A tour of the Alexander Garden
The Alexander Garden is considered a historical park, but in reality it is still quite young, having been officially opened on August 30, 1821.
Until the 18th century, the Neglinnaya River flowed on the site of today's Alexander Garden. Four bridges spanned it: the Kuznetsky Bridge, the Petrovsky Bridge (the remains of which were discovered during the reconstruction of the Maly Theater), the Voskresensky Bridge (the remains of which can be seen in the Moscow Archaeology Museum), and the surviving Troitsky Bridge. Historically, folk festivals were held on the riverbanks, especially during Maslenitsa (Maslenitsa), with mummers, fistfights, the burning of straw effigies, and sledding right from the Kremlin walls. Back then, the Neglinka's waters were clean and renowned for its fishing industry, as rinsing laundry and bathing horses in the river was prohibited, and the fish-rich Neglinsky Ponds were rented out to merchants. In winter, ice renowned for its clarity was taken from these reservoirs to fill the glaciers.
Unlike the relatively clear water of the Neglinnaya River near the Upper Neglinny Pond, the waters in the lower reaches became heavily polluted, and the dams on the river were nicknamed "pogany" (filthy), while the banks collapsed and became overgrown.
After the end of the Patriotic War, Emperor Alexander I decided that, in order to completely reconstruct central Moscow, the river needed to be buried underground, encased in a three-kilometer-long pipe. Surveyor and military engineer Yegor Cheliev oversaw the construction of the underground riverbed. Gardens designed by architect Osip Bove were laid out in the vacated space as part of the Moscow reconstruction plan following the fire of 1812.
These gardens served a memorial purpose—they were created to commemorate the victory in the Patriotic War—but also served a recreational function, as they were intended for public use. The gardens were built from 1819 to 1823 and were originally called the Kremlin Gardens, including the Upper, Middle, and Lower Gardens.