Alexandrovsky Park (Tsarskoye Selo) is part of a state-protected museum reserve located near St. Petersburg. Built in the 18th-19th centuries, the museum is one of the most frequently visited sights of Russia; up to 100 thousand visitors come here every year.
Where is?
Alexander Park, Tsarskoye Selo, Catherine Palace - all these objects are located in the Leningrad region, in the small town of Pushkin. Until 1918, the village was called Tsarskoye Selo, it was founded as a suburban residence for the imperial family, and later most of its houses became a monument of urban building art.
Pushkin received the status of the city in 1808 and has been actively developing since then. Its main plus is its convenient location relative to St. Petersburg (only 23 kilometers). As of 2015, about 100 thousand people live in the city, and the population is gradually increasing.
How to get there?
The city in which the Alexander Park (Pushkin) is located is easily accessible for guests and residents of St. Petersburg. Within the village there are two railway stations at once - the 21st kilometer and Tsarskoye Selo, which can be reached with the help of trains departing from the Vitebsk station of the Northern capital. Electric trains in this direction run at intervals of 15 minutes to an hour.
You can also take minibuses No. 545, 342, 287 and 347, as well as bus route No. 187, the starting point for their departure is Moskovskaya metro station. If you are traveling by car, it is best to use the Pulkovo highway or Vitebsk Avenue. Experienced tourists are not advised to move along the Moscow highway, since there is a great risk of being stuck in traffic for a long time.
Historical background (until 1740)
At the beginning of the XVII century, at the place where Alexander Park today welcomes guests, the Sarskaya Manor was located - a manor that belonged to the Swedish magnate. On some maps it is called Saritsa. When the Swedes were expelled from the area, the manor was donated to A. D. Menshikov by Peter the Great himself, and soon a two-story palace made of stone appeared here.
At the beginning of the 18th century, after lengthy construction work, canals and lakes appeared here (at first water was brought here from St. Petersburg). Until 1749, the local pond did not have any power sources, the problem was solved only after the creation of the Vittolovsky Canal, which originated from the keys near the village of B. Vittolovo. As a result, the entire territory of the park was limited by the Krestovsky Canal.
The appearance of the imperial residence
Pushkin, Tsarskoye Selo, Alexander Park - all these objects began to be popular during the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna. It was she who rebuilt the small castle that once belonged to Catherine I, and turned it into a summer residence. At the end of the 18th century, a “Chinese village” was erected here, part of which was destroyed in 1941.
In 1810, the ensemble was replenished with the Alexander Palace, and the menagerie that existed at that time turned into a large park. In parallel, new structures were erected, each of which had its own functionality, only a part of them was used as "landscape" exhibits. In 1824, stone pavilions appeared here with cast-iron gates, which still stand today.
Soviet time
Soon after the October Revolution, Alexander Park (Tsarskoye Selo) was nationalized and turned into a museum, which opened its doors in June 1918, over the next two years it took about 150 thousand people. In the period from 1941 to 1944, the city was occupied by German troops, some of the works of art were stolen or destroyed, almost all the buildings of the museum complex were damaged.
The restoration of the park lasted two years, in 1946 it was again opened for tourists. In 1990, the ensemble received the status of a museum-reserve, and a year earlier it was included in the list of objects protected by UNESCO. Restoration work periodically takes place on the territory of the complex, so when visiting the reserve, one should not be surprised that some pavilions may be closed.
New garden
Alexander Park (Pushkin) is conditionally divided into a new and an old garden. The first appeared in 1740, in its center is the Catherine Palace. It is surrounded by the Cross Canal, it can be recognized by a wide alley of lindens, which is the axis of this garden. The result is four squares, each approximately 200 meters in size.
The new garden was created by M. A. Kondakov and K. Schreider, but the architect who designed it is still unknown, the most likely candidate is N. Zhirar. In the future, the layout of the garden changed, at one time original ponds with small peninsulas were formed here. In the middle of the XVIII century, visitors lost interest in existing gardens, and the New Garden was not able to be equipped in the volume that was originally planned.
The Great Chinese Bridge
The first thing to learn if you are going to go to Alexander Park (Tsarskoye Selo): the sights here are literally at every step, and if you rush too much, you can skip a lot. Be sure to visit the Great Chinese Bridge, built in 1785 from pink granite. During the Second World War, the building was partially destroyed; the final restoration of the sculptures used in those days was completed only in 2010.
The bridge can be easily found - it is located on the front side of the Catherine Palace, near the central gate. The original parapet in the form of stone vases looks very impressive against the background of the building itself. Initially, the architect C. Cameron wanted to give his brainchild a completely different form, but changed his mind after the start of construction.
Chinese theater
Alexander Park (Pushkin) is distinguished by the fact that it was here that at the end of the 18th century a real Chinese theater was erected. The author of the building was the famous famous architect Antonio Rinaldi, the construction was carried out by another architect - I.V. Neelov, who slightly modified the original idea of the theater and gave it completely new features. At first, the object was similar to any European cultural institution, it was distinguished by modesty of decoration.
In the summer of 1779, the very first performance took place there, the audience of which was Empress Catherine II. The opera Dmitry Artaxerxes was a huge success, however, like all subsequent productions. In September 1941, as a result of the shelling, the building burned out almost entirely. Now the management of the museum complex has plans for its restoration, however, specific dates are not called.
Small and Big whims
Alexander Park (Tsarskoye Selo) cannot be imagined without two large art objects: the Greater and the Lesser Whim - two artificial embankments that have arched spans over the road passing through them. There is a legend according to which Catherine II for a very long time doubted whether to spend money on such a large-scale and expensive construction work, but nevertheless decided to erect the embankments, calling it her whim.
The arch of the Great Whim reaches 7.5 meters in height and 5.5 meters in width. Another arch was erected very close to it, you can drive along the so-called “Podkaprizovaya road”, heading to the Great Catherine Palace. According to historical data, when creating objects, builders used the land that was obtained by deepening the existing ponds. If you climb to the top of the Great Whim, you can find there a gazebo, which is supported by 8 columns made of pink marble.
Chinese village
The Alexander Park, whose photos delight and captivate the eye, has another attraction - the Chinese village, which was built in 1780. The key difference of the project is that it was not completely completed; only 10 of the 18 planned facilities were built. In the center of the composition is the so-called “observatory”. Initially, the village was decorated with earthenware tiles, which, unfortunately, could not withstand severe frosts and cracked. After that, the buildings were quickly plastered and painted with oriental ornaments.
The construction of the village was completed after the death of Catherine II the Great. In the 20s of the XIX century, houses were turned into apartments and adapted for guest apartments. It was there that one could often meet N. M. Karamzin, who was writing the famous treatise “History of the Russian State”. Now the village is completely renovated, all the houses are used as apartments.
Peterhof
Another highlight of the region, not far from which is the Alexander Park, is Peterhof, which for some time bore the name of Petrodvorets. It was founded in 1710, initially played the role of a suburban residence and only in 1762 received a separate city status. It is here that the Peterhof Museum Reserve is located, which includes a huge number of exhibits.
The main one is the Grand Peterhof Palace, which was erected in the years 1714-1725 in the style of Peter the Great Baroque. It is also worth a visit to the Upper Garden, broken in 1724: it is decorated with 5 fountains and a huge number of statues. The lower park was built as a model of a country residence, which Peter I planned to use in winter and summer. You should also visit the park "Alexandria", created later than the main exhibition - in 1832. It was used as a summer residence by the family of Nicholas I.
White Tower
Alexander Park (Tsarskoye Selo), a photo of which was often previously seen on postcards and cards, also has a kind of knight's castle - the White Tower. Its height is slightly less than 38 meters, it was erected in 1827 especially for the children of Nicholas I, where they mastered the military sciences, gymnastic exercises, painting and drawing.
During the Second World War, the monument was almost completely destroyed, after the fighting only the lower part of the building was saved. In 1990, they decided to restore the tower. The work was carried out for about twenty years, opened a monument in 2012. Since the sketches were lost, the historical layout of the building could not be recreated, and now it is used as a museum center.
Reviews
And what do the tourists and the locals say, about such a miracle of landscape architecture as the Alexander Park? Reviews about him will pleasantly surprise you. Once here, you will want to return again and again: there is a special atmosphere that allows you to easily plunge into the past of tsarist Russia. You will learn a lot about your country, as well as enjoy the original decoration of local buildings. All visitors to Tsarskoye Selo respond exclusively to the museum-reserve in a positive way.
Many people note as a positive factor the fact that the exhibits are diligently monitored and periodically carried out their capital and cosmetic restoration. Nonresident tourists are glad that, despite universal urbanization, Tsarskoye Selo managed to survive and retain the old Russian spirit that many people write about in books. The responsiveness of the staff and their willingness to conduct even additional excursions, according to tourists, are also one of the advantages of visiting the exposition.