Peter the Great’s summer estate house, Monplaisir, had not been finished before he commissioned a more elaborate palace initially called Hilltop Chambers. Construction was suspended in 1725 when the emperor died at the age of 52. 16 years later his daughter, Elizabeth Petrovna, became empress. She commissioned Bartolomeo Rastrelli to create an extravagant expansion. When work was finished in 1755, the 984 foot Grand Peterhof Palace with its gilded domes on both ends was worthy of its moniker. Further enhancements were made by Catherine II and Nicholas I. During World War II, the Germans occupied Peterhof Palace beginning in 1941. When the soldiers left in 1944, the imperial property was in ruins. In disdain for their enemy, it was given the Russian name of Petrodvorets until the 1990s. Fortunately, Peterhof Palace has been restored to its former glory. In the foreground is Oak Fountain. This round basin was added to the Upper Garden in 1738.
