Rossi Bridge

The area now occupied by the Mikhailovsky Garden had previously been the site of the Golden Mansion of Empress Catherine, the wife of Peter the Great, and its surrounding land.

The garden had been granted by Peter to Catherine in 1712 for her residence, which was a relatively small wooden construction, receiving its name from its golden spire, with some rooms decorated with gilded leather.

[1] The construction of the bridge formed part of the general redevelopment of the garden and its surrounding areas, begun in 1817 under the orders of Emperor Alexander I.

[5] Between 1900 and 1911 the easternmost of the two ponds was filled in as part of the construction of the building of the Russian Museum of Ethnography, and the bridge was half buried in earth.

[4][6] The bridge and ponds underwent restoration between 2002 and 2003 as part of the general programme of works that recreated Rossi's original plans for the garden.