Arbat District

The district Arbat (Russian Район Арбат ) is one of the oldest towns in the Russian capital Moscow. It includes the well-known since 1493 Arbat Street, which is eponymous for him, as well as a variety of surrounding streets, squares and streets. The district, which is part of the Central Administrative District of the city, has an area of ​​276 hectares and counts 20,100 inhabitants. It extends from the walls of the Moscow Kremlin to the left bank of the Moscow River.

History

The history of the district is directly linked to the history of the Arbat Street. This was first mentioned in 1493 in connection with a major fire writing, which began in a wooden church building near the present Arbat Street, and shortly thereafter acquired the entire environment. The exact origin of the name Arbat is not known, but according to a common presumption he comes from Arabic and means as much as " suburban ".

Over the centuries, became the Arbat Street considerable importance for Moscow, since they also represented part of a highway, which the center of the city - combined with the western suburbs as well as with Smolensk and other then major cities west of Moscow - so the Kremlin. While until the 17th century, the Arbat Street and the surrounding neighborhood (on which today the names of some streets remember) were predominantly inhabited by artisans, the area from the 18th century was a favorite residence of the Moscow nobility. This explains the striking today to number of historical houses from the 19th and early 20th century around the Arbat. Numerous famous artists who lived on or around the Arbat, including the poet Alexander Pushkin, whose former home is now a museum on the Arbat Street.

Attractions

The most famous attraction of all is the Arbat Street, which today is a lively pedestrian zone and the dozens of old Empire houses and late classical former residences are located. A similarly rich collection of historical buildings also have many surrounding streets. For example, is located at the Siwzew - Wraschek Alley (Russian Переулок Сивцев - Вражек ), the former home of the 1820s the philosopher Alexander Herzen, who had lived there from 1843 to 1847. A prominent work of the avant-garde is the home and studio of the architect Konstantin Melnikov from 1931, which at the Kriwoarbatski Alley ( Кривоарбатский переулок ) is just a few steps away from Arbat Street. The cake style skyscrapers of the Russian Foreign Ministry is also located in the district of Arbat, namely on Smolenskaja Square at the western end of the Arbat Street.

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