Category:Zamoskvorechye

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Guide to Moscow Streets

Zamoskvorechye is an area in the city centre beyond the Moscow-river. Zamoskvorechye (literally it means "beyond the Moscow-river") with its peculiar spirit of old Moscow outskirts stands apart from other Moscow districts. Every second building here has its old and thrilling history. Although the southern bank of Moscow-river provides brilliant view of the Kremlin, for a long time this area had not been a prestigious one, as every spring it was vastly overflowed. Moreover, there was no good stony bridge across the river.

[edit] History of Zamoskvorechye

In 16-17th centuries Zamoskvorechye was mostly occupied by artisans and craftsmen, who lived in small separate settlements – so-called "slobody". Each sloboda took its name from the main business of its inhabitants: for example, Sadovaya ("Garden", where gardeners lived), Ovchinnaya ("Sheepskin"), and so on.

Tatars and other fortune hunters like Poles or Lithuanians usually tried to conquer Moscow from the South, that’s why there was also a large amount of military slobodas here. In the 16th century Streltsy (royal guard) and Cossacks were ordered by Ivan the Terrible to settle here and protect the borders of Moscow from alien invaders. The names of now non-existent slobodas gave the names to contemporary streets and lanes: Ovchinnikovsky lane, Kosachiy (Cossack’s) lane and others.

Zamoskvorechye began to change rapidly in the late 18th century, when the Vodootvodny (Drainage) channel was constructed. Since that merchants began to build their mansions here; for a very short time they managed to set up quite a new district with a peculiar patriarchal spirit. Those of nobles who preferred solitude to sumptuous balls and receptions or those who had no money to live in the centre also settled here; for example, young Lev Tolstoy used to live on Pyatnitskaya st., 12.

Zamoskvorechye remained almost untapped even till now, when the appearance of Moscow is rapidly changing. Stones of the old buildings still breathe the calm atmosphere of the 19 century, when, as wide-known saying told, merchants in Zamoskvorechye had already got up while Arbat and Prechistenka were going to bed, and would go to bed when on the other side of the river the evening was just beginning.

[edit] Zamoskvorechye Photos

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