Fountain The Sun (Solntse) in Peterhof
Magnificent fountains of Peterhof are famous not only for their extraordinary beauty but also for a wide variety of architectural and engineering ideas. One of the most interesting fountains in the Park without a doubt can be called the sun (Solntse) fountain.
The fountain is located in the southern part of the Nizhniy Park, near the Palace of Monplaisir. At the time of Peter the Great the Menagerie - menagerie was located here. In the pond surrounding the fountain sturgeons were bred, brought here from the Volga, swans, geese and ducks slid on its water surface. The composition covers a large area – its water basin has an area of 30 to 70 meters. In the center is a pedestal in the form of a cylinder, over which rotates a bronze column height of 3.5 meters. On its top there are gold-plated discs, from which water flows, like the sun's rays, scatter in all directions. Just rays 80, and under the sun, on the edge of pedestal are on the ground sixteen dolphins, from mouths of which are discarded of blasting water.
The fountain was built in 1721 by Nikola Miketti with the active participation of the Emperor. Fifty years later, the design of the fountain has been significantly redesigned by architect Yuri Felten and he found familiar to us today. At the base of the fountain there is a turbine, which rotates a bronze column crowned with gilded disks under the water pressure. From the holes in the rims with the sun beating in all directions thin water jets.
During the great Patriotic war, the fountain was completely destroyed and rebuilt only in 1956.
