WQ74+CX Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The Lower Pond – one of the main components of Petrovsky Park – is not natural. The Karost River was dammed back in Menshikov’s time, meaning the pond has existed since the very beginning of Oranienbaum’s development.
During the period when the estate belonged to the young Peter III, this body of water was called the “small amusement sea.” It adjoined the mock fortress Petersstadt and served as a kind of training ground for the heir to the throne in matters of naval warfare. Considering the pond’s maximum depth, which barely reaches three meters, launching any somewhat serious vessel was impossible.
At the same time, the “amusement” fleet of the future emperor consisted of as many as four ships, including the vessel “Oranienbaum” and two galleys named after the most important women in Peter’s life – “Catherine” and “Elizabeth.” The “Oranienbaum” could fire twenty bronze cannons, bombarding Petersstadt from the water. The flagship of this amusement fleet was the frigate “Saint Andrew.” Naturally, each ship was a scaled-down model of a real prototype, but sometimes serious naval battles unfolded on the Lower Pond, during which the role of the enemy fleet was invariably assigned to the galley “Catherine.”
Sources:
https://peterburg.center/maps/oranienbaum-nizhniy-prud.html
