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The palace is currently under reconstruction and is scheduled to open in mid-2018.

If the luxurious Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo was created for pompous receptions, then its simpler neighbor was intended for living. The future Romanov family residence was built under Catherine II. In 1796, the palace became a worthy wedding gift to the Tsarina’s grandson Alexander Pavlovich. During his visits to Tsarskoye Selo, he himself loved to live in Bolshoi Tsarskoye Selo, but his younger brother and successor Nicholas I preferred the Alexander Palace and enjoyed its improvement. On the left side of the building were the living rooms of his grandson Alexander Alexandrovich, however, after becoming king, Alexander III chose the Gatchina Palace as his residence. The Alexander Palace became a real family nest for Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna. From there the Romanovs went into exile, from which they never returned.

In 1918, the palace turned into a museum, then the building was converted into a rest home for representatives of the NKVD, on the second floor there was an orphanage; during the occupation there was a German headquarters and the Gestapo with prison cells in the basements. After the war, the palace premises were given to the Institute of Russian Literature, and then to the Military Department. Now the Alexander Palace again serves as a museum.

Architecture Features

The two-story building seems quite simple, especially when compared with its nearest neighbor - Catherine's Palace. Despite this, the Alexander Palace is recognized as one of the outstanding examples of classicism architecture. The author of the project was the famous Giacomo Quarneghi, the building was erected under the supervision of the architect Pyotr Neelov. There are double wings on both sides of the palace - previously there were living quarters there. The main façade is decorated with a luxurious through colonnade - in the center were the halls of the front enfilade. Part of the building is complemented by a semi-rotunda with a dome in the shape of a sphere.

Halls and interiors

The same Kvarneghi worked on the furnishings of the Alexander Palace, and with him a dozen eminent artists, sculptors and decorators. The interiors of the residence corresponded to classical canons. Today they are actively recovering.

3 halls of the front part of the residence were reconstructed: the Marble Living Room, decorated with gilded furniture, mirrors and tiger skin, the Semicircular Hall, where at the beginning of the last century the Christmas tree was lit every year, and the Portrait Hall with images of members of the imperial dynasty. At the end of the enfilade there is the Emperor's Reception Room, paneled with oak, and his State Office.

The living rooms of the imperial family were located in the eastern wing. The Corner Living Room, which belonged to Alexandra Feodorovna, the Lilac Study, the Maple Living Room of the Empress and her bedroom were restored. The decoration of some rooms was lost entirely; only archival photographs of the interiors remained.

This name was on my lips all the time and I suspect that I often wandered into its territory, but could not accurately identify its location. So I finally decided to sort it out by visiting the site in preparation for the summer season. . As a result of the research, it was found that in the modern sense, Neskuchny Garden is located between the Moskva River and Leninsky Prospekt. From TsPKO im. Gorky is separated by Titovsky Passage and Pushkinsky Bridge (relocated Andreevsky) and from Vorobyovy Gory by the Third Transport Ring. Main entrance located between houses 18 and 20 on Leninsky Prospekt. As for the history of this place, read on.

In 1728, Prince N. Yu. Trubetskoy bought from the Archimandrite of the Zaikonospassky Monastery “a courtyard mansion with trees planted on the banks of the Moscow River.” The site was located near the St. Andrew's Monastery near the courtyard of Prince Boris Vasilyevich Golitsyn - southeast of the modern Neskuchny Garden, not far from Gagarin Square. In the early 1750s, Neskuchny was built here in the Baroque style, according to the design of the architect D. V. Ukhtomsky Vacation home(two-story, with 4 wings). Of the vast regular park with a “bird house”, orderly houses and guardhouses, only the Hunting Lodge has survived - a covered brick gazebo, known to the general public as the traditional venue for the game “What? Where? When?". Behind the house there was a “labyrinth” and greenhouses, and in a deep ravine there was a menagerie.

After the death of Nikita Yuryevich, the estate was put up for sale. There was no buyer, and in 1776 his son, Prince P. N. Trubetskoy, set up a place for mass celebrations in the garden - admission cost 1 ruble per person and included food and drinks. The Trubetskoys constantly rebuilt the estate: a “Versailles garden” with covered wooden galleries was laid out; There is a poultry house between the menagerie and the main house, and a stone grotto nearby; the straight alley behind the house ended with stone and wooden galleries. At the beginning of the 19th century, the estate passed into the hands of the court councilor V.N. Zubov, under whom the use of the garden for entertainment events, including flights, continued. hot-air balloon in front of a huge crowd. Since 1823, Neskuchny was owned by Prince L.A. Shakhovskoy, who allegedly discovered in the estate healing waters and built the first artificial artificial mineral waters. However, the enterprise burst and he sold Neskuchnoye in 1826 to his neighbor, Moscow mayor D.V. Golitsyn, and he sold it to Nicholas I. He sold his own 11 acres of land to the Ministry of the Imperial Court only in 1843. The inventory indicates that 2,500 linden, birch and maple trees grow in the park, and there are also dilapidated buildings (stone and wooden). Adjacent to the Golitsyn site was a public hospital, built with money bequeathed by Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1721-1793) “for the establishment of capital city Moscow an institution pleasing to God and useful to people.” Now there is one of the buildings of the First City Clinical Hospital, which was built according to the design of the architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov.

The part of Neskuchny Garden, which is closest to the center of Moscow, was bought in 1754 from various owners by the industrialist Prokofy Demidov, who concentrated in his hands all the lands “between the moat and the road that go from the Church of the Reese-Statement to the Moscow River.” The Demidov Palace was built in the Baroque style according to the design of the architect Yakovlev. At the palace, Demidov created a whole Botanical Garden in the form of an amphitheater with two greenhouses (winter and summer), as well as “herbal gardens”. Contemporaries argued that his garden “not only does not have anything like it in all of Russia, but can also be compared with many in other states both in terms of rarity and the variety of plants it contains.” After the death of the owner, the empty Demidov estate was acquired by E.N. Vyazemskaya, the wife of the Prosecutor General, who spent her childhood in these places, on the estate of her father N.Yu. Trubetskoy. In 1793, Count Fedor Orlov, one of the famous Orlov brothers, bought the former Demidov estate from Vyazemskaya. Previously, the neighboring plot of land, which was occupied by the factory of the merchant Serikov, had already become his property. Fyodor Grigorievich wanted to build “mansions” outside the city that would surpass in elegance the estate on the Donskoy field of his brother Alexei Chesmensky. Before his death in 1796, Orlov managed to rebuild Demidov’s house in accordance with the requirements of classicism. At the same time, an elegant eight-column portico appeared at the palace. Having no legitimate offspring, F. G. Orlov bequeathed the estate to his 11-year-old niece Anna Chesmenskaya. All management of Neskuchny on behalf of his daughter was carried out by her famous father. In the former Demidov Palace, the old count gave feasts for the amusement of his only daughter, at the end of which fireworks were set off. . In 1804-06. a two-story building was erected on Orlov's estate Tea house with 4 Corinthian columns.

The count's garden in Neskuchny was located on a semi-mountain, divided into many paths, hills, valleys and cliffs and dotted with ordinary buildings in the form of temples, baths, gazebos; all the monuments and buildings in this garden were reminiscent of the count’s exploits and victories. Other park pavilions have also been preserved - a grotto made of boulders and a bathhouse with a dome.

On the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas I in 1826, Countess Orlova gave a huge ball, which was attended by 1,200 guests. Up to seven thousand candles alone burned in the palace; silver and bronze tableware was rented for 40 thousand rubles. Perhaps it was during this ball that the empress expressed her desire to acquire Neskuchnoye. In 1832, Orlova sold the estate to the treasury for one and a half million rubles.

Thus, by the middle of the 19th century, all the lands described above were concentrated in the Ministry of the Imperial Household. After this, the architect E. D. Tyurin was tasked with bringing the territory into line with the tastes and needs of the new owners. The Demidov Palace was renamed Alexandrinsky Palace and updated in the spirit of the late Empire style. There is a grand entrance from Kaluzhskaya Street to the palace. The entrance to the park is decorated with pylons with allegorical sculptures representing abundance. The regular terrace layout was replaced by a landscape one, bridges were thrown across the ravines, the arena was rebuilt, where a ballroom was installed (now there is the A.E. Fersman Mineralogical Museum).


Updated main palace and the front courtyard, which is overlooked by two buildings - the maid of honor and the cavalry; The Doric columns of the Empire Guardhouse overlook the same courtyard. A cast iron fountain was moved to the center of the courtyard from Lubyanka Square. The sculptural design of the park, as is commonly believed, was supervised by Ivan Vitali. During Soviet times, the former palace was given over to house the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences.

All in all worthy place to spend your free time in the summer.

From the estate to the palace and park ensemble: an architectural and historical cheat sheet

The park was built outside what was then Moscow on the river bank. The chosen site was inconvenient for construction, so for two years 700 people worked to level the ground to give the park the shape of an amphitheater. But the result was worth it: from the manor house to the river the garden descended in ledges, of different widths and heights, but the same length of 95 fathoms. The park had many stone greenhouses with palms and trees from hot countries: 2,000 varieties of rare plants were collected especially for it. On the fifth platform from the top there was big pond and an aviary with rare birds and animals imported from Holland and England. And pineapples and grapes were grown in ground sheds and greenhouses.

The plants were guarded by guards covered with chalk. At a quick glance, they were no different from garden sculptures. But when visitors began to break something, the “sculptures” came to life and began to speak. Rumors about talking statues filled Moscow, and people flocked en masse to the garden, which they called “Not Boring.”

Under the next owner - Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky - monuments in honor of military battles, pavilions, gazebos and various garden “undertakings” appeared in Neskuchnik. But since the owner’s main passion was horses (it was he who bred the famous Oryol trotters), an arena and stables appeared in the park. The main house was also rebuilt. Among the possible architects are I. Sitnikov, V. Iehta, V. Yakovlev.

In 1830 Neskuchny Garden built a theater under open air- the so-called “air” theater. Its backdrops and backdrops were bushes and trees. There was no curtain or stage. Because of this, sometimes performances were performed in knee-deep water. But the audience liked the innovation, and the theater enjoyed enviable popularity.

...the theater set up in the open-air garden delighted me; The decorations included centuries-old trees, a babbling brook, turf benches and double rose bushes. During the intermission, the ladies ran from box to box, the chairs were also full of elegant ladies' hats, the gentlemen presented their chosen ones and their silent and unsmiling bodyguards with bouquets, fruits and ice cream.

In the summer of 1830, the “air” theater in Neskuchny was visited by Pushkin with Goncharova and Nashchokin. The rehearsal was going on, but when the famous guest appeared, it was interrupted, and the actors followed him in a crowd while the poet inspected the stage and the audience seats. And in 1834 the theater closed.

In 1923, the first All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition was held on the territory of the Neskuchny Garden.

Several pavilions were erected in the park, including “Shag” by K.S. Melnikova and “Mechanical Engineering” I.V. Zholtovsky. And in 1947-1951, in Neskuchnik, according to the design of Sergei Ikonnikov, a gazebo was built in honor of the 800th anniversary of Moscow. The main events from the history of the city are depicted on its walls.

And in 2006-2007, the area near the rotunda was landscaped and called “Lovers’ Alley.” Fountains were launched on it and a special clock was installed: now lovers do not need to worry about being late for a date - the clock always says five minutes to six.

In Neskuchny Garden, on the edge of the Andreevsky ravine, there is a Hunting Lodge, where the games “What? Where? When?". The summer house has a library, a small zoo, and the oldest ping-pong court in Moscow. From the pond you can see the sculpture of a girl diver by R. Iodko above the only cascade fountain in Moscow. And right next to the river there was a small grotto.

They say that......if lovers walk together across the Grotesque Bridge, their love will be strong. And if they also kiss, they will never part again.
...a nondescript green building on the shore of a pond in Neskuchny Garden is all that remains of the Bathing House of the late 18th century. Emperor Alexander II loved to bathe there in marble baths. And even the bottom cleanest pond was lined with marble slabs.
During Soviet times, catering establishments were set up in the Bath House, but after the fire it was empty. And now this park pavilion is slowly being destroyed.
...on the bricks of buildings and alleys of Neskuchny Garden you can find the stamps “N.Ya.” These bricks were made in the 19th century at the factory of merchant Nikolai Yakunchikov near Moscow.
...on his site P.N. Trubetskoy arranged the first voxal - an entertainment garden with illumination, theatrical performances and snacks. Here, in 1805, Muscovites watched the first hot air balloon flight. The next owner of the site, Shakhovskoy, set up a hydropathic clinic there. But no one sat in the baths there, didn’t drink water, didn’t walk in the galleries - the project turned out to be commercially unsuccessful, and the property had to be sold to the treasury.
...Ilya Ilf loved to walk in the Neskuchny Garden. One day he approached a trained elephant calf from a local circus tent. He suddenly stood up on his hind legs. Ilf was taken aback, but raised his camera, took a few shots and said with relief: “Sit down!” Here the baby elephant was already taken aback and sat down.
...for several years after the revolution, the Moscow Furniture Museum was located in the Alexandrinsky Palace. This is the same museum where in the novel “The Twelve Chairs” Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov were looking for precious chairs.

One of the most popular vacation spots in Moscow, especially in the summer, is famous park culture or Gorky Park. Its logical continuation is the no less interesting Neskuchny Garden.

If Gorky Park is always crowded, there is an embankment, many cafes and entertainment for every taste, then Neskuchny Garden is a more secluded place, with lush vegetation and hilly terrain, somewhat reminiscent of a real forest in the center of Moscow, I even noticed squirrels there, running briskly through the trees.

While Gorky Park is a vacation spot for young people, Neskuchny is preferred by mothers with strollers, pensioners and lovers of a relaxing holiday. Once upon a time, on the site of this garden there were three noble estates of the Trubetskoys, Golitsyns and Orlovs, which were later bought by the imperial court and united into one common name Not boring.


You can get to Neskuchny Garden from the metro stations “Frunzenskaya”, “ Leninsky Prospekt", "Shabolovskaya" and through Gorky Park. I decided to take a walk from Frunzenskaya along the renovated St. Andrew's Bridge.


More precisely, at present this bridge is called Pushkinsky, but since during its construction some structures of the old railway Andreevsky Bridge, built in 1905, were used, the first name is also often used in relation to this engineering structure.


Covered central gallery It looks quite modern, and the old turrets on the sides have been preserved.


This bridge offers stunning views of Neskuchny Garden, Pushkinskaya embankment on the one hand, and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Gorky Park on the other.



We go down to the park, at the entrance to which there is a diagram. The first thing we see is a small curved stone bridge.


Just like the next two, it was built in the 19th century. There is a romantic legend that lovers who kiss on this bridge will link their lives forever. From this place, paths diverge in different directions.


One of them goes along the bottom of a ravine, above which we see further a medium and large stone bridge.



The latter connects the former arena with the Alexandria Palace.


The arena now houses a mineralogical museum.


This part of the park was acquired in the mid-18th century by the eldest son of the famous mining owner P.A. Demidov, who was passionate about botany and gardening. In 1756 he began construction of a stone house. Behind him, on the slope of the Moscow River, he ordered to lay out a park, for which he brought more than two hundred species of various plants. It was rumored that there was no such garden not only in Russia, but also abroad. 700 serfs worked for more than two years to level the relief. There were stone greenhouses built in the park, where exotic plants were grown: grapes, pineapples, peaches. Prokofy Demidov was famous for his eccentricities. So, he made up the estate’s guards to look like park sculptures, and when a visitor picked a flower or behaved inappropriately, these sculptures came to life and frightened passers-by. In 1793, the Demidov estate was bought by one of the famous Orlov brothers, Fedor, and began to arrange everything in it to his liking. After his death, since all the count’s children were illegitimate, the estate went to his niece Anna Orlova-Chesmenskaya, but due to her too young age, her father Alexei Orlov managed everything. For his daughter, he organized grand balls at the estate. Pavilions appeared in the park, including the Bath House, which has survived to this day in extremely poor condition. Now it has no roof, and the columns are surrounded by some kind of panel.


Near this pavilion there is an artificial pond, and a grotto has been preserved on the hill.



Also, the summer house of Count Orlov, built at the beginning of the 19th century, has survived to this day.


Near it there is a cozy little park with benches, and there is also a poultry house.


And this is what this building looks like from the side of Frunzenskaya Embankment.


In honor of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas I in Neskuchny, Countess Orlova gave a grand ball, which attracted more than 1,200 guests. Perhaps it was then that the imperial family decided to purchase this estate. In 1832, the Countess sold Neskuchnoye to the Tsar, who set up a summer residence here for his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. After her seventh birth, doctors forbade her to give birth in the future, so her close relationship with her husband ended there. They say that Nicholas I specially bought this estate in order to send his wife there, and to freely meet his favorites in St. Petersburg. In honor of Alexandra Feodorovna, the palace in Neskuchny was named Aleksandiysky. In addition, the emperor acquired the neighboring estate of Moscow Governor-General D.V. Golitsyn, and the estate of Prince L.A. Shakhovsky, which previously belonged to Trubetskoy. It was under Prince Trubetskoy at the beginning of the 18th century that this property began to be called Neskuchny. The fact is that the owner of the estate entertained his guests with musical evenings, masquerades and fireworks. This tradition was revived again under Alexandra Fedorovna - an open-air theater was organized in the estate. Bushes and trees served as backstage; there was no stage as such. At first, the new entertainment attracted the public, but such a theater also had its drawbacks: due to the wind, not all words could be heard well, and in the rain the performance became completely impossible. From the Trubetskoy estate, only the Hunting Lodge has survived, in which today the program “What, where, when?” is filmed. Unfortunately, during my walk, regular filming was taking place, the house was fenced off, and the area in front of it was filled with cars.

In 1923, the First All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition was organized in Neskuchny Garden. And in 1951, after the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the founding of Moscow, a park was laid out in the park and a white-stone rotunda gazebo was erected.


On its bas-reliefs you can see the main stages of the history of the capital and Russia: the founding of Moscow, the Battle of Kulikovo, revolutions, civil and Patriotic war.


According to legend, if you write the name of your loved one on a piece of paper and bury it next to this rotunda, the object of your dreams will definitely pay attention to you. Nearby is the Alley of Love, also popular among lovers. Thus, there are a lot of romantic places in Neskuchny Garden, quite possibly, this is facilitated by its sparseness and special atmosphere.


Also, members of all sorts of informal groups such as Tolkienists like to gather in this park. It seemed to me that Neskuchny Garden is one of the most interesting and cozy places to relax in the very center of the capital.

The Demidov Palace is located next to the Tretyakov Gallery. Located on the banks of the Moscow River, it is an architectural monument of the mid-18th century.

Prokopiy Akinfievich Demidov is the eldest son of the largest Ural mining owner A.N. Demidov, the largest owner of mining enterprises. He founded the Moscow Commercial School in 1772, is known for donating thousands of dollars to Moscow University and millions of dollars in contributions to the construction of the Moscow Orphanage, of which he was a member of the board of guardians. He was famous for his eccentricities, and was characterized by his contemporaries as a rude and independent person, so much so that he aroused the indignation of Catherine II, who spoke of him as an “impudent talker.” He enthusiastically indulged in botany, collected a herbarium that was donated to Moscow University, wrote a study on bees, and was very fond of songbirds.


Over the course of a number of years, Demidov acquired land in his wife’s name from several Moscow owners. In 1754, a yard with the house of F.I. was purchased for these properties. Soimonov, a famous navigator and cartographer. This rounded off the site, and the estate occupied the entire space lying between “the ditch and the road that goes from the Church of the Reese-Statement to the Moscow River.” The “petition of noblewoman P.A.” has been preserved. Demidov and his wife Matryona Antipova” dated April 10, 1756 that they want to build “stone chambers.” There is also a resolution: “it is allowed to build according to the attached plan by architect Yakovlev.”

Demidov Neskuchny Palace, located on the banks of the Moscow River, is an architectural monument of the mid-18th century and perfectly represents the classical style. The palace had an enviable fate. During the life of the owner, it was filled with thousands of cages with birds. The entire Moscow nobility traveled to admire these wonders. There were painters, writers, statesmen, scientists... After the death of the owner, the palace at one time belonged to the Counts Orlov. Later, Nicholas I bought the building along with the land and settled his wife Alexandra Fedorovna in it (sometimes the palace was called Alexandria Palace). After the revolution unique monument history turned into a museum. People came here to get acquainted with the richest collections of exquisite furniture. They say that Ilf and Petrov composed their famous novel about the ill-fated chairs not without a hint heard within these walls.


The fence lattice was made in the 50s of the 18th century at the Nizhny Tagil Demidov plant according to the design of F.S. Argunov. Cast iron doors are not assembled from separate parts, but are cast in one piece.


During Procopius Demidov’s tenure, the Neskuchny Palace estate was famous for its famous botanical garden. Demidov, keen on collecting exotic plants, back in the 1740s. I asked brother Gregory for cuttings and seeds from his Solikamsk garden. After the death of Gregory, Procopius transported the most interesting plants from the Ural collection to Moscow. The garden itself attracted the attention of visitors; access to it was open, and it was always filled with visitors. The popularity of the garden was also contributed to by the eccentric inventions of the owner. For example, once, instead of plaster copies of Roman statues, he placed chalk-smeared men in the flowerbeds, who called out to everyone who dared to pick a flower. The rumor about living statues excited Moscow, and people poured into the garden. It was then that the name of the current place arose - Boring Garden.


In Demidov’s garden, “herbal books” (herbariums) were compiled annually, which included numerous plants from his garden. These herbalists supplied “hunters and lovers of botany.” The catalog of the garden in 1781 was compiled by Academician Pallas, he wrote: “The owner of this garden designated it first for fruits, and finally for botany alone, and built many different stone greenhouses in it.” Pallas mentions five terraces going down to the river and eight greenhouses located on them. These greenhouses were not only intended for “succulent plants and trees from warm countries”, but also specifically for “growing seeds”, and stretched for as much as half a mile.


In the preface to his 1786 catalog, P.A. Demidov indicates 8,000 plants - their total number for the entire period of the garden’s existence, which includes 6,000 species and at least 2,000 garden forms. Among the plants in the Demidov garden there were many species of Russian flora from various regions of the country. Some plants were natives of distant overseas lands. To replenish the collection of plants in his garden, the owner established contacts with foreign and domestic botanists.


After the death of P.A. Demidov Botanical Garden in Moscow gradually fell into disrepair. The direct heirs, the sons, were not interested in the garden. Fulfilling the will of the deceased, his widow Tatyana Vasilyevna turned to Catherine II in 1787 with a request to transfer the garden to the management of Moscow University, but was refused; the new owners of the estate also did not pay attention to the garden, and it decayed and died as a botanical garden. Only some of the rare plants from it were transplanted into the university garden. In the 1920s local historians L.P. Alexandrov and V.L. Nekrasov wrote: “The memory of the first botanical garden of Russia would be best restored... if the Neskuchny Garden, decorated with monuments to Demidov and Pallas, were turned into a large botanical garden... and served the purposes of education, introducing the diverse flora of Russia.”

Gazebo in Neskuchny Garden


Palace complex in Neskuchny Garden contained in good condition, it is still occupied mainly Russian Academy Sci.


Hunting lodge, preserved from oldest estate Trubetskoy is occupied by the Elite Club "What, where, when?" The building, surrounded by a high fence and guarded by dogs, is not easily accessible for inspection. However, it can be seen that the front facade, which serves as a backdrop for filming the games, is in good condition, although in front of it there is a pile of metal structures, apparently used during filming. The rear and side facades give an impression of abandonment, which is difficult to imagine when watching the building on TV during regular games of connoisseurs.

Summer house, judging by appearance, is in satisfactory condition, it houses a library, in which only one middle-aged librarian (pictured on the right) works and looks after it. One of her main concerns is protecting the building and library from groups of drunkards who gather on benches near the house in the evening.