The Cross Bridge is one of the historical bridges Alexander Park of the former Tsarskoye Selo (now the Pushkin city of St. Petersburg).
The Cross Bridge spans the Cross Canal of the Alexander Park. It is located on the corner of the Krestovy Canal, from which the bridge was named "Krestovy".
The bridge is made in the Chinese style, which was typical for Russia at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, and resembles a stone Chinese gazebo on arches, with four shoots.
The bridge was built by the decree of Empress Catherine II, in 1776-1779, according to the project of V. I. Neelov. The architect borrowed the bridge project from the popular album of English architects V. and D. Halfpenny "Rural architecture in Chinese Taste" ("Rural architecture in Chinese taste"). V. I. Neelov began construction, and his son I. V. Neelov finished the bridge in 1779.
Despite its small size, the Cross Bridge seems to be a monumental structure.
Powerful, strongly curved semi-arches close together and form a platform on which an octagonal pavilion rises, lined with colored glazed bricks, once made by the manufacturer A. Conradi. The walls of the pavilion are cut through with high lancet windows. The pavilion is covered by a curved "Chinese" roof, painted "like fish scales" and topped with a spire with balls.
Wide monumental granite stairs lead to the bridge pavilion, each of which consists of twenty-three steps.
At the base of the staircases, on both sides of the canal, there are circular platforms lined with two-tone marble slabs.
Under the upper platform of the bridge, the one above the water and where the pavilion is located, there is a "kettlebell", or "globe", as this bridge decoration was called in the 18th century.
View of the Cross Bridge fromThe Great Chinese Bridge in the Alexander Park
Practical information
The Cross Bridge is located in Alexander Park, Pushkin, St. Petersburg.
The Alexander Park, together with the Alexander Palace, belong to the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo".
Entrance to the park is free (free of charge).
We recommend checking the working hours of the park, as well as the conditions of visiting, on the website of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo": tzar.ru.
You can visit Tsarskoye Selo with one of the excursions
You can find out about all the ways to get to Pushkin from St. Petersburg (the airport and the city center) here →
In Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) you can stay
The 5-star Pevcheskaya Tower Hotel offers restaurants, a bar, a rooftop observation deck, free Wi-Fi and parking.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
The 5-star luxury spa hotel "Tsar Palace Luxury Hotel & SPA"is located in a historic building.
The hotelhas a spa center with a swimming pool, a hammam, a salt sauna, a snow fountain, steam baths and a gym; free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour front desk, 2 restaurants, a lobby bar, private parking and meeting and conference rooms.
The rooms are equipped with climate control, a mini-bar, a safe and a private bathroom.
A buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
3-star hotel Ekaterina, located on the territory of the Catherine Palace and Park Ensemble.
At the hotel: 24-hour front desk, cafe, free Wi-Fi and parking.
The rooms are equipped with: air conditioning, TV, work desk and free toiletries.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and in Pushkin, can be viewed and booked here
