On August 20, 1721, the famous fountains and cascades were launched in Peterhof for the first time, becoming a monument to the world hydraulic engineering of the 18th-19th centuries.

The idea of creating a summer residence that rivaled the luxury of the French Versailles came to Peter I in 1714 after the victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedes at Gangut. Peterhof was envisioned as a majestic symbol of the heroic struggle of the Russian people for access to the Baltic Sea. The development of the water supply system was entrusted to the Russian master Vasily Tuvolkov, who had studied in Holland and France. In the summer of 1721, under his guidance, a gravity-fed water supply system was built, stretching 24 km and including sluices and a canal. Water from the ponds on the Ropsha Heights flowed through this canal into the storage pools of the Upper Garden, feeding the fountains.

In early August 1721, the construction of the canal from the ponds of the future English Park to the Square Ponds of the Upper Garden was completed. On August 19, Peter I learned that the canal from the river to the main water supply of Peterhof had been dug. On the same day, he went to the Ropsha Heights and opened the flow of water through the new water supply. By the next morning, the water had reached Peterhof, filling the ponds of the fountains and cascades. Since then, the system has supplied the fountains and the city with water by gravity, without pumps.

In 1726, under the guidance of architect T. N. Usov, the Adam and Eve fountains were launched. In the Lower Park, consisting of six gardens, the fountains "Dragon," "Labyrinth," two "Roman" fountains, the cascade "Chess Mountain," and the joke fountains were opened. In 1734, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Poltava victory, a grand fountain with the monumental group "Samson tearing the lion's mouth" was created by B. F. Rastrelli. The work on the ensemble continued for two centuries. Outstanding architects such as J.-B. A. Leblon, N. Miketti, M. G. Zemtsov, F. B. Rastrelli, Yu. M. Felten, and A. I. Shtakenshneider participated in it. Thanks to their efforts, the estate with small palaces, such as Monplaisir, Marly, and the Hermitage pavilion, transformed into the "capital of fountains" and became a jewel of world architecture.