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The Catherine Garden is the unofficial name for the public garden in front of the Alexandriinsky Theater, between the Theater and Nevsky Prospekt. The Garden was laid out in the 1820s to a design by Carlo Rossi, and the statue of Catherine the Great which dominates it and from which it takes its name was erected in 1873. Looking at the Theater from Nevksy Prospekt, to the left of the Catherine Garden - known affectionately by locals as Katya's Little Garden - is the Anichkov Palace, while to the right is the Public Library, which was also built by Rossi and is considered to be one of the world's most important libraries. From late spring to early fall - and sometimes into winter - local artists sit on the sidewalk outside the Catherine Garden exhibiting and selling their work and offering to draw portraits of passers-by.
Timeline:
| 1816 - 1832 | - | Alexander Square laid out on former part of the Anichkov Palace Estate to a design by Rossi. Public garden opened on square. |
| 1873 | - | Statue of Catherine the Great erected. |
| 1873 - 1880 | - | Square remodeled. |
Address: Ploshchad Ostrovskogo
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