Petergof (derived from the German Peterhof – “Peter’s Court”, from 1944 to 1997, Petrodvorets (i.e. Peter’s Palace) is a Russian town in the Petrodvorets District of Saint-Petersburg. It stands on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland . Peterhof is an important tourist, research and educational center to the west of St. Petersburg (29 km by rail).

It has railway stations and a pier on the Gulf of Finland. The population of Peterhof makes 73.2 thousand people (as of 2010). Today Petergof is imbued with objects of social and commercial infrastructure.

As conceived by Peter the Great, Petergof was to be on a par with the most famous royal residences in Europe, and at the same time to become a triumphal monument to the successful completion of Russia’s struggle for access to the Baltic Sea. Both the goals were brilliantly attained.

Petergof was founded in 1710 as the imperial countryside residence and got the town status in 1762. The town keeps a monument of world architecture and palace and park art of the 18th-19th centuries – the Petergof Museum Reserve. It has been a Science Town since 2005.

The museum-reserve includes the palace and park ensemble of the 18th-19th centuries - the former royal countryside residence was turned into a museum after the nationalization in May 19, 1918. Petergof Museum Reserve got its current status in 1990.