Roller Coaster Pavilion
The pavilion of the longest "roller coaster" of the 18th century.
The white-and-blue pavilion with a dome is all that remains of a giant attraction. The idea grew out of a Russian winter pastime — sliding down ice hills, only Catherine the Great wanted to ride in summer too. In 1762–1774, Rinaldi built the pavilion, from which a wooden chute about half a kilometer long with colonnades on the sides went down. Guests sat in carts and raced down — essentially, this is the ancestor of the roller coaster. The chute was dismantled in the 19th century, but the pavilion remained. For a long time the author was considered to be Rastrelli, but in the early 20th century the historian Uspensky proved Rinaldi's authorship from documents.
Walks in Peterhof / Day trips
🏯 Oranienbaum: palaces that never saw war
The only suburb not captured during the war: the authentic Rococo of the Chinese Palace, the pavilion of a giant "American mountain" slide, Peter III's toy fortress and Menshikov's palace.