198-589: A Russian noblewoman, had no problem securing a bride from the ancient house of Brunswick-Lüneburg . However, the Tsar experienced difficulties in arranging similar marriages for the daughters born of his second wife. When Peter offered either of his daughters in marriage to the future Louis XV , the Bourbons of France snubbed him due to the girls' post-facto legitimisation. In 1724, Peter betrothed his daughters to two young princes, first cousins to each other, who hailed from

297-441: A few weeks before the nuptials. In Elizabeth's case, however, her fiancé died on 31 May 1727, before her wedding could be celebrated. This came as a double blow to Elizabeth, because her mother (who had ascended to the throne as Catherine I) had died just two weeks previously, on 17 May 1727. By the end of May 1727, 17-year-old Elizabeth had lost her fiancé and both of her parents. Furthermore, her half-nephew Peter II had ascended

396-487: A modest museum of the fountains' history. The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side of it. There are 64 fountains. Their waters flow into a semicircular pool, the terminus of the fountain-lined Sea Channel. 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

495-510: A new name commemorating 30th anniversary of the national youth Communist league Komsomol, and in 1955 its front half was decorated with a large sculpture portraying the recently famous group of martyred young anti-Nazi underground resistance members of Young Guard cell from the Soviet Ukraine's southeast coal mining town of Krasnodon , whose struggle was described in a novel, named after the group, by Alexander Fadeeyev. St. Catherine's Church

594-491: A nobleman to sing for a church choir, but the Grand Duchess purchased the talented serf from the nobleman for her own choir. A simple-minded man, Razumovsky never showed interest in affairs of state during all the years of his relationship with Elizabeth, which spanned from the days of her obscurity to the height of her power. As the couple was devoted to each other, there is reason to believe that they might even have married in

693-734: A noblewoman, he did not anticipate that a daughter born to his former maid might one day inherit the Russian throne, which had until that point never been occupied by a woman; as such, it was left to Catherine to raise the girls, a task met with considerable difficulty due to her own lack of education. Despite this, Elizabeth was still considered to be a bright girl, if not brilliant, and had a French governess who gave lessons of mathematics , arts, languages, and sports. She grew interested in architecture , became fluent in Italian , German , and French , and became an excellent dancer and rider. Like her father, she

792-557: A patch of her hair. She made all of the court ladies cut patches out of their hair too, which they did "with tears in their eyes". This aggressive vanity became a tenet of the court throughout her reign, particularly as she grew older. According to historian Tamara Talbot Rice , "Later in life her outbursts of anger were directed either against people who were thought to have endangered Russia's security or against women whose beauty rivalled her own". Despite her volatile and often violent reactions to others regarding her appearance, Elizabeth

891-609: A prisoner." No specific crime was ever pinned on Bestuzhev. Instead, it was inferred that he had attempted to sow discord between the Empress and her heir and his consort. Enemies of the pro-Austrian Bestuzhev were his rivals; the Shuvalov family, Vice-Chancellor Mikhail Vorontsov , and the French ambassador. The great event of Elizabeth's later years was the Seven Years' War . Elizabeth regarded

990-538: A really formative influence on the intellectual attitudes of the ruling classes as a whole. Although Elizabeth lacked the early education necessary to flourish as an intellectual (once finding the reading of secular literature to be "injurious to health"), she was clever enough to know its benefits and made considerable groundwork for her eventual successor, Catherine the Great. She made education freely available to all social classes (except for serfs), encouraged establishment of

1089-714: A secret ceremony. In 1742, the Holy Roman Emperor made Razumovsky a count of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1756, Elizabeth made him a prince and field marshal . While Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov remained in power (until September 1727), the government of Elizabeth's adolescent nephew Peter II (reigned 1727–1730) treated her with liberality and distinction. However, the Dolgorukovs , an ancient boyar family, deeply resented Menshikov. With Peter II's attachment to Prince Ivan Dolgorukov and two of their family members on

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1188-572: A tavern, he implicated his mother, himself and others in a plot to reinstate Ivan VI as tsar. Ivan Lopukhin was overheard and tortured for information. All the conspirators were sentenced to death. The female conspirators had their sentences commuted to having their tongues removed and being publicly flogged. The men were broken on the wheel . Elizabeth crowned herself Empress in the Dormition Cathedral on 25 April 1742 (O.S.), which would become standard for all emperors of Russia until 1896. At

1287-552: Is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof , Saint Petersburg , Russia , commissioned by Peter the Great as a direct response to the Palace of Versailles by Louis XIV of France . Originally intending it in 1709 for country habitation, Peter the Great sought to expand the property as a result of his visit to the French royal court in 1717, inspiring the nickname of "The Russian Versailles". The architect between 1714 and 1728

1386-431: Is designed in the formal style of French formal gardens of the 17th century. Although many trees are overgrown, in recent years the formal clipping along the many allees has resumed in order to restore the original appearance of the garden. The many fountains located here exhibit an unusual degree of creativity. The same bluff that provides a setting for the Grand Cascade houses two other, very different cascades. West of

1485-465: Is inclinable to be fat, but is very genteel and dances better than anyone I ever saw. She speaks German, French and Italian, is extremely gay, and talks to everyone..." With much of his fame resting on his effective efforts to modernise Russia, Tsar Peter desired to see his children married into the royal houses of Europe, something which his immediate predecessors had consciously tended to avoid. Peter's son Aleksei Petrovich, born of his first marriage to

1584-705: The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Saint Petersburg at some point between 23 October and 1 December 1707. Their official marriage was at Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg on 9 February 1712. On this day, the two children previously born to the couple ( Anna and Elizabeth) were legitimised by their father and given the title of Tsarevna (" princess ") on 6 March 1711. Of the twelve children born to Peter and Catherine (five sons and seven daughters), only

1683-505: The Chukchi and Koryaks , but the expedition failed and its commander, Major Dmitry Pavlutsky , was killed in 1747. On 12 March 1747, a party of 500 Chukchi warriors raided the Russian stockade of Anadyrsk . By 1750, it had become clear the Chukchi would be difficult to conquer. The Empress then changed her tactical approach and established a formal peace with them. Elizabeth's court was one of

1782-517: The Convention of Westminster (16 January 1756) in which Great Britain and Prussia agreed to unite their forces to oppose the entry of or the passage through Germany of troops of every foreign power, as utterly subversive of the previous conventions between Great Britain and Russia. Elizabeth sided against Prussia over a personal dislike of Frederick the Great. She wanted him reduced within proper limits so that he might no longer be an alleged danger to

1881-598: 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 Sampson's Day . From the lion's mouth shoots a 20-metre (66 ft)-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 ; see History below. A replica of

1980-505: The House of Romanov to reign over the Russian Empire. Elizabeth was born at Kolomenskoye , near Moscow , Russia , on 18 December 1709 ( O.S. ). Her parents were Peter the Great , Tsar of Russia and Catherine . Catherine was the daughter of Samuel Skowroński, a subject of Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Although no documentary record exists, her parents were said to have married secretly at

2079-683: The Imperial Academy of Arts , and financed grandiose Baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli , particularly in Peterhof Palace . The Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg are among the chief monuments of her reign. Elizabeth led the Russian Empire during the two major European conflicts of her time: the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748) and

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2178-532: The Marquis de La Chétardie was deeply involved in planning a coup to depose the regent, whose foreign policy was opposed to the interests of France, and bribed numerous officers in the Imperial Guard to support Elizabeth's coup. The French adventurer Jean Armand de Lestocq helped her actions according to the advice of the marquis de La Chétardie and the Swedish ambassador, who were particularly interested in toppling

2277-575: The Monplaisir Palace (French: "my delight") based on his own sketches. He "сhalked out not only the site but also the inside layout, some elements of the decorative finish, etc". Based in a Dutch style, this was Peter's summer retreat (not to be confused with his Summer Palace ) that he would use on his way coming and going from Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt. On the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of paintings that Peter brought from Europe and allowed to weather Russian winters and

2376-472: The Porte . It was finally arranged by the allies that their envoys at Paris should fix the date for the assembling of a peace congress and that in the meantime, the war against Prussia should be vigorously prosecuted. In 1760 a Russian flying column briefly occupied Berlin . Russian victories placed Prussia in serious danger. The campaign of 1761 was almost as abortive as the campaign of 1760. Frederick acted on

2475-693: The Rhine accelerated the peace negotiations, leading to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (18 October 1748). He extricated his country from the Swedish imbroglio and reconciled his imperial mistress with the courts of Vienna and London. He enabled Russia to assert herself effectually in Poland , the Ottoman Empire , Sweden and isolated the King of Prussia by forcing him into hostile alliances. All this would have been impossible without

2574-547: The Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment , as her lover. When Empress Anna found out about this, she banished him to Siberia . After consoling herself, Elizabeth turned to coachmen and footmen for her sexual pleasure. She eventually found a long-term companion in Alexei Razumovsky , a kind-hearted Ukrainian Cossack with a good bass voice . Razumovsky had been brought from his village to Saint Petersburg by

2673-519: The Senate as it had been under Peter the Great, with the chiefs of the departments of state (none of them German) attending. Her first task after this was to address the war with Sweden . On 23 January 1743, direct negotiations between the two powers were opened at Åbo . In the Treaty of Åbo , on 7 August 1743 (O.S.), Sweden ceded to Russia all of southern Finland east of the Kymmene River , which became

2772-527: The Seven Years' War (1756–1763). She and diplomat Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin solved the first event by forming an alliance with Austria and France, but indirectly caused the second. Russian troops enjoyed several victories against Prussia and briefly occupied Berlin , but when Frederick the Great was finally considering surrender in January 1762, the Russian Empress died . She was the last agnatic member of

2871-504: The "Emperor of the Night", Alexei Razumovsky, who reportedly relished music. Elizabeth spared no expense in importing leading musical talents from Germany, France, and Italy. She reportedly owned 15,000 dresses, several thousand pairs of shoes and a seemingly unlimited number of stockings. Attractive in her youth and vain as an adult, Elizabeth passed various decrees intended to make herself stand out: she issued an edict against anyone wearing

2970-661: The Baltic Sea through the Neva River that flowed to the Gulf of Finland . The island of Kotlin and its fortress Kronstadt west of St Petersburg provided a gateway and commercial harbor access owing to the shallowness of water closer to the city. Throughout the early 18th century, Peter the Great built and expanded the Peterhof Palace complex as a part of his goal to modernize and westernize Russia. In 1714, Peter began construction of

3069-420: The Empress ordered the midwife to take the baby and to follow her, and Catherine did not see her child for another month, for a short churching ceremony. Six months later, Elizabeth let Catherine see the child again. The child had, in effect, become a ward of the state and, in a larger sense, the property of the state. Elizabeth abolished the cabinet council system that had been used under Anna, and reconstituted

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3168-598: The Grand Palace is the Golden Mountain ( Золотая Гора ), decorated with marble statuary that contrasts with the riotous gilded figures of the Grand Cascade. To the east is the Chess Mountain ( Шахматная Гора ), a broad chute whose surface is tiled black and white like a chessboard . The most prominently positioned fountains of Peterhof are 'Adam' and 'Eve'. The largest of Peterhof's palaces looks imposing when seen from

3267-425: The Great. What sometimes appeared as irresolution and procrastination was most often a wise suspension of judgement under exceptionally difficult circumstances. From the Russian point of view, her greatness as a stateswoman consisted of her steady appreciation of national interests and her determination to promote them against all obstacles. Despite the substantial changes made by Peter the Great, he had not exercised

3366-440: The King of Prussia must be reduced to the rank of a Prince-Elector . Frederick himself was quite aware of his danger. "I'm at the end of my resources," he wrote at the beginning of 1760. "The continuance of this war means for me utter ruin. Things may drag on perhaps till July, but then a catastrophe must come." On 21 May 1760, a fresh convention was signed between Russia and Austria, a secret clause of which, never communicated to

3465-565: The Lower Gardens lies the Alexandria Park with 19th-century Gothic Revival structures such as the Kapella . Atop the bluff, near the middle of the Lower Gardens, stands the Grand Palace ( Bolshoi Dvorets ). Behind (south) of it are the comparatively small Upper Gardens ( Verhnyy Sad ). Upon the bluff's face below the palace is the Grand Cascade ( Bolshoi Kaskad ). This and the Grand Palace are

3564-628: The Lower or Upper Gardens, but in fact it is quite narrow and not overly large. The Chesma Hall is decorated with twelve large paintings of the Battle of Chesma , a stunning naval victory of the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774 . These were painted between 1771 and 1773 by the German artist Jacob Philipp Hackert . His first renderings of the great battle scenes were criticised by witnesses as not showing realistically

3663-565: The Smolny Convent, historian Robert Nisbet Bain stated that "No other Russian sovereign ever erected so many churches." The expedited completion of buildings became a matter of importance to the Empress and work continued throughout the year, even in winter's severest months. 859,555 rubles had been allocated to the project, a sum raised by a tax on state-owned taverns, but work temporarily ceased due to lack of resources. Ultimately, taxes were increased on salt and alcohol to completely fund

3762-582: The Supreme State Council, they had the leverage for a successful coup . Menshikov was arrested, stripped of all his honours and properties, and exiled to northern Siberia, where he died in November 1729. The Dolgorukovs hated the memory of Peter the Great and practically banished his daughter from Court. During the reign of her cousin Anna (1730–1740), Elizabeth was gathering support in the background. Being

3861-449: The adult Ivan to escape, he was to be eliminated. Catherine the Great upheld the order, and when an attempt was made, he was killed and secretly buried within the fortress. Another case was Countess Natalia Lopukhina . The circumstances of Elizabeth's birth would later be used by her political opponents to challenge her right to the throne on grounds of illegitimacy. When Countess Lopukhina's son, Ivan Lopukhin, complained of Elizabeth in

3960-473: The age of thirty-three, with relatively little political experience, she found herself at the head of a great empire at one of the most critical periods of its existence. Her proclamation explained that the preceding reigns had led Russia to ruin: "The Russian people have been groaning under the enemies of the Christian faith, but she has delivered them from the degrading foreign oppression." Russia had been under

4059-480: The avidity of my enemies." A fortnight later, he wrote to Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, "The sky begins to clear. Courage, my dear fellow. I have received the news of a great event." The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg that snatched him from destruction was the death of the Russian empress, on 5 January 1762 ( N.S. ). In 1742, the imperial government at Saint Petersburg ordered a Russian military expedition to conquer

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4158-399: The balls, as most guests by decree looked ridiculous, but Elizabeth adored them; as Catherine the Great's advisor Potemkin posited, this was because she was "the only woman who looked truly fine and completely a man.... As she was tall and possessed a powerful body, male attire suited her". Kazimierz Waliszewski noted that Elizabeth had beautiful legs, and loved to wear male attire because of

4257-439: The boundary between the two states. The treaty also gave Russia the fortresses of Villmanstrand and Fredrikshamn . The concessions to Russia can be credited to the diplomatic ability of the new vice chancellor, Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin , who had Elizabeth's support. She placed Bestuzhev at the head of foreign affairs immediately after her accession. He represented the anti-Franco-Prussian side of her council, and his objective

4356-519: The centre of the palace, bears the name of the Picture Hall. The Grand Palace is not the only historic royal building in Peterhof. The palaces of Monplaisir and Marli, as well as the pavilion known as the ' Hermitage ', were all raised during the initial construction of Peterhof during the reign of Peter the Great. In the early 1700s, the original Peterhof appeared quite different from today. Many of

4455-590: The centrepiece of the entire complex. At its foot begins the Sea Channel ( Morskoi Kanal ), one of the most extensive waterworks of the Baroque period, which bisects the Lower Gardens. The Grand Cascade is modelled on one constructed for Louis XIV at his Château de Marly , which is likewise memorialised in one of the park's outbuildings. At the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains

4554-558: The city center is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The end of the Great Northern War resulted in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, ceding much of the Swedish Empire's claim to the Baltic Sea to the rising Tsardom of Russia . Peter the Great already began construction of his new capital St Petersburg in 1703 after successfully capturing Swedish provinces on the eastern coast. This strategic location allowed Russian access to

4653-431: The court of Versailles , guaranteed East Prussia to Russia as an indemnity for war expenses. The failure of the campaign of 1760, wielded by the inept Count Buturlin , induced the court of Versailles on the evening of 22 January 1761 to present to the court of Saint Petersburg a dispatch to the effect that the king of France, by reason of the condition of his dominions, absolutely desired peace. The Russian empress's reply

4752-420: The dampness of the sea without heat. In the seaward corner of his Monplaisir Palace, Peter made his Maritime Study, from which he could see Kronstadt Island to the left and St. Petersburg to the right. Later, he expanded his plans to include a vaster royal château of palaces and gardens further inland, on the model of Versailles which would become Peterhof Palace. The initial design of the palace and its garden

4851-464: The daughter of Peter the Great, she enjoyed much support from the Russian Guards regiments. She often visited the elite Guards regiments, marking special events with the officers and acting as godmother to their children. After the death of Empress Anna, the regency of Anna Leopoldovna for the infant Ivan VI was marked by high taxes and economic problems. The French ambassador in Saint Petersburg,

4950-460: The defensive with consummate skill, and the capture of the Prussian fortress of Kolberg on Christmas Day 1761, by Rumyantsev , was the sole Russian success. Frederick, however, was now at the last gasp. On 6 January 1762, he wrote to Count Karl-Wilhelm Finck von Finckenstein , "We ought now to think of preserving for my nephew, by way of negotiation, whatever fragments of my territory we can save from

5049-502: The domination of German advisers, so Elizabeth exiled the most unpopular of them, including Andrey Osterman and Burkhard Christoph von Münnich . She passed down several pieces of legislation that undid much of the work her father had done to limit the power of the church. With all her shortcomings (documents often waited months for her signature), Elizabeth had inherited her father's genius for government. Her usually keen judgement and her diplomatic tact again and again recalled Peter

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5148-457: The effect of exploding ships — the flying timbers, great flames, smoke, and fireballs. The East and West Chinese Cabinets were decorated between 1766 and 1769 to exhibit objects of decorative art imported from the East. The walls were decorated with imitation Oriental patterns by Russian craftsmen, and hung with Chinese landscape paintings in yellow and black lacquer . Another room, positioned at

5247-534: The empire. Elizabeth acceded to the Second Treaty of Versailles , thus entering into an alliance with France and Austria against Prussia. On 17 May 1757, the Imperial Russian Army , 85,000 strong, advanced against Königsberg . The serious illness of the Empress, which began with a fainting-fit at Tsarskoe Selo (19 September 1757), the fall of Bestuzhev (21 February 1758) and the cabals and intrigues of

5346-406: The end of 1761, the eagerness of the Russian Empress was the one constraining political force that held together the heterogeneous, incessantly jarring elements of the anti-Prussian combination. From the Russian point of view, her greatness as a stateswoman consisted of her steady appreciation of Russian interests and her determination to promote them against all obstacles. She insisted throughout that

5445-506: The estate passed to the City of St Petersburg, which developed it as a municipal amusement park, with many garden pavilions and a " vauxhall " for musical exercises constructed on the grounds. The main palace housed a library and a museum dedicated to Peter I. The Petrine park was considerably expanded and became so popular with St Petersburgers that allusions to it may be found in such works as Casanova 's memoirs and Dostoyevsky 's novels. With

5544-518: The extra costs. However, Elizabeth's incredible extravagance ended up greatly benefiting the country's infrastructure . Needing goods shipped from all over the world, numerous roads in all Russia were modernised at her orders. As an unmarried and childless empress, it was imperative for Elizabeth to find a legitimate heir to secure the Romanov dynasty . She chose her nephew, Peter of Holstein-Gottorp . The young Peter had lost his mother shortly after he

5643-518: The first university in Russia founded in Moscow by Mikhail Lomonosov , and helped to finance the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts . A gifted diplomat, Elizabeth hated bloodshed and conflict and went to great lengths to alter the Russian system of punishment, even outlawing capital punishment . According to historian Robert Nisbet Bain , it was one of her "chief glories that, so far as she

5742-502: The fountains had not yet been installed and the entire Alexandrine Park and Upper Gardens did not exist. What is now the Upper Gardens was used to grow vegetables, and its ponds, then numbering only three, for fish. The Samson Fountain and its massive pedestal had not yet been installed in the Sea Channel, and the channel itself was used as a grand marine entrance into the complex. Perhaps the most important change augmenting Peter's design

5841-406: The fountains were destroyed, and the palace was partially exploded and left to burn. Restoration work began almost immediately after the end of the war and continues to this day. The Lower Park was reopened to the public in 1945. The name was changed to "Petrodvorets" ("Peter's Palace") in 1944 as a result of wartime anti-German sentiment and propaganda, but the original name was restored in 1997 by

5940-469: The highest echelons of nobility. The smaller gatherings began as masked balls, but evolved into the famous metamorphoses balls by 1744. At these metamorphoses balls, guests were expected to dress as the opposite sex, with Elizabeth often dressing up as Cossack or carpenter in honour of her father. Costumes not permitted at the event were those of pilgrims and harlequins, which she considered profane and indecent respectively. Most courtiers thoroughly disliked

6039-562: The largest ones, remained in place. On 23 September 1941 German troops captured Peterhof. Two weeks later, on 5 October 1941, Soviet troops tried to recapture the town and block the highway by naval landing. 510 marines of the Soviet Baltic Fleet landed on the beach of the neighboring park of Alexandria but faced a heavy fire from the Germans. The commander of the operation was killed, all landing troops became disorganised, one landing craft

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6138-464: The medication she had been prescribed. The Empress forbade the word "death" in her presence until she suffered a stroke on 24 December 1761 (O.S.). Knowing that she was dying, Elizabeth used her last remaining strength to make her confession, to recite with her confessor the prayer for the dying, and to say farewell to the few people who wished to be with her, including Peter and Catherine and Counts Alexei and Kirill Razumovsky . The Empress died

6237-441: The most splendid in all Europe. As historian Mikhail Shcherbatov stated, the court was "arrayed in cloth of gold, her nobles satisfied with only the most luxurious garments, the most expensive foods, the rarest drinks, that largest number of servants and they applied this standard of lavishness to their dress as well". A great number of silver and gold objects were produced, the most the country had seen thus far in its history. It

6336-456: The nobles to gain dominance in local government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Mikhail Lomonosov 's foundation of the University of Moscow , the highest-ranking Russian educational institution. Her court became one of the most splendid in all Europe, especially regarding architecture : she modernised Russia's roads , encouraged Ivan Shuvalov 's foundation of

6435-522: The onset of the Industrial Revolution , the formerly quiet and reclusive neighbourhood became an industrial suburb of the Russian capital. The park fell into neglect after the palace had been destroyed by fire in 1924. Several years ago, a private fund announced plans to rebuild the derelict palace. [1] Three years after the World War II that greatly damaged the city the park was revived under

6534-545: The post- Soviet government of Russia. The "purpose" of Peterhof was as a celebration and claim to access to the Baltic (while simultaneously, Peter the Great was also expanding on the Black Sea littoral). Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna ( Russian : Елизаве́та Петро́вна ; 29 December [ O.S. 18 December] 1709 – 5 January [ O.S. 25 December] 1762)

6633-524: The preceding treaties between the two powers without the knowledge of Austria. Elizabeth's object in the mysterious negotiation seems to have been to reconcile France and Great Britain, in return for which signal service France was to throw all her forces into the attack on Prussia. This project, which lacked neither ability nor audacity, foundered upon Louis XV's invincible jealousy of the growth of Russian influence in Eastern Europe and his fear of offending

6732-457: The prince was of impeccable birth and well-connected to many royal houses; it was a respectable and politically useful alliance. In the same year, Elizabeth was betrothed to marry Charles Frederick's first cousin, Charles Augustus of Holstein-Gottorp, the eldest son of Christian Augustus, Prince of Eutin . Anna Petrovna's wedding took place in 1725 as planned, even though her father had died (8 February  [ O.S. 28 January]  1725)

6831-486: The regime of Anna Leopoldovna. On the night of 25 November 1741 (O.S.), Elizabeth seized power with the help of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment . Arriving at the regimental headquarters wearing a warrior's metal breastplate over her dress and grasping a silver cross, she challenged them: "Whom do you want to serve: me, your natural sovereign, or those who have stolen my inheritance?" Won over,

6930-492: The regiment marched to the Winter Palace and arrested the infant Emperor, his parents, and their own lieutenant-colonel, Count Burkhard Christoph von Munnich. It was a daring coup and, amazingly, succeeded without bloodshed. Elizabeth had vowed that if she became Empress, she would not sign a single death sentence, an extraordinary promise at the time but one that she kept throughout her life. Despite Elizabeth's promise, there

7029-419: The same hairstyle, dress, or accessory as the Empress. One woman accidentally wore the same item as the Empress and was lashed across the face for it. Another law required French fabric salesmen to sell to the Empress first, and those who disregarded that law were arrested. One famous story exemplifying her vanity is that once Elizabeth got a bit of powder in her hair and was unable to remove it except by cutting

7128-493: The shore and surrounded. Some of them reached the Lower Gardens and fought until the bitter end, including hand-to-hand combat. The last pockets of resistance were destroyed on 7 October. Several dozen German Shepherd dogs were released into the gardens to find the hiding marines. Many of the wounded marines were mauled to death and several were captured. The occupying forces of the German Army largely destroyed Peterhof. Many of

7227-443: The sisters survived to adulthood. They had one older surviving sibling, crown prince Alexei Petrovich , who was Peter's son by his first wife, noblewoman Eudoxia Lopukhina . As a child, Elizabeth was the favourite of her father, whom she resembled both physically and temperamentally. Even though he adored his daughter, Peter did not devote time or attention to her education; having both a son and grandson from his first marriage to

7326-414: 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 expanse of the Lower Gardens

7425-547: The steady support of Elizabeth who trusted him completely in spite of the Chancellor's many enemies, most of whom were her personal friends. However, on 14 February 1758, Bestuzhev was removed from office. The future Catherine II recorded, "He was relieved of all his decorations and rank, without a soul being able to reveal for what crimes or transgressions the first gentleman of the Empire was so despoiled, and sent back to his house as

7524-513: The throne. The fact that Elizabeth was something of a beauty did not improve marriage prospects, but instead earned her resentment. When the Empress Anna asked the Chinese minister in Saint Petersburg to identify the most beautiful woman at her court, he pointed to Elizabeth, much to Anna's displeasure. Elizabeth's response to the lack of marriage prospects was to take Alexander Shubin, a sergeant in

7623-493: The throne. Her marriage prospects continued to fail to improve three years later, when her nephew died and was succeeded on the throne by Elizabeth's first cousin Anna , daughter of Ivan V . There was little love lost between the cousins and no prospect of either any Russian nobleman or any foreign prince seeking Elizabeth's hand in marriage. Nor could she marry a commoner because it would cost her royal status, property rights and claim to

7722-399: The tight trousers. Though the balls were by far her most personally beloved and lavish events, Elizabeth often threw children's birthday parties and wedding receptions for those affiliated with her Court, going so far as to provide dowries for each of her ladies-in-waiting. In the late 1750s, Elizabeth's health started to decline. She suffered a series of dizzy spells and refused to take

7821-438: The tiny north German principality of Holstein-Gottorp and whose family was undergoing a period of political and economic turmoil. Anna Petrovna (aged 16) was to marry Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp , who was then living in exile in Russia as Peter's guest after having failed in his attempt to succeed his maternal uncle as King of Sweden and whose patrimony was at that time under Danish occupation. Despite all this,

7920-401: The various foreign powers at Saint Petersburg, did not interfere with the progress of the war. The crushing defeat of Kunersdorf (12 August 1759) at last brought Frederick to the verge of ruin. From that day, he despaired of success, but he was saved for the moment by the jealousies of the Russian and Austrian commanders, which ruined the military plans of the allies. From the end of 1759 to

8019-499: Was Domenico Trezzini , and the style he employed became the foundation for the Petrine Baroque style favored throughout Saint Petersburg. Also in 1714, Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond , likely chosen due to his previous collaborations with Versailles landscaper André Le Nôtre , designed the gardens. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli completed an expansion from 1747 to 1756 for Elizabeth of Russia . The palace-ensemble along with

8118-628: Was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies. The second-eldest daughter of Tsar Peter the Great ( r.  1682–1725 ), Elizabeth lived through the confused successions of her father's descendants following her half-brother Alexei 's death in 1718. The throne first passed to her mother Catherine I of Russia ( r.  1725–1727 ), then to her nephew Peter II , who died in 1730 and

8217-473: Was a sister of Elizabeth's own fiancé, who had died before the wedding. On her conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church, Sophie was given the name Catherine in memory of Elizabeth's mother. The marriage took place on 21 August 1745. Nine years later a son, the future Paul I , was born on 20 September 1754. There is considerable speculation as to the actual paternity of Paul. It is suggested that he

8316-473: Was able, she put a stop to that mischievous contention of rival ambitions at Court, which had disgraced the reigns of Peter II, Anna and Ivan VI and enabled foreign powers to freely interfere in the domestic affairs of Russia." Elizabeth enjoyed and excelled in architecture, overseeing and financing many construction projects during her reign. One of the many projects from the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli

8415-544: Was an alliance with England and Austria . At that time, it was probably advantageous to Russia. Both the Lopukhina affair and other attempts of Frederick the Great and Louis XV to get rid of Bestuzhev failed. Instead, they put the Russian court into the centre of a tangle of intrigue during the earlier years of Elizabeth's reign. Ultimately, the minister's strong support from the Empress prevailed. Bestuzhev had many achievements. His effective diplomacy and 30,000 troops sent to

8514-519: Was born, and his father at the age of eleven. Elizabeth invited her young nephew to Saint Petersburg, where he was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and proclaimed the heir to the throne on 7 November 1742. Keen to see the dynasty secured, Elizabeth immediately gave Peter the best Russian tutors and settled on Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst as a bride for her heir. Incidentally, Sophie's mother, Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp ,

8613-402: Was common to order over a thousand bottles of French champagnes and wines to be served at one event and to serve pineapples at all receptions, despite the difficulty of procuring the fruit in such quantities. French plays quickly became the most popular and often were performed twice a week. In tandem, music became very important. Many attribute its popularity to Elizabeth's supposed husband,

8712-439: Was delivered to the two ambassadors on 12 February. It was inspired by the most uncompromising hostility towards the king of Prussia. Elizabeth would not consent to any pacific overtures until the original object of the league had been accomplished. Simultaneously, Elizabeth had conveyed to Louis XV a confidential letter in which she proposed the signature of a new treaty of alliance of a more comprehensive and explicit nature than

8811-479: Was done by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Le Blond . The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a 16-m-high bluff lying less than 100 m from the shore. The so-called Lower Gardens ( Nizhny Sad ), at 1.02 km comprising the better part of Peterhof's land area, are confined between this bluff and the shore, stretching east and west for roughly 200 m. The majority of Peterhof's fountains are contained here, as are several small palaces and outbuildings. East of

8910-434: Was ebullient in most other matters, particularly when it came to court entertainment. It was reported that she threw two balls a week; one would be a large event with an average of 800 guests in attendance, most of whom were the nation's leading merchants, members of the lower nobility and guards stationed in and around the city of the event. The other ball was a much smaller affair reserved for her closest friends and members of

9009-818: Was founded in Catherinehof in 1703 and, as local lore has it, witnessed the secret wedding of Peter I and Catherine in 1707. Konstantin Thon replaced the old church with a much larger structure in his hallmark Russo-Byzantine style; but the massive five-domed building was overhauled in the 1890s before being torn down by the Soviets in 1929. [2] 59°54′11″N 30°15′36″E  /  59.903°N 30.26°E  / 59.903; 30.26 Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace (Russian: Петерго́ф , romanized : Petergóf , IPA: [pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof] ; an emulation of German "Peterhof", meaning "Pieter's Court")

9108-562: Was more sparsely decorated when initially built. Peterhof, like Tsarskoye Selo , was captured by German troops in 1941 and held until 1944. In the few months that elapsed between the German invasion of the Soviet Union and the appearance of the German Army, employees were only able to save a portion of the treasures of the palaces and fountains. An attempt was made to dismantle and bury the fountain sculptures, but three quarters, including all of

9207-476: Was not Peter's son at all but that his mother had engaged in an affair, to which Elizabeth had consented, with a young officer, Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov , who would have been Paul's biological father. Peter never gave any indication that he believed Paul to have been fathered by anyone but himself but took no interest in parenthood. Elizabeth most certainly took an active interest and acted as if she were his mother, instead of Catherine. Shortly after Paul's birth

9306-457: Was physically active and loved horseriding , hunting , sledging , skating , and gardening . From her earliest years, Elizabeth was recognised as a vivacious young woman, and was regarded as the leading beauty of the Russian Empire . The wife of the British ambassador described Grand Duchess Elizabeth as "fair, with light brown hair, large sprightly blue eyes, fine teeth and a pretty mouth. She

9405-440: Was still cruelty in her regime. Although she initially thought of allowing the young tsar and his mother to leave Russia, she imprisoned them later in a Shlisselburg Fortress , worried that they would stir up trouble for her in other parts of Europe. Fearing a coup on Ivan's favour, Elizabeth set about destroying all papers, coins or anything else depicting or mentioning Ivan. She had issued an order that if any attempt were made for

9504-418: Was succeeded by Elizabeth's first cousin Anna ( r.  1730–1740 ). After the brief rule of Anna's infant great-nephew, Ivan VI , Elizabeth seized the throne with the military's support and declared her own nephew, the future Peter III , her heir. During her reign Elizabeth continued the policies of her father and brought about a remarkable Age of Enlightenment in Russia . Her domestic policies allowed

9603-402: Was sunk and another one missed. Despite Soviet attempts to cover the landing forces by coastal artillery from Kronstadt, they were quickly suspended because of lack of connection with the landing troops. Evacuation attempts also failed due to heavy German artillery shelling (only one marine was picked up from the water). The Peterhof landing operation failed and all landing troops were cut off from

9702-401: Was the elevation of the Grand Palace to central status and prominence. The Grand Palace was originally called simply 'Upper', and was hardly larger than any of the other structures of the complex. The addition of wings, undertaken between 1745 and 1755, was one of the many projects commissioned from the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli by Elizabeth of Russia . Likewise, the Grand Cascade

9801-654: Was the reconstruction of Peterhof Palace , adding several wings between 1745 and 1755. Her most famous creations were the Smolny Convent and the Winter Palace, though she died before its completion. The Palace is said to contain 1,500 rooms, 1,786 doors, and 1,945 windows, including bureaucratic offices and the Imperial Family's living quarters arranged in two enfilades, from the top of the Jordan Staircase. Regarding

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