Description of the attraction
During the first reign of Empress Catherine II, the section of the Old Garden between the Ramp Alley, which is a continuation of the Ramp, and the Podkaprizovaya road was redeveloped according to the principle of a landscape park. In front of the southern façade of the Zubovsky wing, a Big Meadow was laid out with a length of more than two hundred meters with paths on the sides.
In the middle of the 19th century, due to the arrangement of the Own Garden in this part of the park, one of the beautiful landscape landscapes of the Catherine Park, created in the 18th century, was not preserved. In 1856, a section of the landscape park was fenced off with a low cast-iron lattice with 3 gates, for which gilded bronze decorations were made according to the sketches of the architect Ippolit Antonovich Monighetti. And finally, in 1865, by order of Emperor Alexander II, the architect Alexander Fomich Vidov invented an intimate private garden here.
In 1862, the garden was expanded, and three years later, Alexander II wished to arrange a flower garden, a veranda and a fountain here. Outsiders were forbidden to enter the kindergarten, and soon it was surrounded by a fence.
The compositional center of the Private Garden is a massive fountain with an octagonal pool and a tall vase made of Carrara marble. Picturesque flower beds were arranged around the fountain, winding paths were laid, sculptures were installed. A pergola also appeared in the kindergarten. This is an Italian style veranda. It blocked the view of the green meadow and the Cahul obelisk from the windows of the palace and divided the Big green meadow into two parts.
After these transformations, the nature of this section of the park has changed dramatically. The original idea of the park builders turned out to be broken and distorted. The perspective of the meadow with the tall, slender Katul obelisk, one of the most spectacular works in the old landscape park, was lost.
August 30, Alexander's Day, Grand Duke Alexander always celebrated in Tsarskoe Selo. In the year of his 16th birthday (1861), the holiday was held in the Catherine Palace, in the Chinese Hall - with fruits, tea, ice cream. On the territory of the Private Garden, carpets were laid, chairs were placed, music was played. Young people rode boats on the lake, rejoicing at the fireworks and illuminations arranged on this occasion.
The southern facade of the Zubovsky wing of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace overlooks the Private Garden. The second floor of the building once housed the apartments of Empress Catherine the Great. The private rooms of Emperor Alexander II were later arranged on the first floor of the wing. These interiors, destroyed during the Great Patriotic War, are currently being restored.
The family of Alexander II was walking on the territory of the Private Garden. Among the many flower beds and lilac bushes, the royal children frolicked and played. During the White Nights period, country balls were held here in the open air, the orchestra was then housed in a bosquet, and the dances were performed in the style of "elegant simplicity."
In the 30th year of the 20th century, marble sculptures were installed in the Private Garden, preserved during the Great Patriotic War: 2 copies of Antonio Canova's "Dancer" made at the beginning of the 19th century, "Zephyr" by Viktor Petrovich Brodzky and "Nymph" by Parmen Petrovich Zabello.
