Interest in the cultural and historical heritage of the Russian capital, as well as in other cities with a rich past, has been steadily growing in recent years. Several years ago, the Moscow authorities decided to support this interest. Then the project "Going to the city" was developed, part of which were free guided tours. In the coming years, the Moscow Department of Culture is going to supplement the excursion program with new and sometimes unexpected routes.
The Going Into the City project began in 2011. In the first six months, more than twenty thousand Muscovites and guests of the capital have visited the excursions. The first routes were devoted to Russian Art Nouveau, the high-rise buildings of the capital, the most famous architects. Anyone could visit them, for this it was enough to go to the project website and submit an application.
The first project participants visited the capital's monasteries, visited the hotel "Ukraine" and the factory "Red October", in the side streets of old Moscow and the estates near Moscow. It was decided to repeat some excursions, since not everyone could get on the route.
The next season began at the end of August 2012. The organizers have planned more than two thousand excursions, among them - "1812", acquaintance with architectural monuments, which are under state protection, "Houses and their inhabitants". For theater lovers, the excursion "Directors about their theaters" is addressed. It is expected that over sixty thousand people will visit the excursions.
In 2012, the Moscow Metro joined the project. He suggested several of his routes. The Podzemka cycle began with a tour of the stations built before the Great Patriotic War. It is designed for several years. Each station of the Moscow metro is an architectural monument of its time. They were created by outstanding Soviet architects. At the first stage, it is supposed to tell the public about the twenty most famous stations, among which are Novoslobodskaya, Mayakovskaya and others, but it is likely that the program will not be limited to this.
Among history lovers, this project has gained popularity not only because of the opportunity to visit unusual places. The Department of Culture attracted famous historians and local historians, who thoroughly studied the material, to participate in the project. By the way, the program includes not only walking tours, but also bike rides in historical places.
