Moscow is not only museums, numerous architectural monuments and high-rise buildings. The city is also famous for its abundance of green areas, gardens and squares. In this article, we suggest you make a correspondence excursion to Petrovsky Park. You can see a photo of this wonderful corner of the Russian capital below.
About the park
Petrovsky Park (Moscow) is considered a monument of gardening art of the XIX century and is protected by the state. It is located in the northwestern part of the capital and adjoins one of its sides to Leningradsky Prospekt. On the opposite side, the recreational urban area is bordered by Petrovsky-Razumovskaya alley.
Several architectural masterpieces have been preserved in the park. We are talking about the Travel Palace, the Annunciation Church, the Black Swan villa. All these sights will be discussed further.
Petrovsky Park today covers an area of 22 hectares. The nearest metro station is Dinamo. How and when did this park appear on the map of Moscow?
The emergence of the park
It all started back in 1774, when Empress Catherine II ordered to build on this sitea chic stone palace (preserved to this day). During the restoration of Moscow after the Patriotic War of 1812, it was decided to surround this building with a landscape garden.
Thus, Petrovsky Park (Moscow) was founded in 1827. The planning of the future green oasis of the city was carried out by the architect Ivan Tamansky. Under his leadership, the restoration of the palace itself, which was badly damaged in the war, was also carried out. A pond was dug in the park, and three radial alleys from the palace were laid.
The park immediately became the center of city festivities, and rich aristocrats were happy to build summer houses and villas here. In the 19th century, a number of restaurants appeared here, in particular, Yar and Eldorado. By the way, it was Petrovsky Park that was connected with Strastnoy Boulevard by the first electric tram line in the city.
Black pages in the history of the park
After the coup d'état in October 1917, the Bolsheviks came to power. The first years of their reign were marked by cruel repressions, which went down in history under the name "Red Terror". And it was Petrovsky Park that became one of the places of demonstrative execution of those objectionable to the new government.
Thus, in September 1918, the Bolsheviks shot at least 80 people in the park. Among them were priests, former ministers and officials of the Russian Empire. According to eyewitnesses, the execution was public, and after the executions, all those executed were also robbed.
In the first years of Soviet power, Petrovsky Park significantlychanged: the pond was filled in, and on most of it they began to build the Dynamo stadium.
Petrovsky Travel Palace
Being in the park, one cannot help but notice a huge chic red building, built either in Turkish or neo-Gothic style. This is the Petrovsky Travel Palace.
It was built in 1780 and served as a place (residence) for stops of high-ranking persons who traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Catherine II also stayed here (in 1787). And then all the Russian monarchs came here before their coronation. Today the palace serves as a place for receptions of various delegations by the Moscow government.
In 1812 Napoleon's headquarters was located in this building. The French emperor stayed here for four days, and from the windows of the palace he contemplated burning Moscow. Alexander Pushkin devoted several lines to this event in his work "Eugene Onegin".
Petrovsky Travel Palace is depicted on the commemorative coin of 25 rubles, issued in 2015.
Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Church of the Annunciation in Petrovsky Park was built in the middle of the 19th century according to the design of Fyodor Richter. The church building was built in the Russian style and has two tiers. A quadrangular bell tower with a porch and two stairs adjoins the temple.
In the 1930s, the temple was closed by the Soviet authorities. It housed the warehouse of the Zhukovsky Academy. During this time, the bell tower, dome, and also the porch were badly damaged.structures. In 1990, the temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Black Swan Villa
Another architectural gem of Petrovsky Park in Moscow is the Black Swan villa. It impresses with its beauty, grace and exoticism. The villa belonged to the famous Russian philanthropist Nikolai Ryabushinsky. He was a great connoisseur of art, published the Golden Fleece magazine for his own money, and also organized many art exhibitions in Moscow.
The villa was built at the beginning of the 20th century by a well-known architect Adamovich in the neoclassical style. There were many different rumors and speculations about her among the townspeople. It should be noted that most of them were initiated by the owner of the building.
The villa got its name "Black Swan" not by chance, since all the furniture in the house, as well as dishes and even napkins, were marked with a special sign with the image of this bird.
Thus, Petrovsky Park is not just a monument of gardening art, but also an area with a rich history and several beautiful architectural masterpieces.
