Every old city, wherever it is, has a web of passages, consisting of numerous lanes, large and very small, short and long, straight and winding, wide and narrow. To see this, just look at the map of any ancient settlement. In the historical center of each of them, be it European, Asian or otherwise, there will be a large number of small passages, branches from streets and squares.
What is this?
By definition, an alley is a small passage that connects two larger city "arteries". That is, this is a transverse connecting path between two longitudinal streets.
The location of such transitions is sometimes quite unusual and even sudden, like their other characteristics. Such features are explained quite simply. In fact, any lane is a former path laid by people on their own for the convenience and speed of moving between the places of concentration of any buildings.
In other words, thesethe transitions are completely spontaneous, they were not planned by the architects. Moreover, they were often completely absent from old maps, schemes of cities or other types of settlements. It is thanks to this peculiarity of occurrence that each lane is its own, unique and inimitable atmosphere, filled with color, inherent only in this particular place. Passages may be similar, but they will never be the same.
What could they be?
All lanes are divided into two types:
- large;
- small.
The way the passage became was determined spontaneously over the centuries, just as it arose. However, some patterns were still present here.
The greater the distance covered by a spontaneously trodden by people transition, the higher were its chances to turn into a big alley. As a rule, such formations arose between large and significantly remote streets. They also went from quarters with buildings of various industries to residential areas. Such lanes also appeared in places where trade was constantly going on in the squares. That is, they connected market, trade or fair rows with streets lined with residential buildings.
Small lane, as a rule, connected a pair of closely spaced, larger city "arteries". It could be streets, squares, and even other, spontaneously formed, transitions from one place to another.
How did they evolve?
Actually, a lane is a convenient way for people to get from one place to another. Of course, such a demand did not go unnoticed by people, as they say now, "with a commercial streak." Various profitable houses, trading shops, taverns, inns, stables, warehouses and much more appeared in the alleys. Of course, houses, churches and chapels were also built in them.
By the beginning of the last century, lanes were the most common address object. For example, only in Moscow there were about 936 of them. By the middle of the past century, the word “lane” itself became obsolete and practically went out of use, remaining only on old informational address plates. This is a completely natural process. After all, once there was no such term in speech at all, and the transitions were called alleys, and then they became alleys. And later they were replaced by a more concise name - travel.
With the rapid development of cities, lanes grew. Some of them disappeared from the maps, merging with the streets during redevelopment, demolitions and other changes. Part, on the contrary, grew and turned into independent streets. However, in all old cities, in their historical districts, to this day, address signs with the word “alley” flash everywhere.
