Moscow is attractive for tourists not only as a metropolis and the capital of the Great State, but also as a city-history, a city-museum. Countless excursions for both foreign guests and compatriots will enrich their knowledge of Belokamennaya and help create their own idea, which can be strikingly different from the one imposed in the West.
Foreigners will keep the image of our capital, which has been formed for centuries. Surely they will take away memories of the Kremlin, Tsar Bell, Red Square to distant countries.
Alexander Garden Park, where a number of sights of the capital are located, will not only be an occasion for an informative walk, but will also allow you to feel the calmness of old Moscow. It is located between the Kremlin wall and Manezhnaya street, it is an integral part of the image of the capital, which invariably attracts tourists who have visited and seen many countries and capitals in all corners of this busy world.
History
The park area, represented by the Alexander Garden, stretches from the northwestern side of the Kremlin. Green Boulevard is not only a historical landmark for guests, but also a place for walking Muscovites, many of whom often spend their free time here. But first of all, the Alexander Garden park in Moscow is a place that identifies some important milestones in the history of Russia. On its territory there is a nationwide memorial and monuments that embody the past.
Even at the end of the eighteenth century, the Kremlin was surrounded by water on three sides. The waters of the Neglinka flowed along a deep moat on the side of Red Square, carrying them into the Moscow River, and its channel also passed through the territory of the present garden. Neglinka at that time was a river that was quite suitable for fishing. An interesting fact - the police monitored its cleanliness. It was strictly forbidden to wash and bathe horses in these places. In winter, ice from unpolluted sources replenished Moscow glaciers.
Address of the Alexander Garden park: Manezhnaya street, 13/1.
There will be a garden
Having stopped and thrown the French out of Russia in 1812, having begun the restoration of Moscow from significant damage caused by fires, Alexander I decided to hide Neglinka underground. It was decided to plant gardens on the site of the filled-in channel. The work was carried out for three years, and revealed to Moscow the park, which today is loved by Muscovites and guests of the capital.
Project
Even under Alexander the Great, the project, which later became a favorite place for Muscovites, laid the Green Zone, which would include three separate parks. They were supposed to be connected by a single landscape and called the Kremlin Gardens. After the accession to the throne of Alexander II in 1856, they were renamed Alexandrovskie. Nowadays, the area on which the Alexander Garden park is located is 10 hectares, and its length is 850 meters with a width of up to 130. Today Neglinka can only remind of itself with a bridge called Troitsky.
Upper Garden
Manezhnaya Square and Troitsky Bridge connect the northern part, which is called the Upper Garden. Its length is 350 meters. It is separated by a massive cast-iron fence from the Historical Museum, which is located in a building built of red brick. Eugene Frantsevich Pascal, whose sketch formed the basis of this fence, was a famous architect of his time. The gates are decorated with symbols of Russian victories over the French conquerors.
The opening of the Upper Garden took place in 1821. It is drawn by several alleys, located parallel and perpendicular to the Kremlin walls. Paths for pedestrians are separated by flower beds. Starting to bloom in spring, various flowers delight visitors with bright colors, and only autumn stops this riot of colors. And what a garden without trees and shrubs! They are an integral part of it: oaks and maples, blue spruces and lindens. Shrubs complement the floristry of the garden.
Bowet contribution
The Upper Park, more precisely, its central part, is represented by the "Ruins" memorial. On the basis of the project of the famous Russian architect O. I. Bove, a memorial was created. It must be said that Beauvais took a direct and active part in the reconstruction of Moscow after its burning. The memorial reminds of the events of the Patriotic War. Stone cores from the time of Peter the Great, along with the fragments of buildings destroyed during the war, became part of the artistic composition, conceived by the master in the design of the grotto. Interestingly, at the beginning of the 19th century, during various festive events, the bosom of the arch was provided to the orchestra, which entertained the public. The ascent from the southern part of the grotto leads to a platform with figures of two lions.
What's next?
Celebrating the 300th anniversary of the reign of the royal dynasty, in 1913 a majestic obelisk was erected, which rises next to the memorial. Having undergone some changes under the Soviet regime, it was restored quite recently. The symbol of the Russian Empire in the form of a double-headed eagle crowns him.
Patriarch Hermogenes played a grandiose role in maintaining the unity of the country in the 17th century - his sculptural embodiment stands next to the obelisk.
Sculptures and fountains adorn the artificial reservoir created during the reconstruction of Manezhnaya Square.
The reservoir itself imitates the bed of the Neglinka River. The names of the fountains are curious. The most famous was given the name "Geyser", followed by "Veil", "Ivan Tsarevich and the Frog", "Fox and Crane", "Fisherman and Fish", "Sleeping Mermaid" -the names of these fairy-tale characters can be seen in the water of the reservoir. Bronze horses are reminiscent of the four seasons.
Eternal memory
For the older generation, and for the modern one too, there is a place in the park that is sacred like no other. Before the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, in the northern part of the garden, over the reburied remains of a soldier whose name remains unknown, an eternal flame lit up. He became an inextinguishable memory of those defenders of Moscow who laid down their lives on its outskirts, remaining unknown heroes in the memory of posterity.
A bronze banner, a soldier's helmet and a laurel branch are located on a tombstone, in the center of which is a five-pointed star with a flame escaping from it, which does not fade day or night. Shoksha quartzite clads the wall to the left of the memorial, to the right is an alley with pedestals installed along it, on which the names of hero cities are carved.
In 2010, they were joined by a stele on which forty-five cities. Their names are marked with the status of the city of military glory. Soldiers from the Presidential Regiment are guarding the memorial complex. For tourists, the changing of the guard, which takes place once an hour, is one of the attractions of the park, and a lot of people gather to watch it.
Medium Garden
A year later, in 1822, after the Upper Garden, the Middle Garden was opened, stretching from the Trinity Bridge to the street leading to the Borovitskaya Tower of the Kremlin. Its length is 382 meters, it isgeographically the largest of the three gardens. It starts from the Kutafya Tower, which stands, as it were, separately from the Kremlin walls. From the beginning of the 17th century, when it was built, its purpose was to protect the western approaches to the Kremlin. At the end of the same century, the tower acquired its present form. Then her top was redone, and he appeared in the form of a jagged “crown”
The Kremlin's ticket offices are located in the Middle Park, where they sell tickets to the Armory, the Diamond Fund and other attractions.
Not so long ago, in 2014, what should have been done a long time ago was done in the central part. The founder of the gardens, Alexander I, now rises in the form of a bronze statue on a pedestal. The cloak covers the shoulders of the autocrat, and the left hand clutches the sword and, as a result, the weapon of the defeated enemy, thrown at his feet. Next to the monument are bas-reliefs depicting battle scenes and generals directly related to the victory over the French led by Napoleon. A few more images, dear to Russian history, are carved on them.
Lower Garden
It is the third component of the complex, located in its southern part. It is the shortest section - only 132 meters. This part of the park was presented to the residents of the capital in 1823. Here you will not find alleys for pedestrians, and today it is only accessible for inspection through a fence.
The Alexander Garden park in Moscow, whose photo and address are known to almost all visitors and residents of the capital, is incredibly popular thanks to numerous guidebooks. How to get toAlexander Garden park Four metro stations are located in close proximity to the park. These are "Alexander Garden", "Borovitskaya", "Library named after Lenin" and "Okhotny Ryad". For example, when leaving the Alexandrovsky Sad station crossing, travelers go straight to the Kremlin walls.
Ground transport from anywhere in the city will take you to this place - the place where the foot of a person who first visited Moscow always sets foot. Or those people who, having been here once, cannot deny themselves the pleasure of wandering in this cozy place where the spirit of history and modernity reigns.
Conclusion
Alexander Garden evokes only positive emotions in most tourists. Many travelers from different countries come to Moscow just to have a glimpse of its greatness and beauty. We hope that our article helped you understand many issues and only sweetened the already established image of the Alexander Garden.
