THE SUMMER GARDEN AND THE SUMMER PALACE OF PETER THE GREAT

Across the river from the Peter and Paul Fortress and Peter the Great's domik is the historic Summer Garden. Peter the Great commissioned the first architect of the city - Domenico Trezzini - to build a small palace in the park. The palace had no heating and was intended for summer time, hence its name - the Summer Palace (Peter had a Winter Palace further down the Neva River) - and the park became known as the Summer Garden. A two-story yellow palace was built in 1710-14, with 7 rooms on each floor. After the Second World War the palace was carefully restored: the older interiors were recreated and a collection of early 18th-century artifacts, many originally owned by Peter the Great, was put on display.

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