{"id":517,"date":"2014-07-07T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/streets-of-moscow\/"},"modified":"2019-07-18T15:20:36","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T22:20:36","slug":"things-to-do-moscow-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/things-to-do-moscow-streets","title":{"rendered":"Top Facts about Old Moscow Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>There are more than 3,500\u00a0streets, lanes and highways in Moscow. But what\u00a0is the oldest\u00a0street? The longest?\u00a0The most beautiful?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moscow streets are among the most beautiful not only in Russia, but in Europe! The varieties of tourist routes in the capital of Russia are endless as Moscow city center is huge, but there are the <strong>Top 10 streets in Moscow<\/strong> that travelers come to experience time and time again.<br \/>\nLet&#8217;s take a walk down most popular Moscow streets:\u00a0Nikolskaya, Ilyinka, Varvarka, Tverskaya, Kuznetsky Most, Old Arbat and New Arbat.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wpview-body\" contenteditable=\"false\">\n<div class=\"wpview-content wpview-type-embedURL\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SwOHi8E7R7U?feature=oembed\" width=\"1070\" height=\"602\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpview-overlay\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>From the Middle Ages Moscow streets\u00a0were distinguished by\u00a0the professions, nationalities and social classes of people living there.\u00a0This was\u00a0reflected in the names of many streets\u00a0of old Moscow.<br \/>\nThe streets of the center of Moscow, which we are going to talk about, were inhabited by eminent nobles, bureaucratic people and\u00a0the merchants who traded on\u00a0Red Square.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>The streets of <a href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/moscow-must-see-fun-facts-about-kitay-gorod\">Kitay Gorod<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Nikolskaya street<\/h2>\n<p>Nikolskaya street was formed at the site of the road that led from the Kremlin to Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir, the cities of present Golden Ring. On this road was the old monastery of St. Nicholas, so the street simply got its name from the\u00a0monastery.\u00a0Nikolskaya street was\u00a0the street of trade, as well as education: you can find here the first\u00a0Printing House of Moscow, Slavic Greek Latin Academy and the first pharmacy of Moscow. In old times the street was famous for 26 bookstores on it, out of 31 total in Moscow.<\/p>\n<h2>Ilyinka<\/h2>\n<p>Ilyinka is located in the center of Moscow\u0431 between Red Square and the former Ilyinsky gate of\u00a0Chinatown. Ilyinka is named after Elias Monastery and Church of Elijah the Prophet.<\/p>\n<p>In the old days Ilyinka was a shopping street, then the street of banks, insurance companies, business offices, and in Soviet times it was the street that housed the state and party institutions.<\/p>\n<h2>Varvarka<\/h2>\n<p>Named for being the Church of St. Varvara (Barbara).Varvarka was the street of cathedrals, Here is preserved the old Guest House, where previously stayed travelers, merchants and diplomats.<\/p>\n<p>In the XV-XVII centuries English ambassador&#8217;s house on Varvarka street was the residence of the British trading company Moscow.\u00a0Varvarka led\u00a0to the ancient city of Vladimir. Prince Dmitry Donskoy was riding along this street when returning from the Battle of Kulikovo (1380).<\/p>\n<p>Varvarka street was mainly for\u00a0nobles, as evidenced by the museum the House of Romanov boyars. At the same time it was a shopping area, where settled the\u00a0poor,and people from all over Moscow came here to buy or sell\u00a0something.<\/p>\n<p>Velikaya (Great street,\u00a0now non-existent)<\/p>\n<p>Great street was the first street in Moscow, and the oldest. It ran along the bank of the Moskva river to the Church of the Conception of St. Anne. Now this place is the hotel &#8220;Russia&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Moscow boulevards<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>White City &#8211; Boulevards of Moscow<\/h2>\n<p>In 1586-1593 years under Ivan the Terrible was\u00a0built the Stone Wall of the third defensive zone of Moscow. Part of the city between China Town and the new wall was called the White City.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the XVIII century under Catherine II the Stone Wall was dismantled and the area was laid out with\u00a0Boulevards. The Boulevard Ring was formed out of 10 streets-boulevards with a total length of more than 9 km.<\/p>\n<h2>Earthen city &#8211; Garden Ring<\/h2>\n<p>In 1592-1593 years the\u00a0fourth line of fortifications was built: a deep moat, a shaft and a wooden wall 17 km long, up to 5 meters high, with 34 towers and gates.<\/p>\n<p>Skorokhod was the so-called new city between the earthen rampart and White City. Then this part of the city became known as the Earthen city.<\/p>\n<p>After the war with Napoleon in 1812 the moat was filled with earth mound. Thus was formed a new street more than 60 m wide all around the city street. 20 meters were left for the road itself, and the rest area was\u00a0planted with gardens. The new street was named Sadovaya (Garden&#8217;s)\u00a0and was\u00a0divided into 20 separate streets and squares with the addition of &#8220;Sadovaya&#8221; to the main title: Sadovo-Kudrinskaya, Sadovo-Triumphalnaya, Sadovo-Spassky etc.<\/p>\n<p>The length of Modern Garden Ring is about 16 km.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2604\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2604\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-2604 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Moscow-Free-Tours.-Tverskaya-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Tverskaya street in Moscow\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Moscow-Free-Tours.-Tverskaya-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Moscow-Free-Tours.-Tverskaya.jpg 1504w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2604\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Our Friendly Local Guide on Tverskaya street<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>From the Kremlin to the Garden Ring<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Tverskaya street is the main street of Moscow<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/moscow-things-to-do-tverskaya-street\">Tverskaya\u00a0street<\/a> was first\u00a0mentioned in\u00a0XII century. The street was popular among the boyars and nobility. Under Ivan III, Tverskaya Street was locked for the night \u00a0from 1504 until 1750.<\/p>\n<p>There were boyars, including luxury mansions Matvey Gagarin, who was then governor of Siberia.<\/p>\n<p>In 1770, Tverskaya Street opened its doors to the famous grocery store Eliseevskiy.<\/p>\n<p>In 1790 the architect Domenico Gilardi created\u00a0the English club, which became the Museum of Revolution in the Soviet time.<\/p>\n<p>The first tram in the city ran on Tverskaya street in 1872.<\/p>\n<p>By the beginning of 1917 Tverskaya street was a rather narrow street. In the Soviet time, it was decided to expand and straighten the main street to get more room for tanks. A lot of buildings, especially churches were demolished, and some houses were\u00a0moved.<\/p>\n<h2><span lang=\"EN-US\">Kamergersky<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">lane <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">is quite small, only two hundred and fifty meters long. But this is one of the oldest places in Moscow. Every house here has a story to tell. This street has seen all famous writers, poets and composers starting from Golden Age of\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">Russian<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Vozdvizhenka<\/h2>\n<p>In XIII-XIV Vozdvizhenka street was the road leading from Moscow Kremlin\u00a0to\u00a0Veliky Novgorod. Now this Moscow street hosts\u00a0the largest library in Russia and the Russian Museum of Architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Vozdvizhenka smoothly changes to\u00a0<strong>Novy Arbat<\/strong> Street (New\u00a0Arbat), which was laid out\u00a0in 1963.<\/p>\n<h2>Arbat<\/h2>\n<p>In the XIV-XVI centuries the whole area from the Kremlin to the Garden Ring was called <strong>Arbat<\/strong>, present <a href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/things-to-do-in-moscow-arbat-street\">Old Arbat<\/a>. The word &#8220;Arbat&#8221; is Arabic and it means &#8220;the suburbs&#8221;. During the Napoleon invasion\u00a0Arbat burnt to ashes. Now Old Arbat is\u00a0a pedestrian street of Moscow. Arbat street was first mentioned 540 years ago, and it&#8217;s considered one of the oldest streets of Moscow.<\/p>\n<h2>Other popular Moscow streets<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Theatre Square<\/strong> is the central square of Moscow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kuznetsky Bridge<\/strong> street is called after the\u00a0bridge over the river Neglinka in the XV century. In old times it\u00a0was a large village where lived\u00a0blacksmiths.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sretenka<\/strong> got its name from the Sretensky Monastery. Street goes to the Sukharev Square.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Myasnitskaya<\/strong>\u00a0Street (Butchers&#8217; street) was settled with butchers\u00a0in the XVI century.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maroseyka<\/strong> was named after the Malorossiysky farmstead where stayed the guests from\u00a0Ukraine.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Solyanka street\u00a0<\/strong>(Salty) was the royal Salt yard\u00a0in XVII-XVIII centuries.<\/li>\n<li><strong> Volhonka<\/strong> street was named after\u00a0famous Prince Volkhonsky.\u00a0In 1838-1882 at the end of the street was built Christ the Savior Cathedral &#8211; a symbol of the great feat of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812.\u00a0In 1898-1912 was built the present\u00a0Museum of Fine Arts named after Pushkin. It contains a collection of sculpture, painting, ceramics of different eras and nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>&#8220;THE MOST&#8221; streets of Moscow<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The most beautiful streets <\/strong>are Arbat, Nikolskaya and Kamergersy lane. The world class views and instagrammable photo ops.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The biggest area<\/strong> of Moscow is Red Square (75,000 m2).<\/li>\n<li><strong>The oldest square<\/strong> is Cathedral Square in Kremlin (XIV c). Give into the call of history!<\/li>\n<li><strong>The widest street\u00a0<\/strong>in whole Russia\u00a0is the Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow. Its width varies from 108 to 120 meters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The longest circular street<\/strong> of Moscow is a Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), with\u00a0the length of 109 kilometers. And <strong>the longest straight street<\/strong> is Warsaw highway (21 km long).<\/li>\n<li><strong>The shortest street<\/strong> in Moscow is\u00a0Venetsianov street\u00a0(48 meters long).\u00a0The street has only\u00a0two houses: #3 and #4. This is a relatively young street that was laid out\u00a0in 1920. The street is called after\u00a0Venetsianov, a Russian painter.<\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><strong>The widest street<\/strong> in Moscow today is\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">Leninsky\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">Prospekt. Behold the majesty of Leninsky Prospekt &#8211; in some places it reaches 120 metres wide! The grandmother of Tsar Ivan III bought this area in XV century.\u00a0This Moscow street was a winters of numerous wars. After defeating the Crimeans here was erected the Donskoy Monastery, Neskuchnyi garden (Not Boring garden) and the Sparrow Hills. After a fire in 1812 in Moscow, 75% of homes were destroyed. Pyatnitskaya street preserved\u00a0only\u00a05 houses, Leninsky Prospekt was luckier, it preserved 300 houses of that time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_1445\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1445\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1445 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMAG5985-1-1024x612.jpg\" alt=\"Moscow historical downtown \" width=\"1024\" height=\"612\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Things to do: Moscow Streets. Kamergersky lane<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><strong>What Moscow streets do you want to see?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are more than 3,500\u00a0streets, lanes and highways in Moscow. But what\u00a0is the oldest\u00a0street? The longest?\u00a0The most beautiful? Moscow streets are among the most beautiful not only in Russia, but \u2026<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/things-to-do-moscow-streets\">Continue<i class=\"icon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1266,705,1269,1259,1262,1255,1260,942,1254,1263,1267,1258,928,1256,1257,1261,1265,1105,1268,1264],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6369,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions\/6369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendlylocalguides.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}