Hermitage garden with trees in memory of the founders. Anniversary from a lantern or back to the future
October 24th, 2016
In July 1894, Moscow entrepreneur and philanthropist Yakov Shchukin acquired a site of a former mechanical plant, a vacant lot and carriage shops in Karetny Ryad, establishing the Hermitage Garden on this site. Previously, a pleasure garden with this name was marked on maps of the city in the Bozhedomka area. But its owner, entrepreneur M. Lentovsky, went bankrupt and the park - although it was a popular vacation spot for Muscovites - had to be closed. The fate of the garden with the borrowed name turned out to be happier. The official opening of the new Hermitage took place on June 18, 1895.
Yakov Shchukin in the Hermitage Garden. 1910: https://pastvu.com/p/35648
Yakov Shchukin tried to surprise Muscovites with unusual spectacles and he succeeded. On May 26, 1896, the first film show in the city took place in the garden, showing a ten-minute film by the Lumière brothers, “The Arrival of a Train.” New entertainment appeared in Russia five months after the very first film screening in Paris.
Through the efforts of Shchukin, an unprepossessing corner of Moscow was transformed into a blooming garden with shady alleys, flower beds, sculptures, gazebos and electric lighting. The proletarian revolution, although it brought dissonance into the measured life of the townspeople, did not get rid of the habit of walking in the garden. Even during the Great Patriotic War, the Hermitage was closed for only a short time.
During the Soviet period, new lanterns and small architectural forms were installed on the alleys, some of them can still be seen, but the sculptures remain only in old photographs. However, some things have been preserved even from Shchukin times.
1960: https://pastvu.com/p/112428
1964: https://pastvu.com/p/93746
1986: https://pastvu.com/p/170142
Scheme from the website http://www.mosgorsad.ru/ (2016)
Electric lantern for a lamp with an incandescent lamp (manufactured in 1913 at the Ekaterininsky plant in the Polish city of Sosnowitz). This lantern was restored in 2004.
Summer terrace. 1965: https://pastvu.com/p/35657 In the post-war years, visitors to the garden were attracted by the summer stage, where artists Arkady Raikin, Klavdia Shulzhenko, Lidiya Ruslanova performed, and the jazz orchestra of Leonid Utyosov played. The stage is still located in the same place; busts of composers Tchaikovsky and Glinka are installed here.
In 2000, busts of Dante Alighieri and Victor Hugo, donated to Moscow by the Italian government and the mayor's office of Paris, were installed in the alleys.
The composition “Monument to All Lovers”, made of metal pipes bent in the shape of a heart, appeared in 2006. Inside this monument there are bells that ring in the wind.
You can have a snack in several cafes and restaurants
The garden has always been famous for its theaters, on the stages of which Fyodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, Antonina Nezhdanova, Maria Ermolova, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, ballerina Anna Pavlova, European stars Sarah Bernhardt, Ernesto Rossi appeared. And now there are three theaters in the garden: “Hermitage”, “New Opera” and “Sphere”.
Theater "Hermitage". 1901-1903: https://pastvu.com/p/335361 The oldest building in the garden
On October 26, 1898, the Moscow Public Art Theater under the direction of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko (MKhAT) was opened at the Hermitage Theater with the premiere of the play “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.” The premieres of Anton Chekhov's plays “The Seagull” and “Uncle Vanya” took place on this stage.
Moscow Theater of Miniatures. 1979-1981: https://pastvu.com/p/86438
Scenes of the cult TV movie “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” were filmed in the garden. 1978: https://pastvu.com/p/467080 It’s a pity that Vladimir Vysotsky, for whom these places were native, was not included in the frame along with Vladimir Konkin. The poet and artist spent his youth here. Where are my seventeen years? - On Bolshoi Karetny...
In the first years of Soviet power, the building of the Hermitage Theater housed the MGSPS (Moscow City Council of Trade Unions) theater, which was later renamed the Mossovet Theater. In 1959, the Moscow Theater of Miniatures, founded by playwright and satirist Viktor Polyakov, moved into the building, and in 1987, artistic director Mikhail Levitin found a new name that was more consistent with its essence - “Hermitage”.
The theater’s credo is amusingly formulated on the official website http://ermitazh.theatre.ru/history/: “Today the garden - with its restaurants, attractions and other public events - is the center of the “culture and recreation” industry.” Unscrupulous people also include theaters among it. We don't like this approach; art, put on stream, dulls and corrupts. That is why the theater-house, formed by Levitin, does not forget the original meaning of the word “ermitage”: a hermit’s corner, a place of solitude. The inhabitants of our house (corner) are still closer to hermits than to mass entertainers. We do not “serve” idle spies, but we collect our viewers in order to retire with them in another reality.”
Alas, it is impossible to get into the Hermitage Theater in the Hermitage Garden due to the protracted reconstruction of the historical building. But theatrical life continues and performances are staged on other Moscow stages, in the 2016 season this is Novy Arbat, 11.
“King Lear” directed by Mikhail Levitin on the stage of the Pyotr Fomenko Workshop (2014). Starring Mikhail Filippov.
Mirror theater. 1910: https://pastvu.com/p/35652
In 1909, according to the design of the architect A. Novikov, the building of the summer theater was built, which later received the name “Mirror”. Opera performances of the Russian Private Opera by Savva Mamontov were staged here, where Sergei Rachmaninov made his debut as a conductor.
Mirror theater. 1981: https://pastvu.com/p/44234
The first game of intellectuals of the club “What? Where? When?". Well, then there was a period when nightclubs appeared in the Hermitage garden (there was a Penthouse in the Mirror), but over time opera parts were heard here again. On the site of the pre-revolutionary Mirror, a building was built for Yevgeny Kolobov’s New Opera, a theater founded in 1991. Among his productions, awarded with theater awards, are “Eugene Onegin”, “Rigoletto”, “Gianni Schicchi”, “Cat House”. In total, the New Opera repertoire includes more than seventy works of opera and concert genres.
How the housewarming party was prepared is described by the New Opera website http://www.novayaopera.ru/?page=history: “In 1991, by order of the Moscow Government, the building of the Mirror Theater came under the jurisdiction of the NEW OPERA, and from that time the second life of the famous theater in the Hermitage garden. The general contractor of the construction, the Austrian company Lennex, and Moscow builders quickly erected a modern opera house on the site of a dilapidated building. The chief architect of the project, V. Kotelnikov, found an opportunity to preserve the style of the original building and use individual elements of the Mirror Theater decoration in the design of the facade of the new building. The chandeliers and curtain are made according to the sketches of the People's Artist of Russia E. Kochergin. The project organizers did not limit themselves to the reconstruction of the architectural monument. The new theater building is a hall with 660 seats, equipped with modern lighting equipment and stage mechanics, which make it possible to stage performances with complex stage effects. It also has a cozy foyer and hall, rooms for artists, a modern recording studio, rehearsal rooms, a library, and administrative services.” The opening took place in 1997.
Larisa Dolina, Ekaterina Guseva, Lika Rulla and other artists at the “Musical Heart of the Theatre” award ceremony at the Novaya Opera
1905-1910: https://pastvu.com/p/369897 Construction of a “winter” theater with 4,000 seats will begin at this site, but it will remain unfinished. Either the authorities forbade Shchukin to erect such a cumbersome structure, or the outbreak of the First World War prevented him.
There are brick buildings around the Shchukin stage, one of which is occupied by the Moscow Drama Theater “Sphere”, created in 1981 by the decision of the USSR Ministry of Culture on the initiative of Ekaterina Elanskaya, who formulated the idea of the theater: “We reject the principle of a cube theater with a removed wall and peeping in - we affirm principle of the sphere of communication." At first, the theater was located in the recreation center of the Kauchuk plant on Plyushchikha, but already in 1984 the reconstruction of the auditorium of the theater building in the Hermitage garden was completed.
The theater hall is a circular amphitheater with a central stage and movable platforms inside it. The architect of the project was Natalya Golas, the main artist was Vladimir Soldatov.
Ekaterina Elanskaya created performances, bringing together actors from different theaters - Alexander Kalyagin, Georgy Taratorkin, Evgenia Simonova, Tatyana Doronina, Evgeny Kindinov, Mikhail Kozakov. Among her productions are “The Little Prince” by Saint-Exupery, “Theatrical Romance” by Bulgakov, “There, Away” by Shukshin, “Comedies” by Zoshchenko, “The Seagull” by Chekhov and others.
According to the official website of the theater http://www.spheratheatre.ru/, “Sphere’s performances left no one indifferent, causing heated debate among spectators and professional critics - they always seemed so extraordinary and unusual. After the passing of Ekaterina Elanskaya, the theater continues its work under the creative leadership of People's Artist of Russia Alexander Korshunov, who has set a course for continuing the work of Sphere, preserving the aesthetics and principles of this theater. The viewer does not lose interest in the Sphere theater - a theater of expressive, lively compositions, frantic dynamics, strong and vivid feelings."
http://www.yamoskva.com/node/13886
As a matter of fact, the Hermitage Garden was not always the way we are used to seeing it. It was even located in a different place: from 1830 until almost the end of the 19th century, it was located on Bozhedomka and was the first pleasure garden in Moscow with gazebos, flower beds, a theater, a stage, coffee houses and pavilions. It reached its greatest prosperity in the era when it belonged to the famous entrepreneur, former actor of the Maly Theater M. V. Lentovsky. K. S. Stanislavsky recalled the Hermitage Garden of that time: “What was there in this garden: boating on the pond and water fireworks of incredible richness and diversity with the battle of armadillos and their sinking, tightrope walking across the pond, water festivals with gondolas, illuminated boats, bathing nymphs in the pond, ballet on the shore and in the water. Processions of a military orchestra, choirs of gypsies, Russian songwriters. All of Moscow and foreigners visiting it visited the famous garden.”
However, Lentovsky went bankrupt, and the garden fell into disrepair, and later it was completely built up with houses, and nothing any longer reminded of the times when all this bygone splendor was located on the site of Samotechny Lanes.
Hermitage Garden. Century XIX. And so begins the history of the Hermitage garden in Karetny Ryad, born on the site of the former estate of merchant V.I. Olontsova. After several attempts to create a theater and garden here, undertaken by the Moscow Artistic Circle, merchant M.A. Lipsky, mechanical engineer K.V. Moshnin, the entire site came into the possession of the Moscow merchant Ya.V. Shchukin on July 16, 1894. This date is celebrated as the birthday of the Hermitage Garden.
In just a year, a boring wasteland turned into a blooming garden, flower beds and paths were laid out, trees and shrubs were planted, the theater building was reconstructed, and on June 18, 1895, the Hermitage officially opened. The Moscow public showed considerable interest in him - Shchukin's tenacity and enthusiasm aroused involuntary respect even from those who reproached him for his lack of subtlety of taste.
In the same year, electric lighting appeared in the Hermitage, running water was installed, and a swimming pool was installed. A year later, one of the first film shows in Russia took place here.
F. I. Shalyapin, A. V. Sobinov, A. V. Nezhdanova, S. V. sang on the stage of the Hermitage. Rachmaninov made his debut as a conductor, Sarah Brenard, Maria Ermolova, Vera Komissarzhevskaya played. In 1898, the Moscow Art Theater was opened in the building of the Hermitage Theater. The first performance was “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich”; it was here that the premieres of Chekhov’s plays took place. L.N. Tolstoy and V.I. Lenin visited the garden.
Shchukin constantly undertook the construction of new theater venues, in 1909 the summer “Mirror” theater was built, it was planned to open a unique winter theater with 4 thousand seats, but this plan was only partially destined to take place: the box, now called the Shchukin stage, is all that succeeded erect. Unfavorable circumstances generated by the First World War and the revolution led Shchukin to ruin.
After the revolution, the garden was first nationalized, then, during the NEP period, it was transferred to private rent. In 1924, the building of the Hermitage Theater housed the MGSPS (Moscow City Council of Trade Unions) theater, then it was renamed the Mossovet Theater, Yu. A. Zavadsky was appointed chief director. The Hermitage Garden continued to be a favorite vacation spot for Muscovites. And even global cataclysms could not change this.
During the war, the garden was closed for only a short time - from the autumn of 1941 to April 1942. Performances resumed in 1943. The artists who returned from evacuation rehearsed and played in an unheated building, but the Hermitage lived on.
In the summer of 1945, the garden was reconstructed, in 1948 a summer concert hall was built, where A. I. Raikin later performed, performances of the Puppet Theater took place, K. I. Shulzhenko and L. I. Ruslanova sang, and an orchestra conducted by L. O played. Utesova.
In the 50-60s. in the Hermitage garden they played chess, walked, read, listened to famous artists, and watched movies (in 1953 a screen for a summer cinema was installed). During the Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, one and a half million visitors visited the garden. V. S. Vysotsky, the duet R. Kartsev - V. Ilchenko, and foreign musical and theater groups performed here. The first play “What?” took place at the Mirror Theater. Where? When?".
On November 20, 1980, the building of the Hermitage cinema was transferred to the Theater of Miniatures under the direction of A.I., who came to Moscow. Raikina.
In 1991, the New Opera Theater was opened, today one of three theaters operating on the territory of the garden (Hermitage, Sphere).
For the 850th anniversary of Moscow, the garden was transformed, many historical buildings were restored.
The diversity of today's life is fully embodied in the kaleidoscope of bright events taking place on the territory of the Hermitage Garden. The traditions of holding spring exhibitions and fairs “In the World of Flowers” have been revived, festivals are held - jazz, ETNA, Latin American music, “Cup of Humor”, wine, beer and others. In 1997, the Tea Culture Club opened.
In 2004, the Hermitage Garden celebrated the 110th anniversary of its foundation. And although the garden is beautiful and simple in itself, every year writes a new page in its glorious history. It is nice here. This is the most Moscow vacation spot.
The Hermitage Garden (see photo below) is a monument of landscape gardening art. It is located in the very center of Moscow. Residents of the capital highly value this island of green nature, located among noisy courtyards and polluted streets. Here young mothers walk with strollers, lovers meet and married couples take a promenade.
Have you chosen Hermitage Park as your holiday destination? How to get there? It is worth keeping in mind that it is located near Karetny Ryad Street and the Chekhovskaya and Pushkinskaya metro stations.
History of appearance
Hermitage Park was the first pleasure garden in Moscow. It opened in 1830. In those ancient times, the garden was located not in its current location, but on Bozhedomka. Hermitage Park offered coffee shops and gazebos, pavilions and a theater to its visitors. It reached the peak of its popularity in those years when it was owned by the famous entrepreneur M.V. Lentovsky.
In the past he was an actor at the Maly Theater. Boat rides on the pond, water fireworks, processions of military bands and other entertainment events were held in the garden. Not only all Moscow residents came to the Hermitage Park to relax, but also foreigners visiting the capital.
After Lentovsky went bankrupt, this place gradually fell into disrepair. Somewhat later, the garden area was built up with houses.
The Hermitage Park received its rebirth in 1894, when the Moscow merchant Y.V. Shchukin bought the estate located in Karetny Ryad. In just a year, the neglected area turned into a blooming garden. Flowerbeds were laid out in the vacant lot, paths were laid and shrubs and trees were planted. A theater building also appeared in the garden.
Cultural events
On May 26, 1896, a significant event took place in Hermitage Park. On this day, a public cinema session took place here. Two years later, a theater was opened in the park, the directors of which were V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and K.S. Stanislavsky. On October 26, 1898, the premiere of the play they staged called “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” took place. On the same stage, the Moscow Public Art Theater performed such plays as “Uncle Vanya” and “The Seagull” by A.P. Chekhov.
Many celebrities have performed at the Hermitage Park Theater. Among them F.I. Shalyapin and S.V. Rachmaninov, Anna Pavlova and Ernesto Rossi and others.
“Hermitage” is the garden in which Shchukin built a summer structure, the Mirror Theater. In the future, it was planned to erect a new building. It was supposed to be a winter theater designed for a thousand spectators. However, the implementation of the plans was prevented by the First World War.
After the revolution of 1917, the Hermitage Park was nationalized. Somewhat later, during the NEP period, it was rented out privately.
In 1924, the building located in the Hermitage Park was given to the theater of the Moscow City Council of Trade Unions. Later it was renamed the Mossovet Theater.
War period
During the years of Soviet power, Hermitage Park was also one of the most popular places where residents of the capital could relax. In the fall of 1941 it was closed. The park resumed operations in April of the following year. In 1943, performances were staged here. For this purpose, the artists returned from evacuation to Moscow. The theater premises were not heated. However, this did not stop either the audience or the artists.
Post-war period
In the summer of 1945, the Hermitage Garden was reconstructed. In 1948, a summer concert hall was built on the territory of the park. Performances by K.I. took place on its stage. Shulzhenko, A.I. Raikina, L.I. Ruslanova. Here you could listen to the orchestra of L.O. Utesova.
In the fifties and sixties of the last century, Muscovites came to the Hermitage Garden to play chess, read, just take a walk and listen to performances by their favorite artists. A summer cinema was opened in the park in 1953. It immediately became a popular place among Muscovites and guests of the capital. A large number of people came to see the paintings displayed in the open air.
The popularity of the Hermitage Park Garden is demonstrated by statistics. So, in 1957, 1.5 million people visited this green corner in the capital. R. Kartsev and V.S. performed on the park stage. Vysotsky, foreign theater and musical groups. The mirror theater of the Hermitage garden was chosen as the place where the shooting of the first game “What? Where? When?". In 1980, the cinema was transferred to the Miniature Theater, whose director was A.I. Raikin.
Modern garden life
In the 1980s - 1990s, the Hermitage Park experienced a time of desolation. Fortunately, it has already passed. In 1991, the New Opera Theater opened for park guests. The Hermitage and Sphere theaters operate here. K was reconstructed. Restoration work affected many historical buildings.
The Hermitage Garden is currently a wonderful place to relax. During the day, young mothers with their babies love to walk here. Schoolchildren sometimes come running from neighboring yards. On warm summer days, non-professional dancers studying the art of classical dance perform directly on the garden paths or on the open stage.
As evening falls, Hermitage Park becomes the venue for various events. In the summer there are presentations and exhibitions, concerts of stars from abroad, as well as the International Jazz Festival. In winter, the park has a large ice skating rink.
There is a nightclub and a Tea Culture Club on the territory of the garden, as well as several restaurants.
New Opera Theater
In the 21st century, Hermitage Park experienced a great shock. There was a fire on its territory. As a result, part of the historical building, which was rented out to the Diaghilev club, was destroyed by fire. Otherwise, prosperous life continues in the garden; it remains, as before, one of the most favorite places of Muscovites. You can happily spend your entire free day here. First, just take a walk, admire a flower exhibition or dance with non-professional dancers on a summer outdoor area, and a little later have lunch in a restaurant and go watch a performance.
Today there are three theaters operating in the Hermitage Garden. One of them, the New Opera, is open in a rebuilt building. Previously, the Mirror Theater was located here. In 1997, a new building was built for the New Opera.
The theater gained popularity immediately after its opening. Thousands of spectators sought to get into it to listen to classical works in innovative productions. The most famous of them are “Eugene Onegin”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “La Traviata” and others. The productions, carried out by the first artistic director of the theater Evgeniy Kolobov, are still sold out.
The theater is known and loved far beyond the Russian capital. In recent years he has been awarded several very prestigious prizes. Their list includes the “Star of the Week” diploma, established by the German newspaper “Abendzeitung”, the Russian opera award “Casta Diva” and others. In addition, the theater became a member of the European opera community “Opera Europa”.
"Hermitage Museum"
This is another garden theater. It has been founded for decades. The Hermitage is valuable for theatergoers because plays created by writers of the 1920s are staged on its stage.
Among them are Nikolai Oleinikov and Yuri Olesha, Isaac Babel and Alexander Vvedensky.
Recently, performances by Latin American authors have been shown on the stage of this theater.
"Sphere"
This small, but at the same time unusual and very interesting theater in Hermitage Park is intended for mass audiences. It was created in 1981. Its openness is attractive to the public, because spectators in a small room, in the middle of which there is a stage, often become participants in ongoing performances.
Tea club
Moscow's Hermitage Park offers its visitors an unusual pastime. In the garden there is a unique club, which displays a whole collection of elite Chinese teas, as well as exquisite utensils for tea ceremonies.
You can also get acquainted with specialized literature in this club. Visitors to the establishment take off their shoes and outerwear, sitting directly on soft carpets in small, cozy rooms. Only after this does the tea ceremony begin, which takes place under the guidance of specialists who provide new knowledge about the usual drink.
Walking in the garden
A green corner in the very center of Moscow - Hermitage Park - welcomes its visitors with a cozy and well-groomed area. In summer there are fountains here. Poplars and oaks, maples and lindens grow throughout the park. Between the trees there are paths with benches installed along them. The planted bushes of roses, lilacs and honeysuckle are pleasing to the eye.
In 2000, two sculptures appeared on the alleys of the park. One of them was donated by the Paris City Hall. This is a bust of Victor Hugo. Its author is L. Marquest. The second sculpture is a gift from the Italian government. This is a figure by Dante Alighieri. Author - R. Piras. In 2004, after restoration, the first electric one, which was manufactured in 1880 at the Ekaterininsky plant, was relit in the garden.
Autumn is wonderful this year. The trees are still bursting with colors and only recently have their leaves begun to fall off. And a week ago, everything was just showing off in place.
And I found a new fun. Walking during lunch isn’t enough for me, now I sometimes go for walks in the mornings too :))) It’s just that the start of the working day was postponed for 10 o’clock, and no one even thought about postponing the start of school. In light of this, you still wake up as before, and the child goes to school as before, so now I have almost a whole hour of time in the morning. Fortunately, we now work in the center and there are so many places to walk. And how I enjoy this circumstance!
The weather was wonderful that week. And one morning I decided to take a walk to the Hermitage Garden. Many times we walked past it during our walks, but somehow never got inside.
On the way to the garden I looked at the decoration of all sorts of cafes
And this name, apparently, arose in light of the sanctions :)))
The bike rack is almost empty. It has become very popular to ride a bicycle to the office; every day I see office workers on bicycles from the bike rack
Just the day before I saw an interesting house here
And the interesting thing is the decoration. I've never seen houses decorated with bats
Walk quickly along the side streets to the Hermitage Garden. It's already on the horizon. But I had time and I decided to walk along Uspensky Lane, which is next to the garden and has just been restored.
We walked along this alley many times, but somehow I didn’t remember anything about it at all. And now he looks much better. Placed benches and flower beds
And the lanterns, in appearance, are the same as the gas ones that stood in Moscow more than a hundred years ago.
All you have to do is paint the building a little, put an emphasis on it - and the look of the alley is completely different
And behind the building is something without which it is impossible to imagine the city - the domes of churches
Well, now you can take a look at the Hermitage Garden
I came in from Uspensky Lane and immediately came across a large children's playground
Squirrels are said to live in this enclosure. But early in the morning I found only the janitor there.
How to describe the feeling when you are walking through a very popular place in Moscow, where in the evening there are always a lot of people, but you walk and there is not a soul around? Beauty!!! Early morning, autumn trees, leaves underfoot, but only a janitor rarely flashes anywhere.
There are several theaters in the Hermitage Garden.
The monument is a monument to Victor Hugo.
Monument to Dante Alighieri (it seems that it was a gift to Moscow from the Italians)
Another theater is the New Opera. The building is already more than a hundred years old, I later read this. And at first I thought it was a successful remake.
And on the balconies on the sides there are such visitors
