Built at the behest of Peter the Great who wanted it to compete with Versailles, Peterhof was originally designed by Jean Baptiste Le Blond and inaugurated in 1723.  Transformed by Rastrelli during the reign of Tsarina Elizabeth, construction continued for about two centuries.

Like most of the other country palaces, it was occupied by the Nazis during World War II and reduced to rubble.  It has been completely rebuilt. \