Sadovaya St., 20, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196621
The Triple Linden Alley is the main driveway to the palace, designed back in 1784. According to the plan of Charles Cameron, the creator of the Pavlovsk palace and park ensemble, it is located on the central axis that passes through the center of the Greek and Italian Halls, the Upper ceremonial vestibule, from the windows of which both the alley itself and the distant perspective are clearly visible. The Triple Linden Alley played a special role in the park. It was conceived for ceremonial entrances, so it was divided by four rows of lindens. This created three paths, one of which (the central one) was intended for carriage passage, and the other two, located on the sides, for pedestrians.
The idea for the project came to Cameron during the period of forest clearing for the park's construction, so he ordered a clearing to be cut, which was soon lined with lindens. Due to the ceremonial and festive nature of the alley, it was carefully maintained to preserve its "festive" appearance. Thus, the crowns of all the lindens were trimmed into spherical shapes.
Planted with four rows of lindens, it represents an ensemble of three roads: a wide central one for carriages, and on the sides, two narrower shady alleys for pedestrian walks. The alley begins from a round square and leads to the Parade Square, where the palace is located.
During Pavlovsk’s time as a grand ducal residence, monumental wrought-iron gates and the "End of the World" Column stood at the beginning of the alley. Their image can be seen on a painted fan from the late 18th century, belonging to Maria Feodorovna. This was precisely where the boundary of the grand ducal estate passed.
With Pavlovsk’s transformation into an imperial residence, the park boundaries were extended, and new landscape areas appeared. The gates were moved to the edge of the Parade Field near the Izhora Road, which led to the village of Etup, hence they were named the Etup Gates. The "End of the World" Column was relocated by architect Brenna to the New Sylvia district he created.
On both sides of the Triple Linden Alley, which forms the center of the Courtyard district, are located: on the left side – the Aviary section, which appeared almost simultaneously with the ceremonial alley, and on the right side – the Large Circles, created by Brenna in 1795-1797. Designed in a regular style, they form a unified ceremonial ensemble with the Triple Linden Alley near the palace in front of the Parade Square.
Sources:
https://peterburg.center/maps/pavlovskiy-park-troynaya-lipovaya-alleya.html
