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Boulevard Ring: green belt instead of a white wall. III. Tverskoy boulevard

Boulevard Ring - the main city promenade, a continuous sequence of 10 boulevards and 13 squares, encircling the historic center of the city. Being one of the traditional rings of Moscow, in reality the Boulevard Ring is not closed and has the shape of a horseshoe, starting and ending near the embankments of the Moscow River.

The total length of the Boulevard Ring is about 9 kilometers, and each meter of it is literally elevated to a cult: a walk along the boulevards, on which cozy green squares are equipped, is considered a high-quality cultural leisure for citizens and one of the must-see items in the tourist program of guests of the capital. The urban environment boasts quality historical surroundings with old mansions, tenement houses and churches, and the length of the route is ideal for a long walk. In addition, they often host exhibitions and city festivals, which makes the leisure of citizens even more interesting.

History of the Boulevard Ring

The Boulevard Ring owes its origin to the Belgorod Wall, which surrounded Moscow's White City in the 16th-18th centuries. Initially, the fortress wall was built for protection and was of great defensive importance, but at the end of the 18th century, when the city grew, it completely lost its relevance, and they decided to dismantle it.

In the 1770s-1780s, the walls and towers of the White City were dismantled, and in their place subsequently boulevards were laid and squares were organized, many of which retained the names of the fortress gates in their names: Prechistensky Gate Square, Nikitsky Gate, Petrovsky Gate and others. However, the Boulevard Ring was not formed immediately: the first boulevard - Tverskoy - was equipped in 1796; the last was Pokrovsky Boulevard, part of which was occupied by the parade ground of the Pokrovsky barracks, finally liquidated only in 1954. In general, the ring of boulevards took shape after 1812.

In 1887, a horse-drawn tram was launched along the Boulevard Ring, and in 1911, an electric tram. The ring route passed along all the boulevards and closed on the Kremlin embankment, but has not survived to this day - the tram traffic remains only on Chistoprudny, Pokrovsky and Yauzsky boulevards.

Interestingly, under Soviet rule, the Boulevard Ring almost became a physical ring: the General Plan for the Reconstruction of Moscow in 1935 assumed that it would be extended to Zamoskvorechye and closed, but later the plan was abandoned due to lack of need. In 1947, in honor of the 800th anniversary of Moscow, the boulevards were landscaped and reconstructed according to the project of the architect Vitaly Dolganov: patterned iron fences appeared instead of the old mesh fence, new benches were installed and more than 4 thousand trees and 13 thousand shrubs were planted.

Since 1978, the Boulevard Ring has been recognized as a monument of garden and park art.

Boulevards and squares of the Boulevard Ring

The Boulevard Ring includes 10 boulevards and 13 squares, most of which have public gardens (on all boulevards and some squares).

Gogol Boulevard has a length of about 750 meters and runs from Prechistensky Gate Square to Arbat Gate Square. The boulevard is qualitatively landscaped and landscaped, along it there are a number of city estates and tenement houses, as well as various administrative buildings, including a massive one.

Nikitsky boulevard about 500 meters long is located between the squares of the Arbat Gates and Nikitsky Gates. The boulevard owes its name to the Nikitsky Gates of the Belgorod Wall.

Tverskoy boulevard has a length of 875 meters and runs from Nikitsky Gate Square to . This is the oldest and longest of the boulevards of the Boulevard Ring and, probably, the most fashionable boulevard of the capital: since the time of Pushkin, who has been here many times, Tverskoy Boulevard has become a favorite place for city residents to walk - and nowadays city festivals often gather whole crowds on it of people. In the past, buildings along Tverskoy Boulevard consisted of noble mansions in the classicist style, today you can see tenement houses and a number of city estates, residential buildings of pre-revolutionary, Soviet and post-Soviet times, as well as various administrative and office buildings, including an unusual one near Nikitsky Square Gates.

Strastnoy boulevard about 550 meters long runs from Pushkinskaya Square to Petrovsky Gate Square. Being not the longest, it is the widest on the Boulevard Ring: the width of the boulevard reaches 123 meters. It got its name from the Strastnoy Monastery, which was demolished in 1938.

Petrovsky Boulevard has a length of 449 meters and runs from Petrovsky Gate Square to Trubnaya Square. High-quality historical buildings have been preserved along the boulevard, including tenement houses and a number of city estates, as well as the building of the Hermitage restaurant by Lucien Olivier - the same one that invented the famous salad - and some remakes.

Rozhdestvensky boulevard about 400 meters long runs from Trubnaya Square to Sretensky Gate Square. The powerful wall of the Nativity Monastery overlooks the boulevard; historical buildings have also been preserved along it, including mainly tenement houses and a number of mansions and city estates, slightly diluted with a modern remake.

Sretensky boulevard only 214 meters long runs from Sretensky Gate Square to Turgenevskaya Square, this is the shortest boulevard of the ring. A significant part of the boulevard is occupied by a huge monument to Nadezhda Krupskaya, installed at its beginning. The development includes a number of residential and apartment buildings, as well as administrative buildings; facades overlook the boulevard and . Curiously, on the outer side of the boulevard, the remains of the rampart have been preserved.

Chistoprudny Boulevard 822 meters long runs from Myasnitsky Gate Square to Pokrovsky Gate Square. This is the largest in area and the second longest (after Tverskoy) Boulevard of the Boulevard Ring, and also the only one with a pond. In the summer, musicians play here and various exhibitions are held - and although it is not as fashionable as Tverskoy, Chistoprudny Boulevard has become one of the centers of Moscow's cultural life. In winter, a skating rink is poured on the pond. The all-season attractiveness of the boulevard and its recreational qualities - one might say, this is a whole small park - have made it a cult place on the map of Moscow.

Pokrovsky boulevard has a length of about 600 meters and is located between Khokhlovskaya Square and Yauzsky Boulevard. At the beginning of the boulevard there is an open fragment of the wall of the White City found during excavations; the surrounding buildings consist mainly of tenement houses and a number of city estates, one of the most remarkable buildings is the building of the Intercession barracks.

Yauzsky boulevard about 400 meters long, located between Pokrovsky Boulevard and Yauzsky Gate Square - this is the last link of the Boulevard Ring. The development of the boulevard includes pre-revolutionary and Soviet residential buildings, as well as a number of tenement houses and city estates.

If we take into account all the boulevards and squares that are usually attributed to the Boulevard Ring (the squares are considered as part of the boulevards), then the complete list of its components will look like this (clockwise):

1. Prechistensky Gate Square;

2. Gogolevsky boulevard;

3. Arbat Square;

4. Arbat Gate Square;

5. Nikitsky Boulevard;

6. Nikitsky Gate Square;

7. Tverskoy Boulevard;

8. Pushkinskaya Square;

9. Strastnoy Boulevard;

10. Petrovsky Gate Square;

11. Petrovsky Boulevard;

12. Pipe area;

13. Rozhdestvensky boulevard;

14. Sretensky Gate square;

15. Sretensky Boulevard;

16. Turgenevskaya area;

17. Myasnitskiye Vorota Square;

18. Chistoprudny Boulevard;

19. Pokrovskiye Vorota Square;

20. Khokhlovskaya area;

21. Pokrovsky boulevard;

22. Yauzsky boulevard;

23. Yauza Gate Square.

Also, Soimonovsky and Ustyinsky passages are sometimes included in the Boulevard Ring, which complete the chain of boulevards and squares along the banks of the Moskva River, however, strictly speaking, they do not belong to the Boulevard Ring.

Chistoprudny Boulevard:

Alexander Griboedov;

Abai Kunanbaev.

Yauzsky boulevard:

Rasul Gamzatov.

Among other things, on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard there is a worship cross in memory of the patroness of Moscow, St. Euphrosyne, in the world - the Grand Duchess of Moscow Evdokia Dmitrievna, and on Gogolevsky Boulevard - several small concrete sculptures depicting animals from Russian fairy tales.

In fact, the Boulevard Ring has not so much a recreational as a cultural significance for the city. Due to the large number of cars on both sides of each boulevard, busy intersections and even tunnels in the squares between them, and other nuances that residents of the metropolis have to put up with, not everyone may like a walk along the modern Boulevard Ring.

But, being one of the historical rings of Moscow, it still evokes special feelings and preserves the atmosphere of Moscow antiquity - and at least for this it is already worth loving.

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The Boulevard Ring stretched from Prechistinskiye Square to the Yauza Gates. The boulevards were laid out along the line where the fortress wall of the White City used to pass, which Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich ordered to build back in 1586. For seven years, the architect Fyodor Kon encircled Moscow with a new defensive line, and the territory inside the ring was called the White City, after the color of the fortress wall. Where the Moscow streets intersected with the walls of the White City, gates were made, which began to be called by the names of the streets: Nikitsky, Petrovsky, Sretensky. By decree of Catherine II, the dilapidated wall was demolished. Trees were ordered to be planted in place of the wall, and already in 1796 the first Moscow boulevard, Tverskoy, appeared.

The shape of the Boulevard Ring resembles rather a horseshoe, with both ends leading to the embankments of the Moskva River. The Boulevard Ring is formed by: Gogolevsky Boulevard, Nikitsky Boulevard, Petrovsky Boulevard, Rozhdestvensky Boulevard, Sretensky Boulevard, Strastnoy Boulevard, Tverskoy Boulevard and Chistoprudny Boulevard.

Gogol Boulevard

Gogolevsky Boulevard (metro station "Kropotkinskaya") was laid out after 1812. The boulevard originates at the Prechistina Gate Square, so it was called Prechistinskiy and was renamed only in 1924. At the end of the boulevard, surrounded by ancient lanterns with magnificent lions, there is a monument to N.V. Gogol (sculptor N. Tomsky), erected in 1952 instead of a pre-revolutionary monument to the writer.

Nikitsky boulevard

Nikitsky Boulevard (in Soviet times - Suvorovsky Boulevard) (metro station Arbatskaya) appeared in Moscow shortly after the fire of 1812. The boulevard got its name due to the fact that it goes to the Nikitsky Gates. In house number 7 on the left side of the boulevard was the last apartment of N.V. Gogol, in which he lived until his death in 1852. Now it houses the City Library. Gogol, and in two rooms where the writer lived, a memorial museum has been set up. In the courtyard there is an old monument to Gogol by the sculptor Nikolai Andreev. Opposite the house number 7 there is a building (number 8a), which is more than two hundred years old. The house acquired its modern look in the second half of the 19th century, when it was rebuilt by the architect A. I. Vivien. Now the House of the Journalist is located here. On the same side of Nikitsky Boulevard there is a magnificent mansion in the style of Moscow classicism (house number 12a). It was built in 1818-1921 by D. Gilardi for the Moscow rich man P. M. Lunin. Currently, the building houses the Museum of Oriental Art.

Petrovsky Boulevard

Petrovsky Boulevard (metro station "Tsvetnoy Boulevard") is named after the Petrovsky Monastery. The boulevard smoothly descends to Trubnaya Square, where a barred hole was made in the wall of the White City - a "pipe" through which the Neglinka flowed; hence the square, which appeared in the 20s of the last century, became known as Trubnaya, or colloquially Pipe. Here was the first Moscow bird market, called the bird market. In the spring, on the feast of the Annunciation, goldfinches, siskins, and finches were released here. In the last century, the Hermitage restaurant, famous throughout Moscow, was located on the square, owned by the Moscow merchant Yakov Pegov and the French culinary specialist Lucien Olivier, the inventor of the famous salad named after him. This restaurant was popular with the Moscow intelligentsia and artists.

The longest boulevard is Tverskaya, the second longest is Chistoprudny.

Rozhdestvensky boulevard

The steep rise at the beginning of Rozhdestvensky Boulevard (metro station "Tsvetnoy Bulvar") is a memory of the shore of the ancient Neglinka. To the right goes Rozhdestvenka, named after the old Rozhdestvensky monastery. It was founded in the 14th century. Princess Maria Keystutovna, mother of the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo, Prince Vladimir of Serpukhov. On the corner of Sretenka is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Pechatniki (17th century). Here was the settlement of the masters of the Printing House, preserved in the name of the area.

Sretensky boulevard

Sretensky Boulevard (metro station "Chistye Prudy", "Turgenevskaya") is the shortest boulevard in Moscow, only 214 meters long. Its name comes from the Sretensky Gate of the White City wall. On the left side rises a fancy house number 6/1, built by the architect N. M. Proskurin. The French architect Le Corbusier considered it the most beautiful building in Moscow. After the revolution, the People's Commissariat of Education was located here at one time, where N. K. Krupskaya worked, so in 1976 a monument was erected to her on the boulevard. In the same house was the Literary Department (Lito), where M. A. Bulgakov worked.

Strastnoy boulevard

In the 1820s, Strastnoy Boulevard (metro station Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya) was the name of a small alley laid from the Strastnoy Monastery to the Petrovsky Gates. The rest of the current boulevard was occupied by Sennaya Square. Hay was sold here during the day, and passers-by were robbed in the evenings. At the end of the 19th century, the owner of house number 9, E. A. Naryshkina, at her own expense, laid out a large square on the square. Out of respect for the generous noblewoman, the City Duma assigned the name Naryshkinsky to the new square. Only in 1937, Naryshkinsky Square was renamed Strastnoy Boulevard.

Tverskoy boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard (metro station Tverskaya, Pushkinskaya) was laid out in 1796 under the guidance of architect S. Karin. Initially, birch trees were planted here, but they did not take root, and for almost two centuries, mighty lindens have rustled with dense foliage on the boulevard. The picturesque boulevard from the very first days became a favorite place for walks of the Moscow high society.

Chistoprudny Boulevard

Chistoprudny Boulevard (metro station "Chistye Prudy", "Turgenevskaya"). This boulevard is the second longest after Tverskoy. Here are the famous Chistye Prudy, formed from the dam of the Rachka River, which once flowed along the wall of the White City. In the old days, butchers lived in this area, and there was a slaughterhouse nearby. Butchery wastes flowed into the nearby shallow ponds, so they were called Pogany puddle, or Pogany Ponds. At the beginning of the 18th century, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov settled in Myasniki. The Most Serene Prince did not want to live next to Pogany Ponds and ordered them to be cleaned. Since then, they have become known as Chistye Prudy. To the right of the boulevard leaves Arkhangelsky Lane (in Soviet times - Telegraph), here is the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, which Prince Menshikov built for himself in the early 18th century.

The boulevard ring is closed by Pokrovsky and Yauzsky boulevards.

A ring that isn't a ring at all. Dash-dotted line of boulevards and squares. An ideal place for dates and photo exhibitions, leisure walks and topical rallies. A green pedestrian zone, which was once a powerful defensive structure. All this is the Boulevard Ring.

History with geography

Strictly speaking, the ribbon of boulevards in the center of the capital is not a ring at all, but a horseshoe, which in the south rests on the bend of the Moskva River. But the main thing is not the shape, but the location of the broken ring. Since ancient times, defensive structures have been located here: first, earthen ramparts were erected, then wooden walls were installed on them, and at the end of the 16th century they were replaced with stone ones.

The fortification became the third line of defense after the walls of the Kremlin and Kitay-gorod. According to one version, it was the color of the stone or lime that covered the brick that gave the fenced area the name of the White City. According to another, the “white” land, inhabited by boyars and nobles, was not taxed, in contrast to the “black” land, where merchants and artisans lived. This version is supported by the second name of the district - Tsar-grad, or Tsarev city.

In the 18th century, Moscow grew greatly, the Belgorod wall lost its defensive significance. In 1774, Catherine II, who paid great attention to the planning of cities, created the Stone Order, which supervised the dismantling of walls and towers. The released building materials were used for the construction of state-owned buildings, for example, the Educational House on Moskvoretskaya Embankment (today the Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces named after Peter the Great is located here).

On the site of the former fortress wall, the empress ordered that trees be planted and alleys laid, and instead of passing towers, squares should be laid out. But soon the decree is written, but not soon executed. The first boulevard - Tverskoy - appeared only in 1796, already under Paul I. The youngest section of the ring is Pokrovsky Boulevard: it was finally formed in 1954, after the elimination of the spacious parade ground of the Pokrovsky barracks that was here. Catherine the Great looked far…

However, the main work took about half a century: in 1845, the critic Vissarion Belinsky wrote that Moscow boulevards are the best city decoration, which St. Petersburg "has every right to envy." Officially, this "right" was enshrined in 1978, when the Boulevard Ring was declared a monument of garden and park art.

Ring A

For a long time, the "green belt" did without public transport - there were enough cabs. And in 1887, a horse-drawn tram clattered along the boulevards (horse-drawn railway), and a quarter of a century later, in 1911, the wheels of the tram rang. Route A, which was affectionately dubbed “Annushka” by the people, was indeed a circular route - the rails were also laid along the embankments of the Moskva River. Therefore, the Boulevard Ring received a second name - Ring A.

For various reasons, over the past century, the Annushka route has changed several times, and today it runs from Kaluzhskaya Square (Oktyabrskaya metro station) to Turgenevskaya Square (Chistye Prudy metro station). At the same time, it affects only three boulevards: Yauzsky, Pokrovsky and Chistoprudny. Perhaps this is not the last trajectory of the famous tram ...

It is noteworthy that the current route A runs along the only tram line that has been preserved inside the Garden Ring (trams No. 3 and No. 39 also run along it). Moreover, on weekends "Annushka" rests - apparently due to her advanced age. But on weekdays, among the usual passenger trains, the Annushka tram-tavern also runs along the rails. Its interior takes visitors back one and a half hundred years, and the names of the dishes on the menu refer to the pages of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

Both Bulat Okudzhava and Konstantin Paustovsky, who once worked as a conductor, wrote about tram A. The poet Sergei Ostrovoy dedicated a song to Annushka, which hardly anyone remembers now. So the famous boulevard route, which was once called the theatrical (the tram passed many theaters and cinemas), can deservedly be called literary.

Heavy everyday life boulevards

In its lifetime, the Boulevard Ring has seen everything, and sometimes it had a hard time: irresponsible Muscovites trampled lawns, broke fences, and chopped trees for firewood. In the middle of the 19th century, the Moscow governor-general took strict measures: it was forbidden to walk dogs, ride bicycles, carry carts and even ... walk with suitcases on the boulevards! Even special caretakers were sent to keep order.

During the Great Patriotic War, the boulevards had to remember their historical purpose. In 1941, military exercises were held here for the militias, anti-aircraft guns were installed for air defense units, and even air barrage balloons were placed.

Eliminate the consequences of bombing and defensive actions began immediately after the end of the war, and a serious reconstruction was carried out for the 800th anniversary of Moscow. Many trees and shrubs were planted on the boulevards, benches were renewed, the mesh fence was replaced with a cast-iron fence (each boulevard received an individual pattern), new lanterns and elegant flowerpots were installed. The author and leader of the project was the architect Vitaly Dolganov.

The Green Belt continues to preen even today. In 2015, the Strelka design bureau developed a new large-scale plan for the reconstruction of the Boulevard Ring. As part of the My Street city project, it is proposed to limit transit traffic by redirecting traffic to the Garden Ring and the Third Transport Ring, and give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. For this, it is necessary, in particular, to equip new paths and islands of safety at the crossings.

Toponymy of the Boulevard Ring

The names of the squares of the Boulevard Ring are reminiscent of the fortress past: Arbat Gates, Nikitsky Gates, Myasnitsky Gates ... Yes, and the current Pushkin Square was first called Tver Gates, then Strastnaya (after the nearby monastery) and even the December Revolution Square. Only in 1931 did the great poet give the square his name.

Trubnaya Square is the heiress of the "Pipe": this was the name of the opening made in the Belgorod wall for the Neglinnaya River. Khokhlovsky Square, as well as the adjacent Khokhlovsky Lane, got its name from the surrounding area of ​​​​Khokhly - mainly crests settled here. In addition, not far away, on Maroseyka, there was the Little Russian, that is, Ukrainian, courtyard.

But the term "boulevard", as well as the very idea of ​​urban gardening, is borrowed from Europe: the French boulevard comes from the Dutch bolwerk, that is, "strengthening, ramparts." It turns out that the Boulevard Ring inherited not only the geography, but also the toponymy of its predecessor. However, ordinary Russian people quickly changed the incomprehensible foreign word into “gulvar”, denoting the main purpose of the new wide streets.

Most of the names of the boulevards - Nikitsky, Petrovsky, Pokrovsky, Rozhdestvensky, Strastnoy, Sretensky - come from nearby monasteries or churches. Gogolevsky Boulevard became such in 1924, during the celebration of the 115th anniversary of Nikolai Gogol. Prior to that, it was called Prechistensky - after the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God in the Novodevichy Convent.

Tverskoy Boulevard is, of course, the successor to Tverskaya Street. Yauzsky Boulevard, like Yauzsky Gate Square, is named after the tower of the White City. But Chistoprudny Boulevard can be attributed to the smiles of the Boulevard Ring - a special conversation about them.

"Chips" and curiosities of the Boulevard Ring

The reservoir, which gave the name to Chistoprudny Boulevard, began to be called Pure only in 1703. This happened thanks to the efforts of Alexander Menshikov, who acquired land on Myasnitskaya Street. The Most Serene Prince, as a conscientious owner, ordered the pond to be cleared of leftovers and garbage from the meat market standing nearby. It is not surprising that for a long time the pond was called Pogany ...

Chistye Prudy is within easy reach of another curiosity of the Boulevard Ring. Not only guests of the capital, but also many Muscovites are surprised: there is a Turgenev library near the square of the same name, but there is no monument to Turgenev! But on the sides of the square there are other monuments: at the beginning of Chistoprudny Boulevard - to Alexander Griboyedov, and at the end of Sretensky - to Vladimir Shukhov, the author of the famous tower. Urban planners justify themselves by the fact that both the writer and the engineer lived on Myasnitskaya for a long time, and Turgenev often changed apartments, and it is difficult to choose a link for his monument.

Another “antithesis” is the monument to Vladimir Vysotsky at the end of Strastnoy Boulevard, erected in defiance of a quote from the song “I Had Forty Surnames”:

They will not put up a monument to me in the park

Somewhere near the Petrovsky Gates...

But monuments not only appear in unexpected places, but also know how to walk! Surely not everyone knows that the monument to Pushkin has been standing in its present place, in the park on the square of the same name, since 1948 - it was moved by Stalin's personal order. Initially, in 1880, the monument was placed on the opposite side, at the end of Tverskoy Boulevard. The author of The Stone Guest would certainly have appreciated such a move...

Another transfer has already touched Gogol. The first monument erected in 1909, on the centenary of the birth of the writer, then still on Prechistensky Boulevard, caused a mixed reaction. The bent figure, as if crushed by bitter thoughts and mental illness, seemed to many too gloomy. In the late 1940s, a competition was organized, and in 1952, on the centenary of the death of the prose writer, a completely different, proud and ceremonial monument appeared on Gogolevsky Boulevard.

The "gloomy" Gogol was first sent into "exile" - to the Museum of Architecture on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery, and only in 1959 was he transferred to the courtyard of the estate of A.P. Tolstoy at the beginning of Nikitsky Boulevard, where the writer spent his last years. (Later, the house-museum of Gogol was organized in this house.) A unique situation arose: two monuments to the same person are located very close to each other: in a straight line, the distance between them is less than 400 meters! Subsequently, the proposal to make a reverse “castling” repeatedly arose, but the idea did not come to fruition.

These and other interesting and funny facts involuntarily suggest that not only a horseshoe is hidden in the shape of the Boulevard Ring, but also the sly smile of the Cheshire Cat. Smile and you, walking along the boulevards. Theoretically, with a brisk pace, they can be covered in a couple of hours. But it is unlikely that this will be done so quickly: you will probably want to sit on a bench, explore another open-air photo exhibition, take a selfie with some monument, admire ancient buildings or drink a cup of coffee in a nearby cafe. Have a nice walk!

Boulevard Ring in numbers

— Boulevard Ring includes 10 boulevards And 13 squares.

— The total length of the Boulevard Ring is slightly more nine kilometers.

- The longest boulevard is Tverskoy, its length is 857 meters.

- The shortest boulevard - Sretensky, its length - 214 meters.

- The widest boulevard - Strastnoy, its width - 123 meters.

- In 1945-1947, they landed on the Boulevard Ring more than four thousand trees And over 13 thousand shrubs.

— On the Boulevard Ring is located nine metro stations: Kropotkinskaya, Arbatskaya, Pushkinskaya, Tverskaya, Chekhovskaya, Trubnaya, Turgenevskaya, Sretensky Boulevard and Chistye Prudy.

The Boulevard Ring - a landscape sight of Moscow - arose at the end of the 18th century on the site of the Belgorod Wall, a defensive fortification that was abolished and dismantled as unnecessary. The travel towers of the wall were also destroyed, and squares were formed in their place, the names of which remind of their past purpose. The names of the gates have been preserved: Pokrovsky Gates, Arbat Gates, Nikitsky Gates, etc.

How many boulevards are in the Boulevard Ring?

In total, ten boulevards were formed, which were located one after another in the shape of a horseshoe, surrounding the center of Moscow. The ends of the "horseshoe" abut against forming directly the Boulevard Ring. The map of Moscow contains complete information about all the boulevards along with the squares. Unlike the Garden Ring, the Boulevard Ring has a more compact outline.

The Boulevard Ring (Moscow, as you know, took a long time to build) in its current form did not appear immediately. The first boulevard, Tverskoy, was founded in 1796 by the architect S. Karin, and then nine other boulevard avenues branched off on both sides of Tverskoy Boulevard. The Moscow Boulevard Ring was finally formed in the first half of the 19th century.

It originates from Soimonovsky passage on Prechistenka and continues from Prechistenskiye Vorota Square to Arbatskaya Square. This section is called Gogol Boulevard. passes into the Arbat Gate Square. Nikitsky Boulevard begins from the Arbat Gates, which ends with the square. At this point, the Boulevard Ring intersects with Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, which opens onto Manezhnaya Square.

After the Nikitsky Gates, the ring continues with Tverskoy Boulevard, which runs into Pushkinskaya Square. From A. S. Pushkin Square, its end is Petrovsky Gate Square, which is crossed by the famous Moscow Petrovka Street. After Petrovsky Gates, Boulevard Ring continues Petrovsky Boulevard, which extends to Trubnaya Square.

Sretensky Boulevard ends with Turgenev Square, connecting Myasnitskaya Street and Akademika Sakharov Avenue. At the end of Sretensky Boulevard is Myasnitsky Gate Square, from which Chistoprudny Boulevard originates, turning into Pokrovsky Gate Square. The next square, Khokhlovskaya, is the place where Pokrovsky Boulevard begins, which immediately turns into Yauzsky Boulevard.

Yauzsky Boulevard ends with the square from which Ustyinsky passage departs, the last link of the Moscow Boulevard Ring.

Boulevards and their differences

Some of the 10 boulevards of the ring have their own distinctive features. Gogolevsky Boulevard runs on three levels. The inner highway runs along the upper level, the middle one goes along the middle tier, and the outer passage runs along the lowest line. The boulevard received such a stepping pattern due to the different heights of the banks of the Chertoraya stream, which once flowed on the site of Gogolevsky Boulevard.

The "youngest" boulevard of all is Pokrovsky, for a long time its formation was hindered by the Pokrovsky barracks and a huge parade ground near them. The parade ground was demolished in 1954, and only after that the alley was turned into a full-fledged boulevard.

The shortest boulevard is Sretensky, its length is only 214 meters, and the longest is Tverskoy Boulevard, 857 meters. A record width - 123 meters - is distinguished by Strastnoy Boulevard.

monuments

The Boulevard Ring is famous for its monuments:

  • A. S. Pushkin
  • Vladimir Vysotsky and Sergei Rachmaninov on Strastnoy Boulevard.
  • N.V. Gogol and Mikhail Sholokhov on Gogol Boulevard.
  • A. S. Griboyedov on Chistoprudny Boulevard.
  • On Tverskoy Boulevard to Sergei Yesenin and K. A. Timiryazev.
  • At the exit from Sretensky Boulevard, a monument to V. G. Shukhov was erected.

Metro stations

The following metro stations are located along the perimeter of the Moscow Boulevard Ring:

  • station "Kropotkinskaya" (Sokolnicheskaya line);
  • Arbatskaya station (Filyovskaya line);
  • station "Pushkinskaya" (Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line);
  • station "Tverskaya" (Zamoskvoretskaya line);
  • station "Chekhovskaya" (Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line);
  • Trubnaya station (Lublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line);
  • station "Turgenevskaya" (Kaluga-Rizhskaya line);
  • station "Sretensky Boulevard" (Lublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line);
  • station "Chistye Prudy" (Sokolnicheskaya line).

Horse and tram

There was no transport on the Boulevard Ring, Muscovites managed by cabs. However, in 1887, horse-drawn carriages appeared on the boulevards. The Konka worked until 1911, then a tram was launched along the Boulevard Ring. The route was considered circular, although the carriages ran only to the embankment of the Moskva River in both directions.

In 1947, the Boulevard Ring was partially restored for the 800th anniversary of Moscow. Outdated benches in the squares were replaced with new, modern ones. The mesh fence, which had already rusted by that time, was completely replaced. Cast iron barriers were installed instead. Since 2011, the Boulevard Ring has become a favorite place for all kinds of protest rallies and demonstrations.

The Boulevard Ring is ten boulevards of Moscow, created on the site of the fortress walls of the White City. The formation of the Boulevard Ring was completed at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, and now these are wonderful recreation areas for Muscovites and guests of the capital.

The boulevard ring, which stretches for 9 km, has the shape of a horseshoe and looks more like a half ring, on both sides facing the Moscow River.

The first boulevard appeared in the center of Paris on the site of the destroyed fortifications built by King CharlesVand the word "boulevard", according to one version, comes from the Dutch bolewerk, which means "fortification".

According to another version, when an alley with trees and shrubs appeared on the site of the fortifications in the center of Paris, along which Parisians walked, the new resting place began to be called “boules vertes, that is, a green shaft or ball. Later, the same word began to refer to many parks and coasts, decorated with green spaces.

And in Russia, the squares where the refined public walked were called gulvars (from the word to walk).

The Boulevard Ring has been sung by many poets and composers, wonderful songs have been written about it. The most famous of them is "Clean Prudy" performed by Igor Talkov, whose words "One day you will pass the Boulevard Ring and in your memory we will probably meet" will not leave anyone indifferent.

From the history

By the end of the 16th century, the construction of the White City was completed - the third defensive belt of Moscow after the Kremlin and Kitay city, which reliably protected the capital from enemy invasions.

At the same time, during the events in the Time of Troubles (late 16th - early 17th centuries), the fortress walls were badly damaged, and by the middle of the 18th century they had completely lost their significance. The gates were no longer guarded and locked at night, and the bricks of the walls were slowly pulled away by the inhabitants of Moscow, and they were also used for the construction of city buildings. In particular, one of the buildings erected with the use of this stone is the building of the City Hall on Tverskaya.

In July 1774, it was decided to completely dismantle the walls of the White City, and plant trees and shrubs in their place. The work was carried out under the guidance of the architect Pyotr Nikitich Kozhin, and the construction was supervised by the Governor-General of Moscow, Mikhail Nikitich Volkonsky.

So, on the site of the fortress walls of the White City, the Boulevard Ring appeared - a chain of ten park areas - beloved by Muscovites and guests of the capital, starting from Gogolevsky and ending with Yauzsky Boulevard. Moreover, before the revolution, the numbering of houses on the Boulevard Ring was continuous.

Excursion along the boulevards of Moscow

It is best to start a walk along the Boulevard Ring from the Kropotkinskaya metro station.

  • This is where it starts Gogolevsky, formerly Prechistensky Boulevard, along which the writer liked to walk, here, in house number 7, there is an apartment where he lived until his death. Monument to N.V. Gogol, created by the sculptor Nikolai Andreev, was installed at the beginning of the 20th century, but in Soviet times it was replaced by a monumental figure of the writer, and the old sculpture was moved to the Gogol Museum on Nikitsky Boulevard.

    One of the modern monuments is a sculptural composition depicting Mikhail Sholokhov sitting in a boat and swimming horses. It should be noted that the work of the sculptor Iulian Rukavishnikov evokes mixed reviews from Muscovites and guests of the capital, the heads of horses look especially strange when the fountain is not working.

    We all remember Gogolevsky Boulevard from the film “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”, here the main character Katya meets cameraman Rudolf twice, with a difference of 20 years

  • The next boulevard Nikitsky, one of the attractions of which is the famous Lunin estate, which currently houses the Museum of the East. At the Nikitsky Gate, in the church of St. Theodore the Studite, A.S. Pushkin married Natalya Goncharova, and in 1999, in honor of this event, a rotunda fountain was installed on the square
  • Next is the oldest and longest boulevard - Tverskoy, its length is 857 meters. Among its attractions are monuments to Sergei Yesenin and Timiryazev, as well as the Romanov House built at the beginning of the 19th century, often called Romanovka. Initially, the building belonged to the merchant Golitsyn, who became famous for the fact that he built multi-colored lanterns on both sides of Tverskoy Boulevard with his own money. Later this building belonged to engineer-colonel Dmitry Ivanovich Romanov. At the end of the 19th century, there were furnished rooms in the house, and the musical figure Semyon Kruglikov settled in one of them. Here he set up a private musical salon, which was attended by Fyodor Chaliapin, Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov and Mikhail Vrubel, and also gathered a private Russian opera, which included its conductor Sergei Mamontov.
  • The widest boulevard Passionate, its width is 123 meters. There are three monuments here - Alexander Pushkin, Sergei Rachmaninov and Vladimir Vysotsky. Until 1937, Pushkin Square was called Strastnaya, after the Strastnoy convent, located in the place where the monument to the poet is currently erected.
  • At the end of Strastnoy Boulevard is Petrovsky Gate Square and further Petrovsky Boulevard, stretching to Trubnaya Square. In this place, the Neglinnaya River is "hidden" in an underground pipe. In the old days, there was a market on this square and there was a tradition - to buy a bird in a cage on the market and release it. Also, Trubnaya Square became famous for the fact that there was a Hermitage restaurant, the owner of which, Lucien Olivier, treated his guests to a new Olivier salad invented by him.
  • Rozhdestvensky boulevard- one of the most beautiful, it got its name from the name of the Nativity Convent, built under Catherine II
  • Through Sretensky Gate Square you can go to the shortest Sretensky boulevard, its length is only 214 meters. Here is a monumental monument to Nadezhda Krupskaya, erected in 1975 on the occasion of Children's Day
  • After passing through Turgenevskaya Square and Myasnitskiye Vorota Square, we will reach Chistoprudny Boulevard. Previously, there was a slaughterhouse in this area, the waste from which was dumped into a pond called Poganym. When Alexander Menshikov bought this land, he cleared the pond and since then this place has been called Chistye Prudy, although there is only one pond. Now it is a popular recreation area for Muscovites and guests of the capital, in summer it is a great place for walking, and in winter for ice skating.
  • Pokrovsky boulevard- the youngest, it appeared in the 1820s and until 1891 it was a huge parade ground on which there was no greenery at all. Later, part of the parade ground was occupied by a small narrow alley, and only in 1954 was a wide boulevard built.
  • Yauzsky boulevard got its name from the name of the Yauza Gates of the White City, located near the Yauza River. One of the sights of the boulevard is a two-story house resembling a knight's castle with a turret, created at the beginning of the 20th century by the architect Andrei Krasilnikov in a romantic style.

The boulevards of Moscow, like a green necklace, surround the city center. This is a unique monument of landscape gardening art, including 13 squares, parks and alleys, churches and monasteries, monuments and ancient estates that tell about the history of Russia and its outstanding personalities.