Summer Garden > Menagerie pond

The «Menagerie pond» bosquet

The «Menagerie Pond» Bosquet owes its name to the French word menagerie. In architecture, this term is applied to a structure to house birds. An artificial regular-ovalshaped pond was arranged there in 1719-1720s. Along the perimeter of the pond one could see a trellis fence and eight «birdhouses» to keep rare species of ducks and geese; in the centre of the pond there was a pavilion, where Peter the Great liked to spend his time when he «wished to be by himself». The pond was renovated several times, and in 1786 it was filled up. The bosquet was reconstructed in 2010-2011 at a new height with its original proportions, which were verified by archeological research, and in accordance with the axonometric plan of St. Petersburg completed by Saint-Hilaire in 1767-1773.