VWMC+MR Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The "Pyramid" ("Pyramidal") Fountain is located in Peterhof. It is situated in the Eastern (Monplaisir) part of the Lower Park of Peterhof. Contrary to the ensemble tradition of Peterhof, it stands separately, away from the main ceremonial ensembles, on a separate Pyramid Alley. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful monuments of the Capital of Fountains. As early as August 20, 1725, the chamberlain of the Duke of Holstein (father of the future Russian Emperor Peter III), F. Bergholz, wrote: "There is no such large and beautiful water jet, perhaps anywhere else." The fountain "...forms an interesting pyramid," was also acknowledged by the less enthusiastic Aubry de La Motte (1726).
The "Pyramid" fountain originated during the time of Peter I, on the initiative of the emperor himself, and was named after its unusual shape, largely inspired by the Versailles "obelisk" (1704–1705, architect Arduin-Mansart). The fountain was first mentioned in Peter’s decree of 1721: "A water pyramid with small cascades, and around it to plant a forest according to the design with maple, linden, or alder, depending on the location." However, the chief Peterhof architect, Miketti, who was ordered to develop the fountain project, depicted not a pyramid with a quadrangular base on the initial sketch, but essentially an exact copy of the Versailles three-sided "obelisk" (1704–1705, architect Arduin-Mansart).
However, Peter, already in his decree, made it clear that he wanted to have a "Pyramid" in his seaside creation, which was justified considering the quadrangular shape of the site chosen for the fountain — he personally added: "to make it according to this figure, and the pyramid should have four corners at the bottom." This determined the unique shape of the fountain. The work was supervised by the "architectural geyser" Zemtsov, with significant participation from the fountain master Sualem. Construction began in the autumn of the same year and was completed three years later, by the summer of 1724. Then Peter let the water flow, but after inspecting and testing the fountain in October, he ordered Zemtsov to "remake the pyramid, namely to make the basin lower and remove one (the fourth, borrowed from the Versailles 'Obelisk') tier in the cascades." Since then, the cascades have had exactly three tiers. The work was apparently completed after Peter I’s death, by the summer of 1725. Bergholz, who saw the fountain for the first time on August 20, referred to it as newly unveiled.
However, even then the fountain’s appearance was far from the modern one. At that time, an eight-meter column of water filled the brick basin (11 x 11 meters) and flowed down cascades of three steps (then wooden, covered with rolled lead). But there were neither the familiar bridges over the moat nor the majestic balustrade — all this entourage was first made of wood in 1739 by the "architectural geyser" (assistant) Isakov, who placed wooden pyramids with stars at the corners.
Time passed. The era changed, one architectural style gave way to another. This affected the park’s layout as well. By the second half of the 18th century, the regular "Italian gardens" with their clear geometric planning began to fade away. The time of shady "English" gardens with ancient trees and winding paths arrived. And although the Lower Park was always considered ceremonial, this also affected it: the trellises and neatly trimmed trees gave way to large trees, and the fountain seemed to have completely disappeared, isolated, which gives it its special charm. The trellises surrounding the fountain like a labyrinth disappeared.
Until the end of the 18th century, the fountain’s appearance remained unchanged, except that in 1770 there was a decree to make a marble fence and tiers. The project was executed by Yakovlev but was implemented only 30 years later, on November 11, 1799, when Paul I issued a decree "On the construction of the Pyramid fountain from marble." The marble finishing was hastily produced at the Peterhof grinding factory. The construction work was supervised by Brouwer, and six months later, on June 6, 1800, it was completed. The light, majestic, and beautiful balustrade in the style of flourishing classicism arguably has no analogues; it can only be compared to the airy Cameron Gallery in Pushkin. This beautiful, solemn appearance has been preserved to this day.
The fountain is a square (11 x 11 meters) basin topped with a marble balustrade, and in the center stands an 8-meter column resembling a pyramid. What is its secret? Since Peter’s time, water flows through an inclined pipe from the Pyramid Pond into seven chambers of a square cast-iron box, hermetically sealed with a bronze lid with up to 505 nozzles. The height of the jets in each chamber is regulated by valves. This creates the overall mass of the seven-tier pyramid. By the way, among all park fountains, this is the most water-consuming — up to one hundred liters of water flow per second. The water jet itself is located on a three-tiered elevation. Water fills the quadrangular basin and flows down four cascades, each with five steps, into a shallow moat surrounding the entire ensemble. Marble bridges are located on the sides of the cascades so visitors can approach the balustrade.
Like all Peterhof monuments, originally conceived only as a monument to victory in one (albeit important for Russia) specific war, it now (along with all of Peterhof) also serves as a monument to victory in the Great Patriotic War. Damaged by the Nazis — not blown up but mechanically broken — and restored to life in 1953 by Lavrentyev with his sons Pavel and Vladimir, as well as Smirnov, it rightfully bears the title of a victory obelisk.
From the very first day of this technically complex fountain’s existence, its operating principle has remained unchanged.
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