The Palace gardens in Petergof are amazing for their fountains. If I have it right, Peter the Great had been to Versailles and seen fountains there, and wanted bigger ones. Well, in front of the Summer Palace, in Petergof, there is a truly amazing array of fountains set among exuberant baroque sculptures (and not only baroque babies); in the quite extensive park there are fountains here and there, often big ones. They are all gravity fed from some water source in the low hills inland.
Apparently Peter did not just commission the fountains, but he took an active part in their design, implementation and construction. In other ways he showed his interest in creating things, machines etc. Early in his career, he visited shipyards in Holland and England and got well involved in the making etc of naval vessels. He wanted Russia to have a powerful navy, but he did not just commission someone else to bring this about; he got involved in it himself.
He was a tsar, but was he also an engineer?
Apparently Peter did not just commission the fountains, but he took an active part in their design, implementation and construction. In other ways he showed his interest in creating things, machines etc. Early in his career, he visited shipyards in Holland and England and got well involved in the making etc of naval vessels. He wanted Russia to have a powerful navy, but he did not just commission someone else to bring this about; he got involved in it himself.
He was a tsar, but was he also an engineer?
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