The historical center of Moscow is increasingly acquiring the appearance of a solid museum. Pedestrian zones appear, where the entry of cars is practically prohibited. Buildings of past centuries are being restored. The capital is changing. Slow walks along the narrow crooked streets of the old city allow you to learn a lot about the history of our country. Architecture keeps the memory of the past. Those who know how to read the pages of this book can learn a lot.
History of Zemlyanoy Val
Like a huge wall, the old city is surrounded by the Garden Ring. Always in a hurry, drivers in cars often do not even suspect that they are really driving along the old defensive lines of the capital. At the end of the Rurik dynasty, the country was ruled by one of the former guardsmen, the brother-in-law of Tsar Fedor I Ioannovich. A native of noble boyars, he practically ruled the country from 1587 to 1598. The talented ruler was crowned king on February 27, 1598. Times were troubled, not everyone accepted the new dynasty.
To protect his capital from raids, Boris Godunov from 1592 began to erectearthen rampart with a wooden fortress. The walls did not last long. The fire of 1611 was destroyed by the Polish invaders. Already restored by the Romanovs, significantly strengthened. But the country has already greatly strengthened its borders, has ceased to be afraid of the nomads' raid. Fortifications became unnecessary to protect the city. In the 18th century, the need for fortress walls disappeared, and estates with numerous gardens began to grow on the site of the rampart. So the earthen rampart of Moscow became the Garden Ring. Centuries passed, but the memory remained in the names. The address was fixed on the map of the capital - Moscow, st. Earthen Wall.
Zemlyanoy Val Square
Starting from Zemlyanoy Val Square to Taganskaya Square, part of the Garden Ring has its own history. Almost 2 kilometers stretched a section of the big road - Moscow, st. Earthworks. Pokrovsky Gates open the way to the old Kitay-gorod, then through Ilyinka to the Kremlin. Today the area has no assigned houses, but the numbering of Zemlyanoy Val buildings originates from here. Moscow rushes to one of its railway stations.
Today
Already on the former square of the Kursk railway station, a modern shopping complex "Atrium" has been erected. To the right and left are the buildings of the era of Stalinist architecture. Built in 2002, the shopping and entertainment center blends surprisingly harmoniously into the historic center of the city. Located next to the Kursk railway station, the facility has a good parking network. The center enjoys well-deserved popularity. First of all, it is attracted by its 9-screen cinema "Karo Film"the number of eateries, cafes. It boasts of its fitness club, children's theater.
Next to the "Atrium" there is an 18th century building - the Botkin's estate. It was here, in a merchant family, that the future great physician Sergei Petrovich Botkin was born. A corner of the green zone, once a street blooming with gardens, almost adjoins the estate - the Upper Syromyatnichesky Square. On the inner side of the Val, on Voronets Polya Street, there is the storage fund of the State Museum of Oriental Art, the Church of Elijah the Prophet. The temple was first mentioned in chronicles in 1476. Since then, it has been rebuilt several times. The building that we see today was built at the end of the 19th century with the money of the merchant G. I. Khludov.
Further on, the street crosses the Yauza River, in the area of the modern Sakharov Center. In the area of Taganskaya Square, it goes into a tunnel.
Taganskaya Square
Zemlyanoy Val Street in Moscow starts on the square of the same name and ends on Taganskaya. The area formed by the confluence of two squares around the Tagansky market of the 19th century has retained the signs of a shopping center even today. Stone market rows existed here for more than a century and a half. Profitable houses were built around, mostly two-story. It was the only place in the Garden Ring that did not have green spaces and boulevards. Everything obeyed the laws of the market.
Stalin's reforms greatly changed the area. The general plan for the restructuring of the capital of 1935 transformed the square.
In 1946, the new Moscow Drama and Comedy Theater appeared. For many years it was headed by the outstanding director Yuri Lyubimov. It was under him that a wonderful team was formed here, which gave Moscow the wonderful names of Valery Zolotukhin, Inna Ulyanova and many others. And of course, the wonderful Vladimir Vysotsky. Moscow, Zemlyanoy Val, 76 - address of the theater.
So you can end the story that began under Boris Godunov. The theater successfully continues it today. A new theater has grown up next to the old building. Another creative team appeared - the Theater of the Commonwe alth of Actors on Taganka. The area and the city continue to transform.
