Attractions

Moscow is the real city-museum, full of attractions and fantastically beautiful places.
It is the city where  old times live near modern reality, ancient parks and mansions are surrounded by modern developments. It is the city of beautiful temples, squares and boulevards.

Moscow has 824 architectural monuments, there are 57 museums, including world - famous Tretyakov gallery and  Museum of Fine Arts named by A.S.Pushkin, more than 30 exhibition halls and galleries.

 

Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad)

The famous historical center of Moscow. Forms a single architectural ensemble with the Kremlin wall (15th cent.), St. Basil’s Cathedral (16th cent.), the Minin and Pozharsky monument (Moscow’s first monument, 1818, a sign of respect to the leaders of the struggle against the Polish-Lithuanian invasion of the early 17th cent.), the building of the State Historical Museum and the Lenin Mausoleum. The Mausoleum and the Kremlin wall with the urns holding the ashes of prominent politicians form a Revolutionary Necropolis (since 1925).

 M: Ploshchad Revoluytsii/Teatralnaya.

 

Moscow Kremlin

Moscow Kremlin - Moscow’s central and oldest part, one of the world’s most beautiful architectural ensembles. The fortress walls with towers around the Kremlin form an irregular triangle, whose sides face the Moskva river, Red Square and the Alexander Gardens.

The center of the Kremlin-Cathedral (Sobornaya) Square with cathedrals of the 15th-17th centuries: the Assumption (Uspensky) Cathedral, burial place of Russian patriarchs and site of coronations and weddings of grand princes, czars and emperors: Archangel (Arkhangelsky) Cathedral, vault of Ivan the Terrible and other czars: Annunciation (Blagoveshchensky) Cathedral, the Church of Deposition of the Robe (Rizpolozheniya); and the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great. Also here: the Patriarch’s Chambers, the Armony and the State Kremlin Palace, the latter hosting concerts.

 M: Alexandrovsky Sad.

 

 

St.Basil’s Cathedral

St. Basil’s cathedral - also known as Cathedral of the Intercession (Pokrovsky Sobor). The cathedral has been a branch of the State Historical Museum since 1928. It was built by order of Ivan the Terrible and with the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius. Unique monument of world architecture and monument to the glory of the Russian State. This richly decorated cathedral, one of the architectural landmarks of Red Square, was built in 1555-1561 to commemorate the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. Structurally, it was to consist of eight separate churches symbolizing days of decisive battles for Kazan and one central church. In 1588 the popular “fool for Christ” Vasily, or Basil the Blessed, was buried in the north-east corner of the cathedral.

 

 

Victory Park

 Victory Park (Park Pobedy na Poklonnoy gore) - a huge World War II memorial complex. Central Museum of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War (open Tu-Su 10 am-6pm); Church of St. George the Victorious, a synagogue, a mosque, and a Catholic chapel.

On dislplay in the park’s alleys: Soviet & trophy German vintage military vehicles, fortifications. Navy display at the ponds. Also here: 142-m-high Victory Monument. Tours round the park & museum (icl 6 dioramas & theme exhibitions). Restaurant.

 M: Park Pobedy.

 

 

Triumphal arch


Triumphal arch - Devoted to Russia’s victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812. Erected in 1968 instead of the Triumphal Arch constructed in 1814 on the occasion of welcoming the Russian troops returning from Western Europe. The 28-m arch with high reliefs (“Liberation of Moscow” and others), allegorical statue of Victory and the sculptural composition “The Chariot of Glory”. Located next to the Borodino Battle Museum (38 Kutuzovsky Prosp.).

M: Kutuzovskaya.

 

Cathedral of Christ the Savior

Cathedral of Christ the Savior – memorial historical ensemble commemorating Russia’s victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Its construction was launched in 1839, it was completed and sanctified in 1883. In 1931 the Soviet authorities blew up the Cathedral. Restored in 1994-2000. Observation platform for group excursions of the Cathedral’s museum.

15 Ul. Volkhonka.  M: Kropotkinskaya.

 

Grand Kremlin Palace

The magnificent building of the Kremlin Palace was constructed on the site of ancient palace structures. The vast square edifice consists of 700 rooms with an area of approximately 20 000 sq.m.

Moscow architects N.Chichagov, F. Richter, N. Shokhin and P. Gerasimov took part in the construction using in their work mediaeval architectural tradition. They also designed the interiors. Service areas and the private apartments of the imperial family were situated on the ground floor. All the interiors are noted for their sumptuous furnishing. State rooms on the second floor are named after Russian orders of St George, St Vladimir and St Catherine, and these were restored after the reconstruction of the 1930s. The largest and grandest room is that dedicated to the Order of St George, the patron saint of Russian warfare. This medal is awarded for bravery in battle.

 

  The Terem Palace 


It is constructed in the Grand Kremlin Palace complex. The Terem Palace with its state rooms of the tsar was once part of the ancient ensemble of palace buildings. It was put up on the two-tier basement dating from 1494. On the lower floor there were service areas and kitchens, and on the first floor articles of ceremonial attire were made in the Masterskaya (Workshop) Room. The second floor was occupied by offices and the quarters of the tsar’s personal guards. The tsar’s apartments took up the entire third floor of the palace while the upper floor, or Teremok, was a large vaulted children’s room where the tsar’s sons lived including the future Emperor Peter the Great. The original murals were the work of court painters under Simon Ushakov, famous for his original new methods of icon-painting. They no longer exist. The existing murals date from 1836.

 


The Novodevichy Convent

The Novodevichy Convent - an architectural complex dating from the 16th-17th cent. Churches and museums. On permanent display: icons, icon settings, jewelry, gold embroidery, ceremonial garments, books from the convent’s library and other Orthodox treasures of the 16th-20th cent. There is a Necropolis within the walls of the convent, next to wich is the well-known Novodevichy Cemetery.

 The Novodevichy Convent, one of the most beautiful monastic ensembles in Russia, has been a branch of the State Historical Museum since 1934. It was founded by order of Prince Vasily III in 1524, to commemorate the 1514 vicory of Russia over the Polish and Lithuanian forces in the battle for the borderlands and the return of the town of Smolensk.

Situated near the road leading to Moscow from the south, it served as a military oupost on more than one occasion. The convent was favoured by the tsars and boyars, since the nuns included members of both royal and high-ranking families. The architectural ensemble was formed from the 16th to 17th centuries. The ancient convent cathedral was dedicated to the Smolensk ikon of the Mother of God coming from Byzantium. It was a mostly revered icon in the Smolensk Province.

 M: Sportivnaya.