One of the most popular amusement park attractions is known worldwide by different names. In Russia, it is called roller coasters; in France — les montagnes russes (“Russian mountains”); in the USA — roller coaster or Russian mountains; in Germany — Achterbahn (“road in the shape of a figure eight”). The confusion with the names is clarified by the history of the amusement: “gorki” (slides) appeared in Russia as a folk pastime, gained mass popularity in Europe, and the attraction with turns resembling the infinity sign was patented in America.

Sliding hills were a traditional Russian entertainment. People in Rus’ mostly slid during Maslenitsa: first from natural hills, then from specially constructed slides. Tall wooden structures were smeared with manure, packed with snow on top, and flooded with water until a dense ice crust appeared. They skillfully slid down on sleds — “ledyanki” (lattice sleds) covered with several layers of manure and ice, “buki” — frozen baskets, “katulki” — hollowed boards with pointed noses, as well as on frozen skins of domestic animals.

“Sliding amusements” were loved by the ruling persons as well. Under Peter I, Maslenitsa festivities with sliding were held in the center of St. Petersburg. Under Anna Ioannovna, later famous for her Ice House, the whole court slid, astonishing foreigners with these “oddities.”

“My dear, you are very curious and so fond of oddities that you would never forgive me if I did not describe to you the new amusement that occupied the court this winter. It is an ice hill, built from the upper palace floor to the courtyard. It is quite wide so that a carriage can slide down it, and has small boards on both sides. The construction is as follows: first, boards were nailed together and watered until the entire slope was covered with a thick layer of ice. Court ladies and gentlemen sit in sleds, slide down from the top of the hill, and rush down as fast as a bird. Sometimes sleds accidentally collide, and then the riders fall, which, as you can imagine, causes laughter. Everyone who has access to the court must slide — that is what they call the amusement, and fortunately, no one has broken their neck yet.” — From a letter by Lady Rondo, wife of the English envoy at the Russian court, to her friend, 1735.

In the Geographical Dictionary of the Russian State (1807–1808), scholar and writer Shchekatov wrote: “In Oranienbaum, there is a most prominent Sliding Hill of its kind.” For a long time, the pavilion of the Sliding Hill was attributed to Rastrelli, and this opinion was first refuted only at the beginning of our century. In 1902, Uspensky wrote that documents found in the State Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mention a hill built along with the Dutch (Chinese) Palace by architect Rinaldi, just like the Chinese Palace. Graphic evidence of Rinaldi’s authorship is the engraved album of Oranienbaum buildings by Rinaldi. Ten pages of this album are devoted to the Sliding Hill.

At the end of the 18th century, Georgi wrote about the Sliding Hill in Oranienbaum: “The hill is an arch about 10 sazhen high, with a gallery and a pleasure house at the top, where six single-wheeled chariots decorated with carved work and gilding, resembling triumphal chariots, gondolas, and saddled beasts, are kept — the slope and everything else is just like in Tsarskoye Selo. On each side of the slope, there is a covered colonnade where one can walk both at the top and bottom, especially at the top — not only fresh air but also a very pleasant view.”

The Sliding Hill in Tsarskoye Selo, erected in 1753–1757 according to Rastrelli’s design and the technical calculations of mechanic Nartov, and in Oranienbaum, built by Rinaldi in 1762–1774, amazed with their architectural concept and scale.

The idea of constructing these hills goes back to the traditional folk entertainment — sliding from ice hills. When creating the architectural-spatial compositions of monumental hills, the architects solved the problem for the first time, as sliding hills had no architectural prototype. The Oranienbaum Sliding Hill is a large and complex structure created by Rinaldi in Oranienbaum. It was also one of the architect’s most distinctive creations. A wavy slope consisting of four hills adjoined the southern projection of the Sliding Hill pavilion. It had three lanes over 6 meters wide, the middle one used for sliding. Carriages moved along carved lanes on wooden slopes. The side lanes were intended for lifting carriages using special devices with pulleys.

The slope started from the gallery-terrace of the third floor, from which there was a rise to the sliding platform. It was located at a height of about 20 meters. The other three hills, whose heights gradually decreased, were overcome by the inertia of movement. On both sides of the slope, covered stone colonnade galleries 532 meters long were built. Their flat roofs served as upper galleries for walks, fenced with balustrades; they were decorated with hundreds of decorative vases and sculptures.

Seventeen entrance towers with internal staircases connected the lower and upper galleries. The middle parts were emphasized by two-tier towers topped with a dome with a star. The colonnades curved, forming a square.

A stone obelisk was planned in the center of the square. It was to be crowned with a metal monogram of Catherine II with a crown. The pedestal was to be decorated with a bas-relief depicting Rinaldi kneeling and presenting the Empress with the project of the Private Dacha.

Rinaldi gave the Sliding Hill enormous architectural and planning significance. He connected it by a road with the Grand Menshikov Palace and grandly designed the ascent to the Private Dacha territory. Two semicircular staircases flanked by balustrades with statues were to lead there. The retaining wall was supposed to be decorated with niches and statues, and the lower platform — with a figured fountain. The balustrade of the upper tier was to be adorned with vases. Such an approach to the Private Dacha from the Sliding Hill side would not only emphasize the hill’s importance in the compositional structure of the entire ensemble but also resonate with the design of the Grand Palace staircase.

The fate of the Sliding Hill was similar to that of several other Private Dacha buildings, which fell into decline due to the insignificance of the funds allocated for their maintenance.

As early as 1785, architect Ivan Sitnikov carried out restoration of the hill, and at the end of the 18th century, repair work was done by architect Ivan Fok. However, this did not lead to the desired results. Dampness continued to destroy the wooden slopes, as well as the ceilings and foundations of the colonnades, which collapsed entirely in 1813 (they were dismantled in 1858–1861). Long before that, in 1801, sliding on the hill ceased.

In 1818, Emperor Alexander I allocated 50,000 rubles for the reconstruction of the Sliding Hill pavilion. The reconstruction was to be carried out according to the project of architect V. P. Stasov (1825). However, work did not begin, and in 1827 the proposed reconstruction was completely canceled. The decree issued by Nicholas I on this matter stated: “Canceling the proposed reconstruction of the pavilion at the stone sliding hill in Oranienbaum, I order that the 50,000 rubles allocated in 1818 and the interest earned on them be redirected to the construction of a house for hound and hunter’s hunting, upon choosing a suitable place in the vicinity of Peterhof.”

By the mid-19th century, the colonnades of the Sliding Hill were picturesque ruins. The architectural decoration of the colonnades included 160 pylons and 772 columns, so one can easily imagine this truly gigantic structure, comparable in scale to monuments of antiquity. An article signed by the pseudonym “Oranienbaum Old-Timer” in the 1847 issue of the magazine “Illustration” states that the space between the colonnades, “along which the slope passed, was overgrown with small shrubs and... timid hares chose this place as their refuge.” Neither the colonnades, nor the wavy slopes, nor their ruins have survived to this day. Only one pavilion of the Sliding Hill remains, but it is also a remarkable monument to Rinaldi’s creativity.

The Sliding Hill pavilion is located at the northern boundary of the Upper Park. It is a tall, thirty-three-meter, three-story stone building. It is crowned with a bell-shaped dome resting on a wooden drum decorated with carved garlands. On three sides, rectangular projections with flat roofs symmetrically adjoin the main cylindrical volume of the building. A Tuscan order colonnade is installed on the podium, connected by a balustrade. It forms an open gallery surrounding the pavilion. The second-floor colonnade supports the balcony-terrace of the third floor, the highest and most ceremonial. The balcony-terrace, from the southern side of which the wooden sliding hill once descended, is also fenced with a balustrade with vases. The facades of the third floor are articulated with Corinthian pilasters. Six columns are placed at the junctions of the central spherical volume with the rectangular projections. They soften the edge when transitioning from one volume to another. Both the third floor of the pavilion and the drum rising above it are also surrounded by balustrades with decorative vases. Between the projections on the eastern side of the pavilion, a beautifully arranged semicircular external staircase with two flights rises to the height of the plinth. Once, there was a similar staircase on the western side.

The white architectural and plastic decor of the pavilion contrasts with the azure-blue walls, giving it festivity and lightness. Much in the artistic appearance of the Sliding Hill pavilion reminds us of the fading Baroque — Rococo style. This includes individual elements in the facade composition and the complex contours of alabaster decorative vases (more than a hundred of them), whimsically framing the four tiers of the pavilion. Once, the pavilion’s external appearance was given special sophistication by a wooden gilded Baroque-style sculpture that decorated the dome’s drum.

In its volumetric and spatial solution, the Sliding Hill pavilion resembles the Hermitage in Tsarskoye Selo. Massive wings also adjoin the central body here, but there are three instead of four wings as in the Hermitage, and they do not protrude as far forward. The less intricate plan predetermined a clearer composition. The architectural forms of the Sliding Hill pavilion as a whole are characterized by Classicist restraint and constructiveness, and the plastic decoration — clarity. This duality allows the Sliding Hill pavilion to be considered a monument of the transitional period — the time of early Classicism.

The external ceremonial staircase of the Sliding Hill pavilion leads to the vestibule, about which Uspensky notes that “nowhere, perhaps, did Rinaldi achieve a more coherent and purely architectural effect with fewer means.” This oval-shaped interior with excellent white stucco ornament on a light green background is characteristic of Rinaldi. Thus, it is interesting to compare this solution with the Oval Boudoir of the Gatchina Palace. Here, there are also vaults in the ceiling, the cornice is curved, and the center of the ceiling forms an elliptical medallion. Some ornament details resemble the decoration of the Marble Palace’s Ceremonial Staircase. For example, the composition placed in rectangular panels on the wall opposite the entrance is associated with the composition of a shield tied with a garland and weapons, placed on the wall of the Marble Palace’s Ceremonial Staircase.

The floor of the vestibule, faced with artificial marble, is of considerable interest. Orange-yellow stripes with woven stylized plant ornament form three circles, the central of which is the largest. This extremely clear scheme, beautifully standing out against the light background of the main field, is surprisingly organically coordinated with the ceiling and the entire compositional structure of the interior.

From the vestibule, a staircase branches off to the left, curving picturesquely like a fan. It occupies the southern projection of the building. The staircase is covered by a dome, on which several oval medallions expanding downward are located. The delicate stucco decorating this part of the staircase consists of a trellis mesh combined with stylized and realistically interpreted plant ornament. The light green and light blue, lilac and pale wall backgrounds with soft, pearly transitions make this interior extraordinarily festive. The wrought-iron ornamental railing of the semicircular staircase platform adds even more refinement.

In the design of the vestibule and staircase, a certain pattern in the use of decorative decoration should be noted: the degree of saturation with decorative elements increases as one approaches the ceremonial rooms — the Round Hall and the two small adjoining cabinets — the Hunting and Porcelain Cabinets.

The Round Hall is an amazingly ceremonial and festive room. In its volumetric and spatial solution, it resembles a peculiar pavilion. The hall, more than 12 meters in diameter, is covered with a dome. Doors are arranged along three axes of the hall (corresponding to the three projections of the Sliding Hill). They connect the Round Hall with the staircase, the Hunting, and the Porcelain Cabinets. Triple window-doors are located in the centers of the three walls between the projections, the middle one designed as a tall arch with a semicircular top. They open onto the balcony-terrace, from which a panorama of the park and the bay unfolds, noticeably linking the interior with the natural surroundings. The decorative decoration of the hall and the unusual design of its floor enhance this feeling. The floor of the Round Hall, like the floors of the vestibule and the Hunting Cabinet, is faced with artificial marble. This is the only surviving architectural monument of the 18th century in our country whose floors are executed in this technique.

The floor composition consists of a series of circular bands. On their background, ornaments in the form of stylized shoots and flowers are freely and casually “painted,” giving the hall floor a certain resemblance to Rinaldi’s parquet inlays. This is also aided by the floor’s tonality, in which colors are selected so that they transition into each other without sharp boundaries. The middle part of the floor, in the form of a round medallion-wreath, is more clearly defined in color, with a pheasant executed with astonishing skill holding a twig in its beak placed in the center.

The artificial marble floor in light blue, pinkish, and greenish tones echoes the same wall finish. The door casings are also made of artificial marble. Their greenish-gray tone harmonizes well with the background of the painted door panels. They are decorated with elegant compositions made up of plant and rocaille motifs, with a half-darkened moon disk depicted in the upper part.

Above the hall doors are painted overdoors “Neptune,” “Amphitrite,” and “Nymph on a Dolphin,” executed by Torelli. They are oval and surrounded by stucco in the form of a wreath. On their sides are vertical floral stripes topped with tall vases with flowers. This entire composition gives the wall section with door openings a sense of harmony.

In complete harmony with the hall’s color scheme are the paintings of six panels. They are located in the wall sections between the doors and window-doors and are executed in pale green and yellow tones. Their compositions consist of softly curved green shoots, flowers, garlands, and wreaths, which include musical instruments — a lyre and a trumpet, as well as hunting attributes — a bow and arrows, hunting horns, and a quiver.

The dome composition crowning the hall, seemingly responding to the floor scheme, consists of two parts — the central one painted as a trellis and decorated with branches and leaves, and a wide band of the vault divided into separate panels. They correspond to the wall divisions and are supported by a frieze decorated with consoles in full accordance with the hall’s architectonics. The painted decoration of the dome, whose ornamental pattern is intertwined with images of vases, fountains, and running deer, plastically includes stucco garlands and wreaths. Two gilded stucco wreaths surround the dome’s central part. Behind its trellis mesh, a blue sky is depicted, and upper light seems to penetrate the hall. This technique, which illusorily opens the interior space, gives the artistic appearance of the Round Hall even more resemblance to a pavilion.

The paintings of the Round Hall were done by the ornamentalist Barozzi. Expense records from 1767 state that Barozzi “executed painting works in the stone hill according to approved drawings — painted the ceiling and walls in the round hall with his paints and gold for 1600 rubles.”

The Porcelain Cabinet is located in the eastern projection of the Sliding Hill pavilion and is a small room of about 25 square meters. But it seems quite spacious due to its square shape and abundance of light. The Porcelain Cabinet is illuminated on three sides by four windows. The compositional and pictorial solution of the central part of the ceiling enhances this feeling. Floating cupids are only small accents against the background of the blue sky, creating the illusion of open space. The ceiling, walls, and floor of the cabinet were painted by Barozzi. Expense records from 1767 indicate that the painting master Serafino Barozzi “painted the cabinet decorated with porcelain for 1500 rubles” and also “painted the floor in porcelain style, covering it with a light varnish” for 1100 rubles.

Forty different stucco consoles of various sizes and shapes, united into a single composition by a remarkably delicate painted and stucco ornament, form the main decor of the cabinet. The technique of decorating walls with consoles is characteristic of Rinaldi. We have already seen it in the Buffet Room of Peter III’s palace. Rinaldi also used it in applied art objects — the project of a porcelain hill. Some of the consoles are supported by monkey figurines; hence, this room was called the “Monkey Cabinet.” Moreover, in the 18th century, mythological porcelain groups stood on the consoles, which is why the originally “monkey” cabinet, recorded in archival documents as a room “where porcelain will be arranged,” was also called the Mythological Cabinet. On July 8, 1776, forty porcelain figures were sent to Oranienbaum with a letter from architect Rinaldi, indicating that “they belong to the stone hill in the cabinet on the places made along the walls” and that “these pieces were placed in the cabinet in their places.”

The porcelain groups were made from 1772 to 1775 by the talented artist-sculptor of the Meissen factory Kändler and master Assié. These miniature elegant figurines organically fit into the compositional solution of the cabinet’s decoration, successfully complementing it (currently located in the Anteroom of the Chinese Palace).

The Hunting, or White, Cabinet is located in the western projection of the Sliding Hill pavilion. Its volumetric and spatial solution is identical to that of the Porcelain Cabinet. There was no painting here, except for the doors painted in grisaille technique on a green background. It is worth noting the amazingly elegant and delicate ornamentation of this room. The relief panels framed by rocaille and stylized plant ornament are softly read on the light blue wall background. The rocaille ornamentation in the Hunting Cabinet combines with realistically interpreted ornament — garlands, hunting attributes. The motifs of the interior decoration suggest that the Sliding Hill pavilion was possibly conceived by the client as something like a hunting lodge. Recall that a bow and arrows, a half-darkened moon disk, and running deer on its dome were introduced into the decoration of the Round Hall.

It is interesting to note that Rinaldi intended a decorative-sculptural, not pictorial, decoration for the Round Hall. This is evidenced by the engraved Album of the architect’s works. Judging by the drawing, the decoration of the Round Hall was supposed to be close to the decoration of the White Cabinet and vestibule. It also resembles the architect’s later works — the Marble and Gatchina Palaces. Perhaps, unlike the Chinese Palace, where the refined and diverse decoration contrasts with the laconic facades, Rinaldi wanted to solve the interiors of the more complex-looking Sliding Hill uniformly.

The ornamental floor made of artificial marble and the fireplace, executed in bluish-gray tones, complement the decorative decoration of the Hunting Cabinet, whose artistic appearance is defined by stucco ornamentation. Hence its former name — the Stucco Cabinet.

The magnificent stucco work in the interiors of the Sliding Hill was executed by Gianni. Documents show that “the stucco master Italian Gianni performs stucco work in the hill according to Rinaldi’s drawings.” Additionally, “stucco contractor Ivan Dyshin with a partner” and “stucco worker Ivan Fedorov with a partner” also worked here.

The Sliding Hill pavilion, in the purity of its forms, harmony, and proportionality of parts, despite some possible paradox in this judgment, resembles monuments of Greece. It does not seem massive, although its size is quite large: 33 meters. The pavilion is amazingly proportioned and represents a magnificent example of the synthesis of architecture with the natural spatial environment.

Sources:

“Antonio Rinaldi” by D.A. Kyuchariants

http://www.oranienbaum.org/oranienbaum/architects/antonio-rinaldi/sliding-hill/

https://peterburg.center/maps/oranienbaum-pavilon-katalnaya-gorka.html

https://www.fiesta.ru/spb/places/katalnaya-gorka-v-lomonosove/

https://www.culture.ru/s/vopros/russkie-gorki/