This fountain at the base of the Great Cascade portrays Samson opening the jaws of a lion. The sculpture was the magnum opus of Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. Sampson Fountain was unveiled in 1735 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava when Peter I’s army defeated the Swedish forces during the Great Northern War. This imagery not only portrays the Biblical hero’s superhuman strength over the lion. The sculpture also symbolizes the Russian victory over Charles XII because Sweden’s coat of arms displays two crowned lions. The fountain’s center spray reaches a height of 66 feet and is encircled by eight dolphins. This reproduction by V. L. Simonov was created in 1947.
