Bolshoy Kapriz, Podkaprizovaya Road, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196603
The Catherine and Alexander Parks are separated by the Podkaprizovaya Road, which got its name from two structures — the Large and Small Caprices.
Both are artificially created embankments with arched spans over the road. According to an old legend, the earthen archways were named the Large and Small Caprices because Empress Catherine II, when approving the estimates for the costly construction works related to them, hesitated for a long time, and upon signing said: "So be it, this is my caprice." However, there is another version. In the 18th century, the Large Caprice housed a guardhouse with a barrier; this was the entrance to the residence, to the Large Tsarskoye Selo Palace, and from here they would depart onto the main routes of Tsarskoye Selo, which Catherine II often traveled during her stay at the summer residence. It was said that when passing the guardhouse, the Empress had the habit of ordering the coachman which direction to take, and thus she herself jokingly called this point "her caprice." It is known that Catherine II (like Elizabeth Petrovna) never announced her departure from Tsarskoye Selo in advance and left when it was least expected. The architectural design of the Large and Small Caprices belonged to Neelov, who, together with engineer and architect Gerard, built them in 1770–1774.
The Large Caprice features a grand arch more than five meters wide and over seven meters high. The second, smaller arch is constructed nearby in the earthen embankment. On top of the Large Caprice is the Chinese Pavilion: eight pink marble columns support an impressively curved "Chinese" roof.
The twice-repeated name "caprice" in the ensemble is very telling, as it reveals the meaning of the entire complex of "Chinese" structures in Alexander Park: a visitor arriving at Tsarskoye Selo first had to pass through the arch of the Large Caprice, traveling through a short dark tunnel, beyond which opened a panorama of the whimsical buildings of the Chinese Village, and ahead, in perspective, the Small Caprice was visible. This unusual world of "caprices," entirely different from the features of everyday life, served as a kind of preparation for perceiving the Large Tsarskoye Selo Palace and the surrounding gardens.
Sources:
https://www.tzar.ru/index.php/objects/alexandrovskypark/newgarden/kapris
https://www.spb-guide.ru/bolshoj-kapriz-tzarskoe-selo.htm
