Old Square 2 entrance 1a. Old Square

Old Square– an area in the Tverskoy district of the Central Administrative District of Moscow. Located between Ilyinsky Gate Square and Varvarsky Gate Square.

Old Square in Moscow - history, name

The area became isolated in the 1820s. as part of New Square.

Houses on Old Square

Old Square, 2/14. Merchant Bank House . Ilyinka, 14/2.

Old Square, 4. Titov Trading House . The monumental six-story building was built by V.V. Sherwood in 1912-1915. for the trading house of the hereditary honorary citizen Ivan Sergeevich Titov. Restored in 1930-1940. Previously, it housed the Central Committee of the CPSU. Now Old Square, 4 is the address of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

Old Square, 6. Armand Trading House . The building was built by Sherwood in 1912-1915. for the Armand trading house. In 1941 it was reconstructed by Vlasov.

Old Square, 8. Hotel "Boyarsky Dvor" . The five-story house on the hill was built in 1901-1903. Shekhtel with the participation of Galetsky. The customers were the Moscow Fire Insurance Company and the Morozov Bogorodsko-Glukhovskaya Manufactory. The first three floors of the building, which were covered by the Kitay-Gorod wall, are practically devoid of decoration. They were intended for retail premises and offices. The fourth and fifth floors, peeking out from behind the massive wall, were stylized as an ancient fortress. They were occupied by the Boyarsky Dvor Hotel. During Soviet times, the building housed the Central Committee of the CPSU. Now the building is occupied by the Office of the President of the Russian Federation.

The Old Square is, in fact, not a square at all, but a pedestrian street running from Varvarka to the Ilyinsky Gate Square, and a hillside overgrown with trees, a green strip that arose where the Kitai-Gorod wall once stood. Actually, Old Square was originally a passage along the wall, on its inner side (the passage on the outside was called Kitaygorodsky). After the demolition of the Kitay-Gorod wall in the early 1930s, the relief of this area began to be clearly visible - the Old Square lies above Kitay-Gorodsky Proezd and Ilyinsky Square, and the closer to the Moskva River embankment, the more the relief decreases.

The Kitai-Gorod wall was erected in the 1530s under the leadership of the Italian architect Petroc the Small and was considered one of the best fortifications of its era. For a long time, the construction of Kitay-Gorod was adjacent almost closely to the wall, but after the fire of 1812 destroyed most of the buildings, it became possible to build new wide passages along the wall. The passage from Varvarskie to Ilyinskie Gates was called Old Square, and from Ilinskie to Vladimirskie (Nikolskie) Gates - New Square. The construction of the newly formed “squares” took place, accordingly, only on one (even) side, since the Kitai-Gorod wall was located on the other. Until the end of the 19th century, there was a flea market on Old Square (as well as on New Square), where they traded a wide variety of goods, mainly clothes, shoes and small utensils.

The current development of Old Square took shape mainly in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The largest and most representative building on the square is the apartment building of the Moscow Fire Insurance Company (house No. 8), built in 1901-1903 according to the design of the architect F.O. Shekhtel. The first three floors of the house were intended for renting out as offices and shops, and the upper two floors were occupied by a fashionable hotel. The interior design of the trading floors, and especially the hotel premises, was made in the Art Nouveau style and was distinguished by sophistication and sophistication.

The house located on the corner with Ilyinka (house No. 2/14) is an apartment building of the Moscow Merchant Bank, based on a post-fire building with shops, designed by the architect O.I. Beauvais. In the early 1890s, the building was rebuilt according to the design of the architect B.V. Freudenberg, various offices and shops were also located here, among other things, the board and warehouse of the Danilovskaya Manufactory Partnership.

The neighboring house (No. 4) is the building of the V.I. Titov Trading House, built by the architect V.V. Sherwood in 1912-1915. Before the revolution, furnished rooms “Ilyinsky Compound” were also located here. The building was seriously damaged in 1941, during one of the air raids on Moscow, its facade was restored in simplified forms.

Simultaneously with the Titov Trading House, the same architect V.V. Sherwood built a house in the neighboring property (house No. 6) - the building of the E.A. Trading House. and E. Armand, owned by representatives of a famous family of merchants and industrialists, whose ancestors moved from France to Russia at the end of the 18th century. The Armands owned several weaving and dyeing factories (the largest factory is in the current city of Pushkino, Moscow region), and were actively involved in charity work (in particular, they donated a lot to the creation of the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow).

The last building in the series of buildings on Staraya Square (10/4) was built in 1898 according to the design of architect A.V. Ivanov for the Varvara House-Building Society; before the revolution, the “Novovarvarinsky Compound” hotel was located here.

On the corner with Varvarka there is a building built in the mid-18th century and rebuilt in the 20s of the 19th century. Fortunately, the church was not demolished during Soviet times - the temple was closed in the late 1920s, decapitated, and was used as housing, as well as for economic purposes. The temple is currently being restored and will soon be reopened to believers.

During the Soviet years, some of the houses on the square were occupied by CPSU bodies (the Central Committee of the Party was located in building 4), so the name “Old Square” became synonymous with the highest authority. It remains so to this day, since the buildings on the square are currently occupied by the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

Several years ago, a fence with two checkpoints was built along the pedestrian part of the square - according to the official version, for security purposes. Access to buildings on Old Square is currently limited.

In connection with repair and restoration work, visitors enter the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate, and exit through the Borovitsky Gate. Visitors enter and exit the Armory through the Borovitsky Gate.

From August 22 to September 1

Visitors will not exit through the Spassky Gate.

August 27 from 13:00

The Patriarchal Palace is closed to the public.

Admission to visitors to the Patriarchal Palace ends at 11:30.

From May 15 to September 30

The Moscow Kremlin museums switch to summer operating hours. The architectural ensemble is open to the public from 9:30 to 18:00. The Armory is open from 10:00 to 18:00. Tickets are sold at the box office from 9:00 to 17:00. Closed on Thursday. Electronic tickets are exchanged in accordance with the terms of the User Agreement.

From May 15 to September 30

The exhibition of the bell tower "Ivan the Great" is open to the public.

In order to ensure the safety of monuments in unfavorable weather conditions, access to some cathedral museums may be temporarily limited.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

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