July 2010 in Moscow : boat trip on Moskva

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 boat will make a U-turn and stop near the Novosparssky bridge providing you a view on the Novospassky manastery cathedral with its four light bulbs surrounding a central dome.

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 !

June 2010 in Moscow : Kuskovo

Let's enjoy the month of June (although some thunderstorms) to continue to visit parks around Moscow.

But first a short story about something very specific to Russian Stalin's snow !

This is not a joke but I had never heard of it before living in Moscow. It happens every year : no, this is not a fest !. You should have an idea of what it can be ?  I'll help you to find : it is because of Stalin who dediced to plant  hundreds of thousands of "Populus alba" (Silver Poplar) in Russian cities. 

Every year in May / June, it snows on Moscow : it is the pollen from the silver poplars. Better not be allergic ! Cotton balls are flying everywhere, "Stalin's snow" by breathing when walking, running, and are swallowed whatever we do. It flies very high, falling even in apartments. 
I have finally understood why there were mosquitoes screens on windows !

   

To learn more, I recommend the video (in English !) below :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83n2h6K13K0&feature=player_embedded

Now, enjoy the June sun (before a violent storm ! Fortunately we were back in the bus ...) to visit the Kuskovo park which is located east of Moscow.

How to get there ?

There is the Perovo metro solution (yellow line 8) and then to walk half an hour (ask for direction but evaluate the answer ... the Russians are always helpful, even if we do go in the opposite direction ... so, happened to us !) or take bus 260 to the metro station (the best). We made one way trip through the Novokosino metro station but it is noisy with lot of traffic and a great bridge to cross.

Kuskovo domain, nicknamed the "Versailles" of Moscow because of its French gardens, is a perfect example of a country residence in Moscow of the 18th century. The domain's history dates back to 1715, when Tsar Peter the Great gave Kuskovo village as a gift to the Russian General Boris Sheremetiev, famous for the Battle of Poltava (as anybody knows ... in 1709, decisive victory of Peter the Great over Charles XII of Sweden in the Great Northern War). Boris Sheremetiev decided to build a summer home here. The Sheremetiev have been one of the wealthiest families and most powerful one of Russia (after the family of Tsar as the Romanovs - see the June news on Kolomenskoye for those who do not follow ...) and the domain was used by several generations of the family. FYI, Moscow's international airport is called Sheremetyevo : well, it must explain the origin of this name (not everyone has a Charles de Gaulle name known in the world !).

The current architecture is coming from the son of Boris, Pyotr (Peter), who devoted his life to manage the domain after inheriting his father about 200,000 serfs (in the Middle Ages, a serf is a person who works for a noble -  a concept that ... crossed the border at that time !). He married Varvara Cherkasskaya, whose dowry included also serfs with talented architects including Fyodor Argunov and Alexei Mironov who were the creators of these buildings. The domain is gradually fell into disrepair after the death of Pyotr, and his son Nicolas spent his summers at the Ostankino palace instead of Kuskovo family one (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Останкино_ (усадьба)). The area has been damaged by the French army during the Moscow campaign of 1812 but then was restored. He remained one of the summer residences of the Sheremetiev family and a site for private receptions, celebrations and festivities until the Bolsheviks nationalized it in 1918.

The domain includes a central palace and some other interesting buildings around the landscaped park that includes French gardens, ponds, lakes, and also Italian and Russians sculptures.

One of the main features of the main Palace is that it was entirely built of wood : it has been since fully restored. Outside, It is painted with pink salmon and white, and it was achieved between 1769 and 1777 by architects (the famous serfs) Argunov and Mironov, with the supervision of the architect Karl Blank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Blank).

 

Among the rooms to visit, see for example, a billiard room, a dining room, a living room with Flemish tapestries, a bedroom with a grand allegorical fresco, and an office entirely covered with oak paneling.

  

But the highlight of the palace is undoubtedly the magnificent ballroom, which is lavishly decorated with gold ornaments, crystal chandeliers and bas-reliefs depicting the exploits of the heroes of ancient Rome, as Mutius Scaevola, which plunged hand in the fire to prove his indifference to pain (everybody knows it !).

The hall also has a fresco of Apollo and his Muses, glorifying Sheremetiev, their fame, wealth and power (now it is rather the one with the largest four wheel car in Moscow !).
In addition see some pictures on the Russian Web site site http://kuskovo.ru/vistavki_v_muzee/

Behind the palace there is a garden with geometric shapes (French style).
Note the black obelisk that was built to commemorate a visit of the Empress Catherine II "The Great".

 

Now, let's go to the Grotto. 
The building includes a dome and iron gates and has an interior decorated by the famous architect of St. Petersburg Johannes Fokt, using shells, stones, stucco and porcelain.

 

Right next to the grotto make a stop at the Italian Pavilion. Beautiful oak flooring that we visit with slippers.
If you forget to buy tickets at the entrance for access to buildings (which happens often because we think it's an entry fee for all), do not worry : in every building there is a cashier, unless the cashier made his lunch break (... the experience ...), then you can buy extra tickets.

Continuing the tour with a stop at the aviary (without birds !) and then go to the Orangerie to see the museum of ceramics.

There is a dinner service of Sevres porcelain (Vivant Denon) which has been given by Napoleon Bonaparte to Tsar Alexander I in 1807, as well as vases commemorating the construction of the Moscow Metro.

 

Not far from the Orangery, there is the Hermitage in Baroque style, surmounted by a statue of a goddess (Flora, it seems, goddess of spring and birth). Closed to visitors.

 

A little further there is the Holland pavilion (closed for restoration) which is facing a small lake.

Nearby is a house created by Swiss designer Nicolas Benois from St. Petersburg (a French !). We can't visit it and it needs some restoration.

To conclude the visit, let's try to go to the church which is next to the main palace, but as often for churches ... it's closed (it must be to prevent theft of icons). We had the chance to hear the bell that is manually activated (you have to zoom in on the right picture to see the bell ringer).

 

Thus ended the visit of Kuskovo domain, well worth a visit !