The Great Caprice

Categories / Tsarskoe Selo and town of Pushkin. The digital chronological reference book/Monuments of history and culture
The Great and Little Caprice were built in 1772–1774 by the architect V.I. Neyelov and the engineer I. Gerard over the road led to the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. The road was named “Under Caprice road”. There are many legends concerning caprices. According to a legend the name is related with too large amount of money spent for building the constructions. Allegedly, looking through too large estimate for building two gates, the first one of big size with a Chinese summerhouse located on the top, and the second one of smaller size, Catherine II said, “Do it like this, it’s my caprice!”. Many ways are directed away from the Great Caprice not only to the park but to more distant places. Catherine II never informed her courtiers about routes of walks and trips in advance. According to another legend the construction was named “The Great Caprice” because of the Tsarina often did surprises for her courtiers, who went with her on a pleasure-trip without luggage and did not suppose that the Empress, passed the arch of the Great Caprice, could suddenly order to turn to Petersburg. Caprices formed the entrance in the Triangular Ground of the Catherine Palace as well as into Catherine and Alexander parks. At the same time caprices are grounds for viewing the remarkable ensemble of constructions in the Chinese style: the Creaking Chinese Summerhouse and the Chinese Village. Artificial ramp-banks went to both Caprices’ tops from both parks. It’s possible to cross from one park to another using the ramp-banks. Semenova Galina Victorovna
Catherine II, Empress
Gerard Ivan (Johann Konrad) Kondratievich
Neelov Vasily Ivanovich
Quarenghi Giacomo
Ekaterininsky Park/Pushkin, town
Pushkin, town
Catherine Palace (Town of Pushkin)
China-village (Pushkin)