Zamoskvorechye District

Samoskworetschje (Russian Замоскворечье ) is an ancient district of Moscow in the Central Administrative District of the Russian capital. Its name comes from its location on the right bank of the Moskva River ( Samoskworetschje = " area behind the Moskva River "). Today, the former merchant and artisan settlement is an important architectural monument of the old Moscow due to a variety has survived until now mansions from the 18th and 19th centuries. The district Samoskworetschje has around 40,000 inhabitants in an area of 438 hectares.

History

Historically referred to as Samoskworetschje the one area that is enclosed by the north by the Moscow River and south by the Garden Ring. This includes the artificial island between the Moscow River and the water diversion channel to Samoskworetschje. For today's district Samoskworetschje heard only part of the historic settlement; so is Yakimanka, the western part Samoskworetschjes, now a separate district.

The first settlements on the right bank of the Moskva by the Muscovites originated in the 14th century, which is about two centuries after the founding of Moscow and conditioning of the Kremlin across the river. At that time ran through this area is a way from Moscow to the Golden Horde, which to this day in the names of some streets of such Bolshaya Ordynka, reflected. Gradually settled here at different occupational groups of the craft, including gardeners, blacksmiths and potters. Also Strelets were often located in Samoskworetschje, even to this southern outpost of the Kremlin to defend in case of attack. After the Strelizenaufstand failed at the end of the 17th century, all Strelitzen were displaced with their families from Moscow, which is why the population Samoskworetschjes had been decimated. For settled in the area, especially from the 18th century increasingly business to.

As the area has often been struck on the right Moskwaufer due to its very low elevation of floods, was erected here in the 1780s the water diversion channel, which should absorb the water masses of the Moskva River in part. The floods were from then much less frequently, and in Samoskworetschje emerged more and more back stone buildings, including magnificent mansions of rich merchants. Until the 19th century, the area developed into a bustling commercial district, and with industrialization from the mid 19th century and expanded into multiple manufacturers who are partially preserved even to this day. Life Samoskworetschjes in the 19th century had described authentic in many of his works of the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky grew up there.

In the Soviet Union which arose in Samoskworetschje many new buildings, including the infamous house on the quayside, and new bridges and roads. Compared to many other areas in the historic center of Moscow survived relatively many old buildings, and sometimes whole streets until today. This Samoskworetschje is one of the best preserved parts of the old city of Moscow.

Selected attractions

Baltschug and water diversion channel

The island Baltschug between the Moscow River and the water diversion channel is unofficially referred to recently as the Golden Island, in order to underline the high historical value of their buildings. To the west is the park Bolotnaya Square (Russian Болотная площадь ) to German "Swamp place ", whose name is derived from the swamps that stretched at this point, as a result of the extremely frequent flooding, until the construction of the channel. The Bolotnaya Square is located directly opposite the Kremlin and is connected to it by the Great Stone Bridge ( Большой Каменный мост ). West of the Bolotnaya square extends across the entire width of the island, this property along the shore road, which was built in the 1920s. One of the most striking buildings from the period before the October Revolution on the island is the red brick building in the chocolate factory Krasny Oktjabr. It was founded in 1851 by the German manufacturer Ferdinand Theodor von Einem and continues to be one of the most famous confectionery factories throughout Russia. In the eastern part of the island, separated by the Great Moscow River Bridge from the Kremlin, since 1898 is the eight -story building of five-star hotels Baltschug Kempinski, for which the Baltschug Street ( Балчуг ) is eponymous. Their name comes from turn of the Tatar and originally meant " swamp ", a term which originally was the case very well for this area.

The streets Pyatnitskaya and Bolshaya Ordynka

South of the water diversion channel are approximately parallel Pyatnitskaya Street ( Пятницкая улица ) - in German " Friday Street ", the name comes from a standing up in the 1930s there church - and the Great Ordynka ( Большая Ордынка ) the central streets of the which, with its numerous church buildings and old merchant houses today a tourist attraction. The metro stations Nowokusnezkaja and Tretyakovskaya are here. The name derives from the latter is the famous Tretyakov Gallery, the Great Ordynka is just a few dozen meters to the west and today one of the most famous art collections in the world. Its location in the middle of Samoskworetschje is by no means accidental, was their founder Pavel Tretyakov his time one of the respected merchants of Moscow. For the first private art collection Tretyakov had bought extra 1851 a two-story building in the Lawruschinski Alley.

The streets Poljanka and Yakimanka

Other major north-south streets in Samoskworetschje are the Bolshaya Poljanka ( Большая Полянка ) and the Bolshaya Yakimanka ( Большая Якиманка ) in the western part of the area south of the water diversion channel. These roads are far more affected compared to the Pyatnitskaya and Ordynka of the demolitions and new buildings of the Soviet era; here is dominated by high-rise buildings (many of them built in recent times as a luxurious condominiums ) and broad sidewalks, the streetscape. Only occasionally one meets on church buildings from past centuries. Striking is the monument to Peter the Great near the Yakimanka, at the westernmost tip of the "Golden Island", which was built after a design of contemporary sculptor Zurab Tsereteli 1997.