Nikitsky Gate - a square in the historical center of Moscow

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Presnensky district is located in the center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. On its territory is the Nikitsky Gate Square. Muscovites know it well, and guests of the capital will be interested to get acquainted with such monuments as the Church of St. Theodore Sudit and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, to see the rotunda fountain built in honor of A. S. Pushkin and his beautiful wife, as well as the building of the former TASS.

Historical area information

The Nikitsky Gate Square in Moscow was formed in the 15th-16th centuries. In those years, the road from the gates of the White City to Novgorod passed here. In 1582, the Nikitsky Monastery was built near the White City, named after its founder, Nikita Zakhariev. At the end of the 16th century, the earthen defensive ramparts were replaced with stone ones, and at the entrance to the White City a passage gate was placed and named Nikitsky.

Moscow was built up, there was not enough building material, at the end of the 18th century the city walls, along with the gates, were dismantled, the vacated area was called the Nikitsky Gates. The territory began to be built up with wooden houses, but the fire that occurred in 1812 destroyed them. After that onthe area and surrounding areas began to build stone buildings.

In the autumn of 1917, as a result of the fighting between the Red Army and the junkers, some houses were destroyed. When the Patriotic War ended, some of the old buildings were also demolished, but most of the buildings of the 17th-19th centuries were preserved.

Church of the Ascension

According to the General Plan for the Development of Moscow, developed in 1940, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, located on Nikitsky Gate Square, was to be demolished. But because of the war, the plans were postponed, and the church remained in place. She was rebuilt several times.

The first stone building was built at the end of the 17th century by order of Natalia Naryshkina. A hundred years later, during the reign of Catherine the Great, not far from the temple, the house of Prince Grigory Potemkin was erected. By his order, the church began to be rebuilt into a cathedral, which he wanted to name in honor of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. After his death, construction work was stopped. Attempts to renew them continued until 1812, but were never successful.

In 1931 the Church of the Ascension (Presnensky district) was closed. The property was looted or destroyed, the bell tower was dismantled. But the memory that A. S. Pushkin and Natalya Goncharova got married in the vestibule of the unfinished church did not allow the decision to demolish the cathedral. It was finally completed in 1945. Its architecture is designed in the style of classicism. The building is decorated with side porticos with thrones inside. The church has very good acoustics,behind which it was planned to transfer it to a concert hall. During the years of Soviet power, the premises of the cathedral were occupied by various institutions, and in the 90s they were transferred to the Orthodox Church.

Temple of Theodore Sudita

The Temple of Theodore Sudita is located in the back of the courtyard and is almost invisible from the side of the square. According to the available archival documents, it can be assumed that in the 15th century there was a wooden church here, which burned down in 1547 during a fire. New information about her appeared in historical documents about the Romanov dynasty. In the middle of the 17th century, the Fedorovsky hospital monastery was founded at the Nikitsky Gate, the church was restored. The icon of the Smolensk mother of God was kept in it for a long time. In 1812, the temple was again damaged by fire and was finally restored in 1873.

The church is known for the fact that its parishioner was Generalissimo A. V. Suvorov. His parents are buried in the cemetery belonging to the church. In the 1920s, the church was closed, the towers and the bell tower were demolished. In the 80s, they wanted to open the Suvorov Museum here and began restoration work. In 1991, it was returned to the possession of the Orthodox Church, after which the five domes and the bell tower were restored.

Fountain "Natalia and Alexander"

Nikitsky Gate - the square on which stands the beautiful fountain "Natalia and Alexander". It is made in the form of a rotunda, in which there are bronze statues of A. S. Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova.

The rotunda is located opposite the church where the couple's wedding took place. The fountain was opened200th anniversary of the poet's birth. The project was developed by architects A. M. Belov and M. A. Kharitonov. The sculptures were created by M. V. Dronov. It is especially crowded here in the evenings and on weekends, couples in love often make dates near the fountain.

ITAR-TASS building

The building of the ITAR-TASS agency was erected on Nikitsky Gate Square. It successfully blended into the architectural ensemble of old houses, but remained an original architectural element.

The nine-story building is shaped like a cube. Huge windows the size of two floors resemble TV screens. The facade is decorated with large symbols with a sculptural emblem of the news agency. The building was built in 1976, but it still looks modern today.

The Nikitsky Gate Theater

The theater is located in the house that belonged to Princess G. O. Putyatina, and belongs to the buildings of the early 19th century. It changed owners several times. In 1883, a third floor was added to the house and decorated with stucco elements. Until the end of 1903, it housed an industrial museum, an art school, and a music school. Ten years later, a cinema was opened in the building, which since 1939 became known as the "Re-film Cinema". He was very fond of the Muscovites. Old Soviet and foreign films were shown here. In the 90s, the cinema was closed for restoration, and in 1999 it housed the theater "At the Nikitsky Gates". Currently, the theater hosts performances of musicals, dramas, poetry performances.