In the days of Peter I this land was occupied by a vegetable garden and the three large ponds were used for producing fish for the imperial table. In the mid-18C, after the Grand Palace was completed, the main entrance of the residence was opened on the St. Petersburg Road side. The vegetable garden became a park used as the main courtyard for the tsars' residence. The perfectly symmetrical Upper Garden, dotted with arbours, pergolas, statues and ponds, is dominated by the Fountain of Neptune in the central pool.