Monument to Krylov on the Patriarch's Ponds history. Many Russian celebrities were self-taught

Of course, there were several Patriarch's Ponds. To be more precise, three. Their story is interesting, although there is nothing unusual in it. At first there were swamps here. Unpleasant, impassable jungle, considered the distant outskirts. Almost no one wandered here, although very close by was an important agricultural facility - the Goat Yard, so noble that the wool from it went not just anywhere, but straight to the yard. Today it’s hard to believe, but the Goat Swamp, which later became ponds, existed here right up until the 17th century.

During the hard years of the Time of Troubles, this land was chosen by Patriarch Hermogenes, an amazing person in his own way. Today he is known to the Orthodox majority only as one of the great host of Russian saints, and few people know that Hermogenes was also a well-known public figure who seriously influenced the lives of the simple and not so common people. He became the Moscow Patriarch in 1606, when he was already over 70. This historical character will probably appeal to both patriots and liberals. The first - because he called for fighting the Poles by all means, driving them out of the Kremlin, the second - because, it seems, almost for the first time in the history of the kingdom, he proposed holding elections and placing on the throne the one for whom the people would vote! There was also a moment in his life when he almost agreed to recognize the Pole as tsar, however, only on the condition of his baptism and the withdrawal of troops from Moscow, but Vladislav Sigismundovich refused such an offer. As a result, shortly before the expulsion of the Poles from the Kremlin, Hermogenes died in prison from hunger. It is believed that even from the dungeons the Patriarch sent messengers throughout the country to incite the Russian people to revolt. Here's the story.

So, when he was Patriarch of Moscow, Hermogenes looked at these not very beautiful places and founded the Patriarchal Sloboda here. It constantly expanded and grew richer, and one day the rulers of thoughts came up with the idea of ​​​​breeding fish for the table of spiritual persons. So they made three ponds from the Goat Swamp. You may know that Trekhprudny Lane is now located nearby, which was named in honor of these three fishing reservoirs. There are famous objects on Trekhprudny cultural heritage- The building of the Levenson Quick Printing Association, the apartment buildings of A. A. Volotskaya (the Praktika and Teatr.doc theaters found shelter here), as well as several other historical buildings, including the house whose architect was D. D. Bulgakov.

The Patriarch's Ponds are in many ways the center of the entire architectural picture of the area, although only one pond remains of them - the rest were filled in. After the Patriarchate was abolished, Sloboda also disappeared, the area in Once again became swampy and the cause of all the troubles was the former fishing ponds. Today, in their place there are already buildings built from different times. Most of houses were built at the beginning of the twentieth century. For example, in 1912, one house here was designed and built by the brilliant neoclassicist Ivan Vladislavovich Zholtovsky. By the way, being a famous modernist, he became one of the first architects to begin work on panel houses. By the time Tarasov’s mansion was built, the maestro was already an academician and a respected theorist and practitioner of architecture.

Were the Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow the main vacation spot? The truth is, no. They were originally located on the outskirts, at first they were private estates, and then - a place for members of high society and party workers to walk. It is worth noting that in 1924 they were renamed Pioneer Ponds, but the new name was not popular. In general, innovations in these places are rarely greeted with joy. In 1976, a monument to Krylov was erected. But the local residents did not want to see the ensemble in honor of the heroes The Master and Margarita. Their protests were heard, the only thing reminiscent of Bulgakov here is a sign warning that you should not talk to strangers. Well, protest is a good thing. But no protest could save the Patriarch from the construction of a huge and, in my opinion, ugly residential complex. The pseudo-classical giant now towers over the pond, it can be seen from anywhere, and besides the status of the most expensive living space in Moscow, it does not possess any other advantages.

Monuments of the Patriarch's Ponds

Today, several monuments can be found on the banks of the pond. The largest is “Krylov’s Fables”: twelve panels, worn out in places for good luck, and the fabulist himself, looking contentedly at his heritage. The foolish lovers stuck locks wherever they could for good luck, so the authenticity of the monument suffered greatly. But still, this place is very loved by both foreigners and locals. In general, Krylov lived in St. Petersburg and left it extremely rarely, so one can only be surprised at such a huge monument, given the absence of any monument to the main popularizer of the Patriarch's Ponds among the people - Mikhail Bulgakov. But there really is no monument.

Back in 1999, a competition was held for best project monument, but it was rejected by local residents. Looking at the mountains of garbage that appear even despite the efforts of the janitors, and the marginal audience that fills the small park, one can only regret that the citizens refused to build the monument. Look, it would be cleaner. But the expensive and pretentious Pavilion, a restaurant in the building of the same name with stucco and the remains of the first pavilion of 1938, looks completely out of place here. And this foreignness of him is perfectly emphasized by the ugliness that sometimes happens around him.

The last exhibit at the Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow is a sign. A small, funny pseudo-car sign that says “No Talking to Strangers.” The only hint of The Master and Margarita. How many great people were not mentioned at all? The patriarchs are connected with Tsvetaeva, who was born nearby, Dmitriev, Mayakovsky. This area was a refuge for writers and poets. Mayakovsky lived nearby, Blok stayed nearby... If a monument is erected to each famous inhabitant of the area, the park will have to be expanded at the expense of the already narrow roadway.

In general, if you are interested in the spirit of old Moscow, come here. He still remains here.

“One day in the spring, at an hour of unprecedentedly hot sunset, two citizens appeared in Moscow, on the Patriarch’s Ponds.
... Finding themselves in the shade of slightly green linden trees, the writers first rushed to the colorfully painted booth with the inscription “Beer and water.”
Yes, the first strangeness of this terrible May evening should be noted.

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Not only at the booth, but in the entire alley parallel to Malaya Bronnaya Street, there was not a single person. At that hour, when, it seemed, there was no strength to breathe, when the sun, having heated Moscow, fell somewhere beyond in a dry fog. Garden Ring road, - no one came under the linden trees, no one sat on the bench, the alley was empty."

M. Bulgakov. "Master and Margarita"

Who among us does not know these immortal lines? Who among the admirers of the great writer’s talent has not dreamed of taking a walk in such mystical place, like , and find something unusual here. Why is mysticism and riddles so attractive in general? Mysticism is an attempt to understand oneself and surrounding life, find answers to your questions. Finally, this eternal human craving for fairy tales and belief in miracles. Only life and art often run parallel, without intersecting. And expectations don't always come true.
What are Patriarch's Ponds? What are they? Did I find something special, supernatural here? I will tell you about this today. And I'll show you if possible...

So, the events are almost a century later than those described in the novel...

Saturday, June 8 this year p.m. We are at the Patriarch's Ponds. We are the little girl Sophie and her parents. A hot summer day unexpectedly gathered under huge ancient linden trees. a large number of himself different people... Thus began our acquaintance with the Patriarch's Ponds.

When Sophie entered the park, the first thing she did was rush to the children's playground. We obediently followed her.

Need to say, playground for children on the Patriarch's is chic: large, safe and very well thought out. Sophie lingered on the set...

Seeing the futility of trying to get her out of the slides, I went to get to know this legendary place a little. Nowadays, Patriarch's Ponds are a public garden, a green paradise for relaxation in a noisy metropolis. And nothing else. Therefore, the resulting disappointments cover many who, driven by thoughts of Bulgakov’s novel, come for some special attractions. Almost nothing remarkable...

As I already wrote, when we came here, we found quite a large number of people. And they sat so simply and naturally that it seemed as if they had been sitting like this all the time for a long time. We were tourists, strangers, and they were our own, family, local...

Almost all the benches along the perimeter of the pond and on the playground were occupied by those who had not left the city for the weekend. There are a lot of foreigners with children and just grandparents walking their grandchildren. There are also many people sitting on the shore of the pond itself, just looking at the surface of the water, taking a break from the bustle of Moscow. You won’t see this here, although the pond is larger in size and there are more beautiful waterfowl. Do you know why this is so? Because for polluted Moscow, such a park is a green oasis, a rare place where you can walk with children, run in the morning and generally have a pleasant time take a walk . And no mysticism. Life in one of the Moscow districts.

By the way, I was not mistaken when I wrote “pond”. In fact, there is only one pond. It is located in the center of a small square, and is surrounded on four sides by linden alleys. The alleys are crowded with benches.

Krylov on the Patriarch's Ponds

Surprisingly, there are not many attractions on the Patriarch's. One of them - standing nearby with a children's playground, a monument to the fabulist Krylov - large, cozy, conducive to relaxation. In the early 1950s, on the site of this monument stood another - a monument to Alexei Tolstoy (now located near the Church of the Holy Ascension on Nikitskaya).

Next to the monument to Krylov there are very funny steles with bas-reliefs on the themes of A. Krylov’s fables (sculptor Mitlyansky). The steles are nice, made with humor. Tourists are always hovering around them. People who take pictures with a monkey, an elephant or a crocodile are immediately recognizable as strangers. It’s rare that a visitor comes here just to take a walk with his child. And tourists don’t sit on benches; they run along the boulevard past a few attractions in search of the mystery that so attracts Patriarch’s Ponds.

Patriarchal. Landscapes and lyrics

The city of St. Petersburg was established in 1855, eleven years after the death of the great Russian fabulist. It is installed in front of the Tea House, and it should be noted that this place was not chosen right away. At first they wanted to place the sculptural composition near Public library - last place the writer’s work, then next to the university building on Vasilyevsky Island in the Northern Capital. The option of placing the monument in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Krylov’s burial place) was also considered. But, in the end, it was decided to place the sculptural group in Summer Garden, where the fabulist loved to walk and probably think about the plots of his works.

Many Russian celebrities were self-taught

The famous writer, journalist, academician, Ivan Andreevich Krylov, monuments to whom can now be found not only in the Northern capital, was born into the family of a retired military man in 1769. His life path began in the Urals and Tver, where the family lived more than poorly. It is interesting that the great Russian writer never received an education. my knowledge of two foreign languages, literature and mathematics, the most enlightened man of his time was obliged to self-education and work from an early age as a sub-office clerk.

Monument to an accomplished man

Monuments to Ivan Krylov, whose works were published abroad (in Paris) during his lifetime, reflect an aged man. After all, it is in mature years fame and prosperity came to the writer. In his youth, he worked as a minor official, after moving to St. Petersburg. At the age of fourteen he wrote the libretto for the opera “The Coffee House”, dedicated to the morals of small people. provincial officials, whom the writer knew very well in his own own life. Closer to his thirtieth birthday, he releases several comedies, which, however, are not successful, and publishes a magazine in which he exposes the vices of civil servants (“Spirit Mail”).

The Russian rulers were unhappy with him

In 1792, Ivan Andreevich Krylov, whose monuments were erected in Moscow, Tver, Novosibirsk, began to study so successfully that Empress Catherine the Second herself paid attention to him, which led to the journalist moving from St. Petersburg to Riga and Moscow due to the dissatisfaction of the former persons of the state. Over the next 10 years, Krylov moved away from journalistic practice and traveled a lot, visiting Ukraine, Tambov, Saratov and other cities.

After the death of the Empress, I. Krylov became the secretary of Prince Golitsyn and the teacher of his children, wrote comedies, including anti-government ones (“Subtype, or Triumph”), translated La Fontaine’s fables and wrote his own own works this genre. And by 1808, seventeen fables had already been published, including the famous “The Elephant and the Pug.”

The writer created and translated about 200 fables

The monument to Krylov in the Summer Garden, made by P. Klodt, has a granite cube as a base, on which bas-reliefs are made with the plots of the writer’s most famous fables, where the fable was a work in verse or prose, which contains some kind of moral teaching (at the beginning or end). In this genre, Krylov’s talent was expressed especially clearly. In total, he composed and translated about 200 fables, among which at first the motives of translations from French prevailed, and then unique plots appeared that reflected the realities Russian life that time.

The monument to Krylov's fables and their creator was made with donations from fans of his work. Admirers of his talent helped the writer in publishing his works. Beginning in 1809, Krylov published nine books containing the above two hundred fables. And in 1825, Count Orlov published at his own expense in the French capital two volumes of the fabulist’s works in Italian, Russian and French. In recent years, he received the position of state councilor, a good boarding house in the amount of six thousand rubles and led a rather unsociable life, having a reputation as an eccentric, which allowed him to engage in creativity without interference.

Zoo at the home of the sculptor Klodt

The monument to Krylov in the Summer Garden makes it possible to get acquainted with the plots of thirty-six of his fables. It is known that he was a very meticulous person and master. Therefore, so that the characters literary works turned out to be as realistic as possible, he painted himself live animals, which were located both in the yard and right in the sculptor’s house. There were cats, dogs, donkeys, horses, a crane, a frog and even a wolf, a bear and a bear cub. Klodt heroically tolerated such a neighborhood, with the exception of the goat, with whom he did not want to be under the same roof, perhaps because of the smell. This “model” was brought to him by a woman who lived nearby. Moreover, as the legend says, the goat in every possible way refused to go to where the predators were and pose as a model.

Contemporaries about the St. Petersburg monument

Where the monument to Krylov is located in St. Petersburg, many of his contemporaries visited, who left reviews about the monument, sometimes original. For example, a guidebook of that time stated that the writer was depicted “truthfully.” The poet Maikov wrote poems about the sculptural composition, in which he points out that the fabulist embodied in metal looks like a grandfather telling people and children who came to him about the stupidities and oddities of animals. The satirist P. Schumacher quipped that the monument to Krylov in the Summer Garden depicts how the writer “from a granite height” looks at frolicking children and thinks: “Oh, dear guys, what kind of brutes you will be when you grow up.” Taras Shevchenko did not like the sculptor’s idea at all, and he considered the monument intended for children, but not for adults. However, this sculptural composition has been standing in the Summer Garden for almost 160 years, always delighting visitors.

Where was the monument to grandfather Krylov erected in Moscow? Most famous monument, visited by tourists, is, of course, located on the Patriarch's Ponds. However, original monuments to the writer can be found in ordinary Moscow courtyards. More recently, in 2013, Andrey Aseryants, a sculptor, completed two compositions based on the legendary “Elephant and Pug” and “Fox and Crow”. In the Kolomenskoye district, in the courtyard of a house on Sudostroitelnaya Street, you can see a fairly large elephant, followed by a small Moska, and a crow sitting on a pole with some cheese that has not yet been lost and a fox waiting below. In addition, here you can find sculptural compositions of a typewriter and a sheet of paper with a feather and inkwell.

The author and heroes of his works on the Patriarchal

The monument to Krylov was erected significantly earlier than the figures on Sudostroitelnaya Street. Architect Chaltykyan and sculptors Mitlyansky and Drevin worked on its creation. The composition was installed in 1976 and represents a fabulist sitting imposingly in an armchair, with the heroes of his works located at a distance from him. Here you can find an elephant receding into space and a polished Moska, a duet between Pava and Crow, to which the newlyweds periodically manage to attach a padlock, indicating their marriage. The nose and ears of the wolf from the fable “The Wolf and the Lamb” are popular, while the lamb is almost completely worn. Visitors again love to rub the nose of the fox from the fable, and the crow’s cheese, polished by the hands of numerous passers-by, shines gold.

The monument to Krylov on the Patriarch's Street reflects an older man, casually dressed. It is believed that the sculptors accurately noticed the great writer’s lifetime habit of not being too interested in the world around him, with the exception of gastronomic pleasures. According to his contemporaries, Ivan Andreevich really loved to eat. And, perhaps, he looked in the mirror infrequently, unlike his heroine - Monkey, who is also represented at the Patriarchal with her reflection.

Part of the composition may be present in the surroundings of the sculpture

Perhaps the sculptors of the figures from the fables on the Patriarch's, just like Master Klodt once did, did not really like goats, since in the composition, dedicated to the work“Quartet”, the monkey, bear and donkey are highlighted, while the horned character is only “drawn” on the metal sheet. A separate “stele” is dedicated to the relationship of the famous couple from the fable “The Cuckoo and the Rooster.” Here we can see a rooster in a bow tie and a girlfriend admiring him. But the sparrow, which uttered words about mutual boasting, is not visible in the composition. Maybe it is in the flocks of sparrows that fly back and forth in the park near the ponds.

A pig spoiling a tree and a monkey with glasses and locks

Among the numerous green spaces, there is also one metallic one - this is an oak tree, the roots of which are being undermined by a well-fed pig from the work “The Pig under the Oak”. According to the text, this tree is one hundred years old, while among the vegetation around there may be older specimens, since the square on the former estate of Patriarch Herman was laid out at the beginning of the nineteenth century. And there are numerous monkeys in it, including one that had vision problems, but at the same time did not know how to handle glasses, on the arms of which the newlyweds also like to attach locks on the monument.

Tourists did not find mystics near the monument to Krylov

It is not known whether there are real nightingales in the park, but the long-eared “critic” from the fable “The Donkey and the Nightingale” comfortably perched in a chair with a staff on one of the parts of the sculptural composition. There are plenty of birds in this green area, so there are many objects for possible criticism. The monument to Krylov on the Patriarch's Ponds is located in a mystical place. Here the events from Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” developed. The alley where Berlioz met is very close. But tourists who have been here note that they don’t notice anything mysterious these days. Just a square where grandmothers and children walk, Russian tourists and, of course, foreigners. Today the park has a fairly large modern playground and there are no stalls with the inscription “Beer and Water”, as in Bulgakov’s work.

To know and remember

Monuments to Krylov in different cities(Tver, Novosibirsk) were installed in Soviet time and in history modern Russia. In particular, the Tver sculptural composition was opened on the occasion of the centenary of the master’s death in 1959 on the street of the same name in this city (the anniversary date fell on the war year of 1944). Here the fabulist is depicted in a pensive pose, standing on an almost three-meter pedestal (the figure itself is four meters tall), in the middle of the streets where he spent his youth. In 2010, in the science city of Novosibirsk, which the fabulist had never visited, a rather youthful-looking bust of him was installed. It is also located on the street of the same name so that people remember the one who, according to N. Gogol, embodied the wisdom of the people themselves.

Ivan Andreevich spent most of his life in St. Petersburg, but Moscow became the place of his birth. The fabulist was born on February 14, 1769, his childhood was spent in Tver, and then young Krylov and his mother moved to northern capital.

These days, the famous fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov sits imposingly on the Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow. The writer is surrounded by the heroes of his fables - members of the Krylov quartet, a monkey who tried on glasses, a fox who lusted after crow cheese, an elephant and Moska, disagreements between a swan, a crayfish and a pike.

This sculptural composition, in the center of which there is a granite pedestal with a bronze figure of the writer, is located on Malaya Bronnaya Street near the Patriarch's Ponds, or rather, near the only surviving one of them. The ponds were filled in back in the 19th century, one of them was abandoned, and the area around it was landscaped and turned into a public garden.

In 1976, a monument to the fabulist was erected on the shore of the pond, created by sculptors Andrei Drevin, Daniel Mitlyansky and architect Armen Chaltykyan. The bronze image of Ivan Krylov has portrait likeness with his usual appearance - the writer is depicted as a good-natured person, casually dressed, a little phlegmatic and even lazy. However, it was impossible to call such a writer: Ivan Andreevich served in the Cabinet of Her Majesty, and was under his care after the death of his mother. brother, Krylov also published satirical magazines and tried his hand at writing dramatic works. However, the greatest fame among Krylov’s descendants was brought to him by his fables, which, even during the author’s lifetime, were “disassembled” into quotations by his contemporaries.

“Having his tail raised like a sword, Behemoth delivers the speech from the throne,
And Bronnaya bowed against the wall under the heel of Satan” (Vadim Egorov)

Once upon a time, this place was the location of the Goat Swamp (from which the Bolshoi and Maly Kozikhinsky lanes got their name). According to one version, this swamp was called the Goat Swamp from the nearby Goat Yard, from which wool was sent to the royal and patriarchal courts. The Chertory stream flowed from the Goat Swamp.

IN early XVII century, Patriarch Hermogenes chose this place for his residence and the Patriarchal Sloboda appeared on the site of the swamp. In 1683-1684, Patriarch Joachim ordered the digging of three ponds to drain the swamps and breed fish for the patriarchal table. Such ponds - fish cages - were dug in different parts cities.

On Presnya, in the Presnensky ponds, expensive varieties of fish were bred, on the Goat Swamp - cheaper varieties, for daily use. With the decline of the Patriarchal Settlement, associated with the abolition of the patriarchate, the ponds were abandoned and the area became swampy again. And only in the first half of the 19th century they were buried, leaving a single decorative pond, and a park was laid out around it.

In 1976, a monument to Ivan Andreevich Krylov by sculptors A. A. Drevin and D. Yu. Mitlyansky was erected on the Patriarch's Ponds. The fabulist sits surrounded by the animated heroes of his works.

In 1945, a residential building for senior military leaders of the USSR was built on Ermolaevsky Lane according to the design of architects M. M. Dzisko and N. I. Gaigarov (workshop of I. V. Zholtovsky), currently known as the “House with Lions”.

As we remember, at this very place Berlioz’s head was cut off by a tram. However tram tracks has never been here. The tram closest to the Patriarch's Ponds ran along Sadovaya Street.

In 2002, on the Patriarch's Ponds at the intersection of Malaya Bronnaya Street and Ermolaevsky Lane, an elite residential building "Patriarch" with 28 apartments was built according to the design of the architect S. Tkachenko.

According to the architect and architectural historian V.Z. Paperny, the Patriarch house is one of the worst examples of “Luzhkov architecture” in Moscow.

Painters Vasily Surikov and Vasily Polenov photographed their studios near the ponds. Not far from the Patriarchs lived: Vladimir Mayakovsky, Lyudmila Gurchenko.

The Shekhtel Mansion in Ermolaevsky Lane is the house of the architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel in Moscow at Ermolaevsky Lane, building 28, building 1.

Cultural heritage site federal significance. Currently, the mansion houses the Embassy of the Republic of Uruguay.

Mansion of Zinaida Morozova - luxury mansion wife of Savva Morozov, Zinaida Grigorievna, built according to the design of Fyodor Shekhtel in Moscow at Spiridonovka, 17. Subsequently belonged to the Ryabushinskys.

The mansion was built in 1893-1898 by the wealthy industrialist and philanthropist Savva Morozov for his wife Zinaida on the site where in 1815 A. L. Vitberg built a house for the poet I. I. Dmitriev. Then the Aksakovs lived here until Morozov acquired it in 1893.

You can see sculptures of gargoyles on the building. According to legend, before a war or revolution, these gargoyles emit a loud, hoarse howl at night.

Now here is the reception house of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Another building of F. Shekhtel on Patriarch's is Vspolny Lane. 9 - mansion of I. I. Mindovskaya. In 1919, the Supreme Revolutionary Tribunal was located here; in the 20s and 30s, the chairman of the tribunal, People's Commissar of Justice of the USSR N.V. Krylenko, a prosecutor at Stalin's trials, lived here. Nowadays one of the offices of the Indian Embassy in Russia is located here.

Malaya Nikitskaya 28/1 - mansion of S. A. Tarasov (1884, architect V. N. Karneev), now the Tunisian Embassy. L.P. Beria lived in the mansion, which is why among Muscovites this house is called “Beria’s House”. This house has a very bad reputation, and at night local residents try to avoid it.

In 1999, on the initiative of the head of the Spasskie Vorota insurance company, Boris Khait, a competition was held to design a monument to Mikhail Bulgakov on the Patriarch's Ponds.

Out of 28 options, the design of sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov was chosen. The sculptor proposed not just to erect a monument to the writer, but to create a whole sculptural ensemble around it, consisting of Bulgakov sitting on the shore of a pond, Yeshua Ha-Notsri walking on the water, and a 12-meter bronze primus-fountain.

In addition, Rukavishnikov planned to place other heroes on the shore of the pond famous novel- the cat Behemoth, Azazello, Koroviev, Pontius Pilate, Master and Margarita.

However numerous protests from the outside local residents and cultural figures forced the sculptor and the Moscow authorities to abandon the idea of ​​​​installing a monument.

But Rukavishnikov managed to do something. On Sadovoy, near the Kursky station, we can see a car with a rook driver, in which Margarita flew to the ball, and the Master and Margarita hugging, who, according to the author’s idea, are soaring in the air.