Sobstvennaya Dacha (the Imperial Private Dacha)
An estate where 'no one was admitted without announcement'. Alexander II spent his honeymoon here.
A quiet park three kilometres west of the Lower Park, unknown to most tourists. It all began with a gift: Peter the Great gave this plot by the gulf to his closest aide in church affairs, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich. In 1727 a stone dacha was begun here. After Feofan's death the estate passed to Tsarevna Elizabeth, and as empress she called it her 'Sobstvennaya Dacha' (Private Dacha). Privacy was strictly enforced: no one was admitted without announcement. In 1843 Nicholas I gave the dacha to the heir, the future Alexander II, and he spent his honeymoon here. Now the ensemble is under restoration, the palace is behind a fence, but the park, ponds and bridges can be walked around along the edge.
Walks in Peterhof / Day trips
🌅 An hour by the house: the metochion and Sobstvennaya Dacha
A short walk in any weather: the church that gave our street its name, and the quiet imperial dacha, "where no one was admitted without an appointment."
🗿 Sergievka: the Stone Head and the palace above the cliff
A forest park west of the house: Sobstvennaya Dacha, the mysterious Stone Head in the ravine and the Leuchtenberg Palace with a view of the gulf.
🥾 All of Peterhof in a day: from west to east
A big hike for those who love walking: from Sobstvennaya Dacha through the entire Lower Park, the Colonist Islands and the cathedral — to the Cottage Palace in Alexandria. Return by bus or taxi.