Gostiny Dvor Gostiny Dvor, a remarkable monument of Moscow architecture of the end of the 18th — the beginning of the 19th centuries. It is situated 150 metres away from the Red Square in one of the oldest Moscow districts. The building takes a whole quarter formed by the streets Ilyinka and Varvarka and the lanes Khrustalny and Rybny. These streets and lanes were included into the Moscow Veliky Posad, the centre of Russian trade where many Russian and foreign merchants came. It is known that trade centres like Gostiny Dvor for foreign tradesmen existed as early as in the 14th century. “In Kitai-gorod in the 17th century there were 72 rows named after the goods sold there — fish, crystal, rag, gold, icon, candle, wax, cap, kaftan, honey, nut and so on”, says the book guide Around Moscow published at the beginning of the 20th century. Even in the 19th century the shops were divided in legal documents not according to streets but according to rows. Some of the row names remained in the names of lanes (Khrustalny lane1, Rybny lane2). The attempts to organize spontaneous trade and get rid of the various shops were taken many times. The first Gostiny Dvor built at the beginning of the 16th century was wooden, in some 100 years it was replaced by a stone building. Later construction of another building started near the old one. Apart from this only wholesale trade was allowed in Gostiny Dvor. The large-scale construction of the building we know was launched at the order of Catherine the Great. She gave the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi (1744—1817) the task to develop the project of the new construction. The architect found his second home Russia. His best creations are in Saint Petersburg. However, Moscow could as well be proud of housing several of his works — Gostiny Dvor, Catherine’s Palace in Lefortovo (exists no more), the Hospital of count Sheremetev (changes to the project by P. I. Argunov (П. И. Аргунов)). This was an excellent idea of beautiful and rational organization of the quarter. The building had a frame of arcs and Corinthian embedded columns of big order at the perimeter. Taking into account the narrow streets and inevitably large amount of transport the author smoothed out the corners by skillfully fitting broad staircases into them. The big inner yard was divided into two parts by a cross-over building. The arcade in the yards was decorated by Tuscan pilasters. The first construction stage of Gostiny Dvor lasted from 1789 to 1805. Quarenghi’s idea was fully realized by another Italian architect Giuseppe Bova who in 1830s reconstructed Moscow after the fire of 1812. Gostiny Dvors in other Russian cities were designed after the fashion of this building. In 1996 the unique architecture monument was renovated and reconstructed and turned into a modern business, cultural and trade centre, offering all the necessary services and equipped according to international standards. During reconstruction works Moscow biggest treasure was found — two jugs, a copper one and a clay one, holding 16 silver vessels, 335 west-European coins (thalers of the second half of the 16th — the beginning of the 17th century), and 95,429 silver Russian coins. At the trading and exhibition complex international exhibitions, concerts, balls, fashion shows constantly take place. The building also houses different shops — antiquarian, souvenir, perfume, clock and watch, jewelry, clothes shops, cafes and restaurants, as well as Moscow Tourist Information Centre. 4 Ilyinka Street Metro station Ploschad Revolyutsii moscow.ru/en/guide/entertainment/attractions/buildings_and_structures/index.php?id4=126
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 07:01:08 +0000
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