Inverse word order

Solution 1:

Yes, the first sentence is as correct as the second. In fact, although such inversions are sometimes awkward, I can't think of a case in which a comparable inversion would be incorrect. In this case, I'd prefer the first version, because it moves the verb forward, and shifts a very long noun phrase to the end.

It's not at all uncommon; here's a line from a translation of Pippi Longstocking (quoted here) that does it:

Way out at the end of a tiny little town was an old overgrown garden, and in the garden was an old house, and in the house lived Pippi Longstocking.