One of the main attractions of the capital - the Boulevard Ring, which is a series of horseshoe-shaped boulevards, was created over a century. The efforts of architects and city planners were not in vain. In 1978, the visiting card of Moscow was given the status of a monument of garden and park art
From the history of the Boulevard Ring
The sights of the Boulevard Ring still keep the memory of the White City, that part of Moscow, where from 1585 to 1591 a white-stone fortification was erected to replace the burnt wooden one. The construction was supervised by the architect - Kon Fyodor Savelyevich. For that time, it was a very short time for the creation of such a powerful fortification.
The Belogorodskaya wall was supposed to serve as the third defensive belt, after the Moscow Kremlin and Kitai-gorod. It should be noted that the new white-stone structure was higher than the previous ones and a deep ditch filled with water ran along it. The wall had a thickness of 4, 5 m and 27 towers with a height of 13 to 20 m. 17 of them were deaf, but with several tiers for battle. And 10 had a cross-cutting character, "travel cards".
There were 11 gates, but if you consider that in the 17th century one of them was converted into a blind tower, then 10 gates spanning 10 km and there are today those 10 km of boulevards that spread like a rainbow along the Boulevard Ring. After all, it is on the site of the former Belogorodskaya wall that this capital attraction is located today.
The white walls were demolished back in the 18th century. After the end of the Northern War, they ceased to be of great strategic importance, the gates were no longer locked. At first, the residents of the capital spontaneously dismantled the dilapidated building, pulling apart bricks for their private needs, until this led to a serious collapse with human casualties.
After that, an order was issued, dated June 1774. The work was supervised by the Governor-General Volkonsky M. N. Moreover, after the demolition, it was supposed to break up 10 park zones on the liberated territory, that is, to plant everything with trees and shrubs. Everything was organized according to the plan of the architect Petr Nikitich Kozhin.
It was not possible to quickly destroy the thickness of the wall, the work continued until 1805, when the very last section was demolished - a fragment of the wall with an opening to the bank of the Neglinnaya, called "Pipe".
And the Boulevard is not a ring …
Since the White Stone Wall was located in a semicircle, and uneven, starting from the Kremlin (Vodovzvodnaya tower) and ending with the corner tower of the Kitaygorodskaya wall, the modern Boulevard "ring" has such a shape. It looks more like a twisted horseshoe. However, if we compare it with the Garden Ring, then Boulevard is more compact.
Almost every boulevard begins with a square, the names of which still retain the names of the gates of the White City.
- Yauzskie gates - "Yauzskie gates" square;
- Pokrovskie gates - Pokrovskie gates square;
- Frolovskie or Myasnitskie - "Myasnitskiye Vorota" square;
- Sretensky - "Sretensky gate" square, etc.
All 10 boulevards did not appear immediately, but as the wall was demolished. The very first was laid Tverskoy Boulevard in 1796 under the direction of the architect Karin. The Pokrovsky Boulevard was the last to be created, because the parade ground located there at the barracks interfered with business. It was demolished only in 1954.
Boulevards and their attractions
If the squares repeated the historical names of the gates of the White Stone Wall, then, in contrast to them, the names of the boulevards are somewhat different. Today there are metro stations along the perimeter of the Boulevard Ring, and you can, starting from Krapotkinskaya, visit all the favorite recreation places of guests and indigenous residents of the capital, who are today in this park area.
Experts - guides advise to start from the metro station "Krapotkinskaya", becauseGogolevsky Boulevard (formerly Prechistensky) originates from here. Its hallmark is the monument to the writer and the apartment-museum, where N. N. Gogol. lived to death. There is also an unusual sculptural group made by Rukavishnikov: Sholokhov in a boat and floating horses.
Further, beyond the Arbat Gate, Nikitsky Boulevard begins, which abuts against the Nikitsky Gate. Here you can visit the Museum of the East, located in the oldest manor of the Lunins. And in the temple at the Nikitsky Gate, Pushkin once married Natalia Goncharova. The oldest and longest Tverskaya Boulevard is famous for the Romanov House.
Initially, the building, popularly called "Romanovka", belonged to the merchant Golitsin, who contributed to the improvement of Tverskoy Boulevard by decorating it with multi-colored lanterns at his own expense. Later, the family of engineer-colonel D. I. Romanov lived in this house. Semyon Kruglikov, a musician, also lived here at the end of the 19th century. Thanks to the music salon he organized, Chaliapin, Rimsky-Korsakov and others were regulars in this house.
Strastnoy Boulevard is named after the former nunnery. The square, now Pushkinskaya, had the same name Strastnaya. This place is replete with monuments: Pushkin, Rachmaninov, Vysotsky. If Tverskoy is longer than all other boulevards, then Strastnoy is the widest.
The next Petrovsky Gates in order give rise to Petrovsky Boulevard, which ends with Trubnaya Square. Here the Neglinnaya river is hidden in a pipe. This square previously housed the Hermitage restaurant, where the famous Lucien Olivier treated everyone to his eponymous salad.
Rozhdestvensky Boulevard is named after the women's monastery, which was built during the reign of Catherine II. He is truly recognized as the most beautiful, and Sretensky is the shortest. Here is the monument to N. K. Krupskaya. Further, behind the butcher's gate, Chistoprudny Boulevard follows. Although there is only one pond here, it is customary to call it "clean ponds".
The history of this name is interesting. Former "filthy ponds", or rather, among the people, "filthy swamp" or "filthy puddle" were cleared by Alexander Menshikov when he became the owner of these lands. Where the name "filthy" came from, none of the historians can say for sure. There are several versions. One by one, the owners of butchers on Myasnitskaya Street allegedly dumped meat waste there (the origin of the street name is clear).
According to another, the executed Stepan Kuchka, who did not please the Grand Duke, was drowned in this pond. According to the third, pagans once lived in this place of Moscow - the Balts, who were called "filthy" (from the Latin "poganus"). There is also controversy that the ponds that Menshikov cleared were not at all located near the wall of the White City, where Chistoprudny Boulevard is now.
In short, there are many mysteries. But this does not prevent the boulevard from being a favorite vacation spot for Muscovites at any time of the year. A boat station is open in warm weather. In winter, you can skate here and even professional skaters use this opportunity for training. Between the squares "Pokrovskie Vorota" and "Khokhlovskaya" there is Pokrovsky Boulevard, and immediately behind it is Yauzsky (near the Yauza River).
Unique monument of landscape art
Today the Boulevard Ring is a recreation area with a cycle lane, consisting of 13 squares, numerous alleys, churches, monasteries, architectural monuments, fountains and monumental complexes that act as a link between the past and the present of the capital. With a tour of the ring, you can trace the history of the city and its prominent inhabitants.
Since 2011, the Times and Epochs festival has been held annually in Moscow, the main idea of which is to create "living reconstructions" for several days in various parts of the capital, reflecting 20 eras from history. One or more boulevards are always used for the work of the masters of historical reconstruction, as the most appropriate. In recent years, the place for active recreation of the townspeople has begun to be used for various kinds of social events: rallies, festivals.
