Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
160
WALKING TOUR
HISTORIC MOSCOW
Start:
Red Square.
Finish:
Chistiye Prudy (Clean Ponds).
Time:
2
1
⁄
2
to 3 hours.
Best times:
Wednesday through Sunday mornings, when exhibits are open and crowds are thinner
than in the afternoon.
This tour covers several centuries of Moscow's history, taking in some major sights and
some lesser-known ones. It starts with the obvious, becomes more subtle, and ends with
a peek into the Ukrainian Quarter, a neighborhood few tourists explore. The city's design
has been too haphazard for the tour to be chronological, but it provides a sense of how
the eras blend to make modern Moscow. The walk turns sharply uphill about halfway
through, so save some energy and wear comfortable shoes. The first five stops along the
tour take you through the neighborhood of
Kitai-Gorod,
with its showcase of Russian
architecture from the 15th to 17th century.
Start at Red Square, taking a moment to get your
bearings from the peak of this sloped plaza. Then
head down toward the beckoning cupolas of:
1
St. Basil's Cathedral
The oldest building on this tour, this
16th-century cathedral has come to sym-
bolize Russia to the rest of the world, but
it was almost torn down by Stalin as an
anachronistic eyesore. Legend has it that a
favorite architect rescued the cathedral by
threatening to take his own life on its
stairs. Climbing its labyrinthine stairwells
and corridors, note how cramped and cool
it feels inside, compared to its vivid, abun-
dantly designed exterior.
When leaving the cathedral, turn away from the
Kremlin, down Varvarka Street. Ignore, if you can,
the street's most prominent feature, stadium-size
Hotel Rossiya (if it hasn't yet been razed, as the
mayor threatens). Take the stairs on the right-hand
side of the street down to the path that runs along-
side a string of churches and mansions. This is one of
the few sections of Moscow preserved as it was in
centuries past, a sort of accidental architectural
museum. The first building, the pink-and-white
Church of St. Barbara, is closed. Continue to:
2
English Courtyard (Angliisky
Podvorye)
This wooden-roofed building is one of the
oldest civilian structures in Moscow, a
16th-century merchant's center granted to
English traders by Ivan the Terrible to
boost trade between the countries. It's now
dwarfed by the hotel next door. The small
exhibit inside is worth a visit in order to
see the building's interior and artifacts
(and everything is labeled in English as
well as Russian). The building also hosts
concerts of medieval music. Open
Wednesday and Friday from 11am to
7pm; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and
Sunday from 10am to 6pm (
&
495/698-
3952
).
Continue up the path, noting the yellow-and-white
(and no longer functioning) Church of St. Maxim the
Blessed. The next few buildings were once part of the
Znamensky Monastery. The strange four-story build-
ing at no. 10 houses:
3
The Museum of the Romanov
Boyars
The Romanov Boyars (nobles) lived here
before Mikhail Romanov was crowned
czar in 1613, launching the Romanov
imperial dynasty. The only original part of
this building is the basement; the rest was
added later to re-create conditions of
16th-century Moscow. The building was
once part of a vast mini-city that stretched
down to the Moscow River. The thick
walls, small windows, and rugged condi-
tions were typical of the day, even for
aristocratic families such as this one. The
museum is open Wednesday from 11am
7
