Mokhovaya Street (russian: Моховая улица) is a one-way street in central
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, a part of Moscow's innermost
ring road -
Central Squares of Moscow The Central Squares of Moscow consists of a chain of squares around the historical Moscow Kremlin and Kitai-gorod areas of central Moscow, Russia, following the historical and now mostly razed down Kitai-gorod wall. These squares and avenues connec ...
. Between 1961 and 1990 it formed part of
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
Avenue (Проспект Маркса). The street runs from the (named after nearby
Borovitskaya Tower
The following is a list of towers of the Moscow Kremlin. The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence ...
) in the south past
Vozdvizhenka Street,
Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and
Manege Square, ending at
Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street ( rus, Тверская улица, p=tvʲɪrˈskajə ˈulʲɪt͡sə), known between 1935 and 1990 as Gorky Street (russian: улица Горького), is the main radial street in Moscow. The street runs Northwest from th ...
in the north.
Traffic on Mokhovaya follows a northwards counterclockwise pattern as the parallel
Manezhnaya Street is closed to regular traffic.
History
The name of a street, literally
Moss Street, emerged in the 18th century after the Moss Market that stood on site of
Moscow Manege
The Moscow Manege ( rus, Мане́ж, p=mɐˈnʲeʂ, a=Ru-манеж.ogg) is an oblong building along the west side of Manege Square, which was cleared in the 1930s and lies adjacent to Red Square. It is the site of Moscow Design Museum sinc ...
and traded in moss for caulking
log house
A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term " log cabin" generally refers to a sm ...
s. The street is much older, dating back to the court of
Sophia of Lithuania
Sophia of Lithuania (1371–1453), also known as Sofia Vitovtovna, was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy by marriage to Vasili I of Russia. She was regent of Muscovy during the minority of her son from 1425 to 1434.
Life
She was the daughter ...
, wife of
Vasili I of Russia
Vasily I Dmitriyevich ( rus, Василий I Дмитриевич, Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow ( r. 1389–1425), heir of Dmitry Donskoy (r. 1359–1389). He ruled as a Golden Horde ...
(1490s). At that time the area was known as Vagankovo (different from present-day
Vagankovo Cemetery
Vagankovo Cemetery (russian: Ваганьковское кладбище, Vagan'kovskoye kladbishche), established in 1771, is located in the Presnya district of Moscow. It started in the aftermath of the Moscow plague riot of 1771 outside the ci ...
).
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Iva ...
has set his
Oprichnina
The oprichnina (russian: опри́чнина, ) was a state policy implemented by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Russia between 1565 and 1572. The policy included mass repression of the boyars (Russian aristocrats), including public executions and ...
court here, south from
Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street; the block occupied by
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
belonged to
Shuisky
The Princes Shuisky (russian: Шуйские, Shuyskiye) was a Rurikid family of Boyars descending from Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich of Vladimir-Suzdal and Prince Andrey Yaroslavich, brother to Alexander Nevsky. The surname is derived f ...
family.
In the 1780s and 1790s the street acquired monumental
early neoclassical buildings by
Vasily Bazhenov and
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov (russian: Матве́й Фёдорович Казако́в, 1738 – 7 November 1812) was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine ...
. In 1812, Kazakov's
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
burnt down and was rebuilt with a different, late neoclassical, facade;
Yevgraph Tyurin
Yefgraph Dmitrievich Tyurin (Russian: Евграф Дмитриевич Тюрин) was a Russian architect and art collector, famous as the builder of Elokhovo Cathedral in Moscow, the main cathedral of Russian Orthodox Church in 1945–2000, an ...
built a second University building on Mokhovaya, with a church of
Saint Tatiana
Saint Tatiana was a Christian martyr in 3rd-century Rome during the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander.
Biography
According to legend, she was the daughter of a Roman civil servant who was secretly Christian, and raised his daughter in the fai ...
, the patron saint of University. Across the street,
Agustín de Betancourt
Agustín de Betancourt y Molina ( rus, Августин Августинович де Бетанкур, r=Avgustin Avgustinovich de Betankur; french: Augustin Bétancourt; 1 February 1758 – 24 July 1824) was a prominent Spanish engineer, who wo ...
and
Joseph Bove erected the block-wide
Moscow Manege
The Moscow Manege ( rus, Мане́ж, p=mɐˈnʲeʂ, a=Ru-манеж.ogg) is an oblong building along the west side of Manege Square, which was cleared in the 1930s and lies adjacent to Red Square. It is the site of Moscow Design Museum sinc ...
(1817-1825, rebuilt after a fire in 2005).
In the early 1930s,
communist administration has cleared blocks between the street, Manege and
Moscow Kremlin all the way to
Theatre Square. After completion of
Hotel Moskva, the large tract of land between it and the Manege was paved into what was then known as Manege Square; in the 1990s, the square was excavated for a Manege Square pit shopping mall.
In 1933-1935, Mokhovaya was the site of a massive
subway construction. Here, the westbound trains from
Sokolniki interleaved between proceeding straight to
Park Kultury, or taking a sharp right turn to
Smolenskaya via
Alexandrovsky Sad. This arrangement is now impossible, as the construction of Manege Square pit in 1990s destroyed the tunnels between
Sokolnicheskaya Line and Alexandrovsky Sad. Construction of the shopping centre blocked all of
Manege Square for street traffic, eventually converting
Manege Street and
Revolution Square into large parking lots without through traffic.
Gallery
Image:Pashkov house.jpg, 3, Mokhovaya, Pashkov House
Image:Moscow Shakhovskoy House 01-2017.jpg, 8, Mokhovaya, former Kalinin Museum
Image:Moscow 05-2012 Mokhovaya 05.jpg, 11, the old University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
building
Image:Moscow mokhovaya 3.jpg, 13, Mokhovaya Building
Notable buildings and institutions
* 3 -
Pashkov House
The Pashkov House (russian: Пашко́в дом) is a neoclassical mansion that stands on a hill overlooking the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attribute ...
(1780s, attributed to
Vasily Bazhenov), former Rumyantsev Museum, now the Old Building of the Russian State Library
* 5 -
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
, "new" building by
Vladimir Schuko (1928-1958)
* 8 - Neoclassical "old Moscow" house, former
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Ива́нович Кали́нин ; 3 June 1946), known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych", was a Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik revolutionary. He served as head of st ...
museum,
* 9 -
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
with
Saint Tatiana
Saint Tatiana was a Christian martyr in 3rd-century Rome during the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander.
Biography
According to legend, she was the daughter of a Roman civil servant who was secretly Christian, and raised his daughter in the fai ...
Church by
Yevgraph Tyurin
Yefgraph Dmitrievich Tyurin (Russian: Евграф Дмитриевич Тюрин) was a Russian architect and art collector, famous as the builder of Elokhovo Cathedral in Moscow, the main cathedral of Russian Orthodox Church in 1945–2000, an ...
(1830s)
*
Moscow Manege
The Moscow Manege ( rus, Мане́ж, p=mɐˈnʲeʂ, a=Ru-манеж.ogg) is an oblong building along the west side of Manege Square, which was cleared in the 1930s and lies adjacent to Red Square. It is the site of Moscow Design Museum sinc ...
, across the University, has an official address at 1,
Manege Street
* 11 -
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, originally built by
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov (russian: Матве́й Фёдорович Казако́в, 1738 – 7 November 1812) was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine ...
between 1784 and the 1790s, restored after the
Fire of Moscow (1812)
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...
by
Domenico Giliardi and
Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev (russian: Афанасий Григорьевич Григорьев) (21 January 1782 – 13 May 1868) was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his r ...
* 13 - Neo-Renaissance Mokhovaya Building by
Ivan Zholtovsky (1930s). This early
stalinist architecture landmark was recently "restored" by
facadist methodes, leaving only the exterior wall intact. Originally intended as an apartment building, it housed the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Embassy in the 1940s, and later
Intourist
Intourist (russian: Интурист, a contraction of , "foreign tourist") was a Russian tour operator, headquartered in Moscow. It was founded on April 12, 1929, and served as the primary travel agency for foreign tourists in the Soviet Uni ...
.
* 15 - Hotel National (1880s)
References
* Russian: П.В.Сытин, "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948
* Russian: "Москва начала века", М, ООО "O-Мастер", 2001
{{coord, 55, 45, 10, N, 37, 36, 40, E, region:RU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title
Streets in Moscow