In the Neskuchny Garden, Count Orlov's grotto has been restored for the first time and recognised as a cultural heritage site of federal significance

In the Neskuchny Garden, Count Orlov's grotto, recognised as a cultural heritage site of federal significance, has been restored for the first time. Its viewing platform opens onto the Moskva River, Catherine's Pond and Count Orlov's Summer House.

The structure appeared here at the end of the 18th century, when the land belonged to the Orlov counts. It imitates a shallow cave in the rocks. Such buildings were very popular in the 18th century as part of the ensemble of a country estate's park. As nineteenth-century documents show, the grotto originally had a lower, underground level as well. At the top stood a wooden pavilion, which was later lost.

In all the time the grotto has stood, it had never once been restored, and it was in an unsatisfactory condition. Specialists have put the masonry in order and, working from archival documents, restored the historic appearance of the viewing platform, with its stone parapet and metal inserts.