Next to the wall of the Moscow kremlin and on the place where the Neglinna River once flowed is the Aleksander Garden, a space that mixes greenery and flowers with symbols of Russian history. This garden is included in the historic Kremlin complex.
Aleksander Garden became one of the most important attractions in Moscow along with the Red Square and other interesting places near the fortress.
The park of about 10 hectares has a regular design: parallel to the wall of the Kremlin there are 3 main alleys, along which are planted a lot of different trees (Linden, Maple) and ornamental shrubs (lilac, Hawthorn, Jasmine, bird cherry) that bloom at different times of the year. The decoration of the park was completed with a huge fountain complex, decorated with sculptures of horses and fairy-tale characters.
Aleksander Garden is divided into 3 parts: the upper garden, the Middle Garden and the Lower Garden. The upper and Middle gardens are separated by the Trinity Bridge and communicate through its archway, while the lower one is separated by borovitsky street: it has no alleys, in fact, it is closed to visitors.
In the alleys of the Aleksander Garden there is a significant number of historical objects and monuments.
Although the Aleksander Garden is considered historic, in reality the park is quite young: its grand opening took place on August 30, 1821.
In the past, the Neglinnaya river flowed along the territory of the current Garden. After the Patriotic War and the fire of 1812, when Moscow suffered significant destruction, the question arose of the restoration and reconstruction of the central part of the city, and in 1819-1823, on the site of the Neglinka underground collector designed by architect Osip Bove, 3 gardens were designed: upper (~350 meters, from the modern Manezhnaya Square to the Trinity Bridge), Middle (~382 meters, from the Trinity to the Borovitsky Bridge) and lower (~132 meters, from the Borovitsky bridge on the descent to the river).
Works began by decree of Aleksandr I; originally equipped gardens were called simply and laconically-Kremlin, but in 1856 they were renamed in honor of the former emperor and became Aleksander. Subsequently, the gardens were no longer read as separate spaces, and the name was established in singular: The Aleksander Garden, but the original boundaries between each part are well visible today.
Among other things, Beauvais planned to use neglinna waters to create ornamental ponds, but the idea did not materialize.
Today, the park have 3 memorial complexes, 2 monuments to specific people, 1 Memorial Obelisk and several modern fountains combined in the complex. Among other things, the Garden has access to the Kremlin wall and 8 towers.
In 2013, they decided to restore the Obelisk for the 400th anniversary of the Romanovs House and dismantled it to make a replica; the original monument was practically lost; and finally placed in its place a new model based on the original Romanov obelisk, but it is not an exact copy.
* Complex of fountains with sculptures: includes several fountains, the largest are the “geyser” with the sculpture ” Seasons “(4 horses frolicking) and the “Neglinnaya River”; which mimics the bed of Neglinka and is decorated with the sculptural composition”characters from fairy tales”.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of The Great Patriotic War that was the bloodiest event in the history of Russia of the 20th century. In Russia, there are rest of hundreds thousands of soldiers who gave their lives for their homeland, the names of a lot of them are unknown. In memory of the fallen hero soldiers, a memorial architectural ensemble was created in Moscow, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In 1941, there were bloody battles near Moscow; at km 41 of the Leningrad highway there was a mass grave of which rescued the body of an unknown soldier.
On December 3, 1966; in a solemn ceremony moved the remains of the unknown soldier tomb near the Kremlin wall at the beginning of Aleksandr Garden.
The center of the monument is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a tombstone consisting of polished granite slabs. In the central stone of the tombstone, there is a sculptural composition made of bronze, a flag, a laurel branch and a soldier’s helmet. In front of the tombstone is a five-pointed star, in the center of it burns the Eternal Flame of Glory.
To the left of the monument, there is a low granite wall on which is engraved “1941-fallen for The Motherland – 1945”. To the right of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a granite alley with porphyry rectangular blocks. Inside the blocks lies the land of the hero cities: Kiev, Volgograd, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Murmansk, Smolensk, Minsk, Kerch, Brest, Tula, Novorossiysk.
In 1997, an honor guard was installed in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In 2004, by decision of Vladimir Putin, the inscription Volgograd was replaced by Stalingrad.
“Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal,” these simple words will not leave anyone indifferent to the great feat of the Russian soldier.
To the Tomb of Unknown Soldier, people come from all over to pay tribute and honor the memory of the missing.
Aleksandr’s Garden and all its points of interest are included in our Free Tour in Moscow and the Tour of the Historical Center of Moscow (In private format).
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