Before the summer holidays, I suggest to discover the banks of the Moskva river by boat.
First of all, some questions :
- where is located the source of the Moskva river ? (the Thames, it's easier !)
- what is its length (in km, with 1% error) ?
- Kremlin is located on the right side or left side of the river ?
- in what river flows the Moskva river ?
- is the Moskva river frozen during winter time ?
Good news : you have 2 months to search answers ! (reply bernard.goudet@gmail.com)
And the answers will be published in September.
We will take the boat on the dock near the Kievskaya metro station.
Let us first see the railway station Kievsky (1 of the 7th of Moscow) designed by the architect Ivan Rehrberg in a neo-classical style and which was built between 1914 and 1920.
The place of Europe in front of the Kievsky railway station was created in 2002 and symbolizes the partnership between Russia and the EEC. The 48 columns bearing flags of European countries are bordering an abstract sculpture of Olivier Strebel, "The abduction of Europe", which was a gift from Brussels.
In the direction of Borodinsky bridge, you can see in the distance (on the photo to the left of the statue) the skyscraper of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (metro Smolenskaya), which was built in 1951 and is one of seven "sisters" of Stalin at Moscow : we will see four of them during this trip.
The boat travels under a pedestrian bridge "Bogdan Khmelnitsky": its steel construction is like a box wrapped in glass. The original bridge was replaced in 2000 by this 135 meters long and 1400 tons construction which is sometimes used for fashion shows.
On the left, before the bridge of one of the circular rings of Moscow, you can see the domes of the Novodevichy Convent and straight ahead, dominating Moscow town, the skyscrapers of Moscow Lomonosov University MGOU (see post on April).
Then the boat travels between the Vorobyevy Gory hill (Sparrow Hills) on the right side with the Moscow chair lift ski (natural snow from December to March !), and left side the Luzhniki sports complex designed and built in the 1950s.
Just ahead is another unique design : the Vorobyevy Gory metro station, which is the longest in Moscow and the only one on a bridge. It is also a great place for Muscovites to come for sunbathes and even swim (normally forbidden !).
On the other side of the bridge, on the left, they are the Luzhniki gyms and tennis. On the right, you can see the St Andrews monastery, although our eyes will be attracted by an unsightly tower, topped by a strange orange head, nicknamed "Brain Gold" : it is one of two buildings of the Russian Academy of Science.
After another bridge of one of the road rings, you can see on the left an area called Frunzensky with Stalinists buildings from 1930 to 1950.
On the right, dating from the 17th century, the Nieskoutchniy park is probably the oldest one in Moscow. In the 19th century, the domain was purchased by the Emperor Nicolas 1st. From the river you can see buildings as a mansion with columns dating back to 1796, and two pavilions also dating from about 200 years ago, and a swimmer female ready to jump into the Moskva.
After the Andreyevsky glass bridge dating from 2000, right there Gorky Park (especially an amusement park), and left a huge stone building with CCCP emblem which was built in the late 1940s by the same architect as the University of Moscow (MGOU). It is currently the headquarters of the Russian Land Forces.
Then we go under the Krymsky bridge, built in 1937, which is the only suspension bridge in Moscow. Opposite, you can not miss the statue of Peter the Great (94m high) which was created by sculptor Zurab Tseretely a friend from Louri Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow.
At left is the Ostozhenka neighborhood with some elegant brick houses typical of the Art Nouveau style, such as the museum "Normandy Niemen" or Pertsova house dating from the early 20th century.
On the opposite bank you can see in the order, the new Tretyakov Gallery, the park of USSR ancient statues (toppled), and the famous chocolate factory "Red October" which was founded in the nineteenth century by a German, Ferdinand von Einem.
Before the footbridge of the Patriarchs, you will see left the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour which is the largest Orthodox church in the world. Initially, a temple was built between 1839 and 1883 on the site of a former convent. In 1931, the Bolsheviks blew up the temple to free space for a huge skyscraper (Palace of Soviets) with a gigantic statue of Lenin. They dug a huge hole and poured concrete for the foundation but the Second World War halted the work. Later, a heated outdoor pool has occupied this space and it was operational until the late 1980s. The construction of the modern replica of the Temple began in 1994 and was completed in 2000.
On the other side is the famous House on the Quay, built in 1931 for the Soviet nomenclature. The 505 apartments had hot water and there was a laundry, a grocery store, a library, a kindergarten, a post office, bank and even the ease of centralized cooking : it was a luxury residence at the time. However, the lives of many residents was completed in late 1930 with the purge of Stalin. In 1938, 208 apartments were sealed by the KGB, their inhabitants deported to the gulag and their children placed in residential schools with a name change.
Once past the great Kamienny stone bridge, the red brick wall of the Kremlin appears on your left. This site will be featured in the coming months.
Immediately after the Kremlin, also on your left, you'll have a magnificent view of the Cathedral of St. Basil built in 1554. Following the capture of Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of this monument to commemorate the victory over the Tartars. Its name comes from the fact that it houses the tomb of St. Basil the Blessed in a side chapel. This is probably the most famous image of Moscow, and it is easy to understand why.
After the great Moskvoretskiy bridge, don't search on to left the Rossiya hotel reported on the tourist guides : there is more ...
Look on the right the "Mosenergo Power Station" which was the first power plant in Moscow, built in 1897 by the Electric Light company based in St Petersburg. It is still in operation.
Then, another sky skyscraper Stalin (Kotelnichenskaya) built between 1949 and 1952 which imposes itself on the left after the Oustminsky bridge : it is an apartment building.
The trip ends after 1:30 of boat ... nothing interesting to see after ... I have done it by roller several times from Kolomenskoye until Christ the Savior cathedral (20km).
Happy holidays to you all and see you in September for new discoveries !
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