Old Square in Moscow is the place where the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation is located. Today, it is essentially a partially pedestrian street, and its name has become synonymous with the top leadership of our country. This article will tell you about what Old Square in Moscow is famous for, how to get there and what sights of the capital are located there.
A bit of history
Kitai-Gorod in Moscow is a historical district of the Russian capital. In the 1530s, it was surrounded by the Kitaygorod fortress wall and built up within its boundaries.
The fire of 1812 destroyed Kitay-gorod. When the area was restored, wide passages along the fortress wall were cleared. As a result, the Old Square in Kitay-Gorod and Kitaygorodsky Proezd appeared.
At the end of the 19th century, the Moscow authorities demolished the flea market located near the fortress walls and carried out a large-scale reconstruction of Kitay-gorod. 14 years before the outbreak of the First World War, there were built:
- hotel and, as they saytoday, the business center "Boyarsky Dvor" at the Varvarsky Gate;
- a profitable house on the corner of st. Ilyinka;
- business center, which during the Soviet period was the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks/CPSU.
Boyarsky Dvor Hotel
This is perhaps one of the most interesting buildings on the Old Square in Moscow.
The five-storey imposing house on the hill was built in 1901-1903 by the architects Shekhtel and Galetsky. The customers of the project were the Moscow Fire Insurance Society and the Bogorodsko-Glukhovskaya Morozov Manufactory. The first 3 floors of the building, which were not visible due to the massive wall of Kitay-Gorod, are devoid of any architectural decorations and were originally intended to accommodate retail premises and offices. The 4th and 5th floors, towering above the wall, were decorated like an ancient fortress and housed the rooms of the Boyarsky Dvor Hotel.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist
This temple is located on the corner with Varvarka. It was built in 1741 on the site of a previously existing church with the money of the manufacturer F. Podsevalshchikov. The most spectacular parts of this structure were its completion. In the future, they even served as a model for the construction of the upper part of the Church of the Entry into the Temple of the Pyatnitsky Monastery in Sergiev Posad. The walls were decorated with architraves of complex shape, and above them were octagonal horizontal windows with their own design.
The temple was rebuilt after the October Revolution. Fortunately, it avoided demolition, although it lost its domes and was closed in the late 1920s. Then itbegan to be used as housing and for economic purposes.
In the early 2000s, the restoration of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist began. In 2014, the restoration of the bell tower was completed. At the moment, restoration work continues.
Other attractions on the Old Square in Moscow
Those who are in the capital for the first time should get acquainted with other sights located in this part of Kitay-gorod. This is:
Monument-chapel to the heroes of Plevna. The monument was erected in Kitay-gorod in Moscow at the end of the 19th century in honor of the anniversary of the battle in which hundreds of Russian fighters gave their lives. It was built on voluntary donations from citizens. Initially, the chapel was to be installed in Bulgaria. However, when relations with this country worsened in 1885, they decided to leave her in Moscow. Today, the chapel is open only on holidays, so it is not always possible to enter there and admire the interior decoration of the monument-temple
Armand family trading house. The building was designed by architect W. W. Sherwood. As a result of numerous alterations, today in its appearance both features of St. Petersburg classicism and Stalin's Empire style are visible
Ilyinsky square. This corner of the Old Square in Moscow is a favorite walking place for residents of nearby residential buildings. There are always a lot of mothers with babies and pensioners
How to get there?
The easiest way to get to Old Square in Moscow is by metro. Right underIlyinsky Square is the metro station "Kitay-Gorod", which was previously called "Nogin Square". It has several exits, including directly to the Old Square. Trains run through this station on the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya lines.
Now you know what sights are on the Old Square in Kitay-Gorod in Moscow. They allow you to feel the spirit of merchant antiquity, which is on the verge of extinction.
