Lower Garden

In front of the northern facade of the Grand Palace lies the formal Lower Garden. It is situated on a slope formed by a high ridge of the coastal part of the Gulf of Finland, occupying an area of 4.8 hectares. This is one of the first formal gardens in Russia, established two years after the construction of the Grand Palace began, in 1712. The period of its creation (1713-1727) is usually associated with the names of the builders of the Grand Palace, Fontana and Schedel. No less important was the role of the Swedish garden master Christopher Hrats, who worked in Oranienbaum from 1709 to 1728.

The garden was created under the guidance of skilled masters, the most experienced of whom was Jagan Eyk. The garden area was leveled with fill soil. The gentle slopes leading to the sea were covered with turf. On the other side of the fence, a 2 km long canal with a harbor was dug to the sea, and double rows of trees were planted along it. In the center of the garden, parterres with flower beds were laid out, surrounded by bosquets, trellises, and rows of lindens, maples, and spruces. Birches, oaks, and fruit trees—apple and cherry trees—were planted in the garden. The garden’s decoration was complemented by three fountains, 39 “wooden figures,” and 4 lead sculptures. In the 18th century, the weathered sculptures were replaced with marble ones.

The garden suffered severe damage during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Today, the Lower Garden is being restored as a monument-museum of garden art, providing an example of the overall composition of a mid-18th-century park and its decorative elements.

http://www.oranienbaum.org/oranienbaum/the-ensemble-of-the-grand-palace/the-lower-garden/