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Shady alley from the western facade of the Chinese palace leads to the start of the fantastic meadow surrounded with two rows of the fir trees. The beautiful construction with the noble forms is situated in its end , just at the edge of the coast terrace. This is the Sliding Hill pavilion, the most original creation of A.Rinaldi, one of the most interesting monuments of Russian architectural art of the XVIII century. It has no analogues neither in the Russian, nor in the Western architecture. Once it was the small part of the huge entertaining construction - the sliding hills, built in the North-Western part of the park in 1762-1774 .
This grand and very original architectural structure was 532 m long and was composed of one straight and three wavy gradually reducing slopes. The sliding from this hill was performed only in summer in special carriages, driving along the tracks in the slopes. The covered galleries, formed by two rows of the columns, decorated with sculpture and vases, completed the slopes from the both sides and this sight was very picturesque and majestic. These Sliding Hills were demolished in the middle of the XIX century and today only the meadow and the orderly lines of the fir-trees show, where the place of the grand construction was.
Preserved pavilion is the unique monument, reminding of the
similar entertaining constructions in Russia in the XVIII century.
Two-storey building stands on the high platform with the big oval
windows and is completed with the light cupola, shaped like a
bell. Once this cupola was decorated with the statue of the goddess
Therpsichore - the muse of the singing and dancing. Light-blue
Sliding Hill pavilion with the white columns looks unusually smart
against a background of the grey waters of the Finnish Gulf and
park's vibrant greenery. This is the fine example of the amazing
synthesis of the architecture and the scope. The composition clarity,
decoration grace and the purity of the building architectural
forms give it the noble restraint of the classic constructions.
The interiors of the Sliding Hill pavilion surprise the visitors
with the festive style of the decoration. The light, gentle paintings
on the walls of the Round Hall, the unique floor from the artificial
marble, gently reflecting the light waves, coming from the large
windows-doors, fine modelling ornaments, slightly touched with
the gilding arose the mood of joy and festive cheerfulness.
The
Porcelain Study (left) is the true masterpiece of the decorative
art. Its architectural decoration includes porcelain groups, made
specially for this interior according the models of sculptor I.I.Kendler,
the prominent master of the plastic arts, at the Meisen Porcelain
Factory in 1772-1775 . The exclusive value of this collection
is not only its precious art value, but historical as well. This
is the allegoric representation of life in Russia in the XVIII
century, the "story" about its glorious naval victories,
fast economical, scientific, art and trade development. It combines
the elegant forms with the contents.
In the White Study (right), like in the little mirror, all the creative quests of A.Rinaldi are reflected. This was the way from the refinement, elegance and intricacy of rococo to the logical and clear simplicity of classicism. Many famous craftsmen worked here during the construction of the pavilion: artists S.Torelli and S.Barozzi, modelling-maker A.Gianni, marble master G.Spinelli, bricklayers N.Uglovsky and I.Andreyev, joiners M.Potapov, K.Fyodorov and K.Ipatov. This unique monument of Russian architecture was restored and opened its doors for the visitors in 1959.
