Tverskaya Zastava and its surroundings

The square near the Belorussky railway station is one of the most interesting historical places in Moscow. Changed beyond recognition for the last century, it still keeps a memory of the past of the capital.

The layout of Moscow: cities and ramparts

Moscow, founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky, one of the most ancient centers of Russia. It has a radial-circular or concentric layout. In the center is the Kremlin - an ancient fortress with defensive towers. According to Old Russian traditions, no one settled on the territory of the fortress. There was only a garrison guarding the fortress.

Residents built their houses near the fortress walls. These houses were posad, which eventually fenced wall fortress or rampart. Posad grew and gradually went beyond the ring shaft. The newly rebuilt part of the city was again protected by a ring ramp or fortress walls.

So, originally Moscow had a defense system of 4 serfs "rings". After the fortress wall of the Earth city was burnt, the inhabitants poured an earth wall instead of it, performing the same function. In 1742, on the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce, which was responsible for the revenues of the Russian Empire, a Cameroon-shaft was built. Shafts called ring earth embankments with ditches and outposts (guard posts) that determined the boundaries of the city or its parts.

The chamber-collegiate shaft was built to replace the erected by the merchant company, which sold vodka, the fortification - the Kompaneisky shaft. The company wall blocked the way to import contraband vodka into the city. It quickly decayed and was dismantled. And the newly built Kamer-Kolohorskiy shaft did not give an opportunity to transport duty-free to Moscow a large number of various goods. On the length of the shaft 37 outposts were built.

Tverskaya Zastava in Moscow: the formation of the square

Т верской заставы сформировалась перед Белорусским вокзалом . The square of the Tverskaya Zastava was formed in front of the Belorussky Railway Station . The railway routes connected Moscow with many cities in Europe.

This area appeared in the XVIII century, when the Tverskaya outpost of the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft was erected. Through the ramp there was a road to Tver, which became very popular in the 18th century. A large number of goods were transported along the route, which required the settlement of customs relations between merchants and Moscow. It was decided to build a Tverskaya Zastava on the Chamber-Kollezhsky shaft. When the regional duties were abolished, the outpost was used by the city police to control migration. Near the Tverskaya outpost from the capital was the Yamskaya Sloboda, and on the outside - the village.

In 1864 the Moscow border along the Kollezhsky shaft was officially determined, the Moscow territories were transferred to the management of the Moscow district administration and the Duma, and the lands behind the outpost were zemstvos.

The Triumphal Gate

In the publications there is information that in 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte fled the Tverskaya Outpost from burning Moscow. Two years later, it was decided to restore the burned wooden Triumphal Gates built in the square near the outpost, built under Peter I, but Alexander I imposed a ban on construction. Only twenty years later, under the decree of Nicholas I, a gate was erected, already made of stone. They became a monument to victory in the war with Napoleon. Archimandrite Osip Bove, the famous architect, rephed the arch.

Keeping in its appearance the tradition of the Roman era, the construction was carried out according to all the canons of classical antique architecture. The triumphal arch was made of white stone, mined in the hills near Krylatskoye, and cast iron used for the columns. It is adorned with the chariot of Glory, harnessed by six horses, high reliefs and sculptures, designed by the sculptors Ivan Vitali and Ivan Timofeev. Embossed images - a female warrior, killing a dragon with a spear, battle near the walls of the Kremlin, sculptural images of Roman soldiers in tunics - symbolize the power of Russian arms, courage and courage, patriotism of the Russian people.

Among the high reliefs there is also the image of Emperor Alexander I, represented in the guise of a Roman emperor, which caused displeasure of the Russian church led by Metropolitan Filaret.

In connection with the installation of the gates, the square changed its name to Starotriumfalnaya, and received the second name - "The Square of the New Triumphal Gates."

Area of the Tverskaya Zastava: prospects

Recently, according to the decision taken by the mayor of the city Sergey Sobyanin and Moskomekspertiza project, due to the fact that the area near the Belorussian railway station is an important transport hub of the capital, tram ways will be laid here . Previously, until 2008, trams ran across the square from Lesnaya Street to the station, but were dismantled. The historical route was decided to be preserved. In addition, in the perspective of the reconstruction of the Tver outpost, it is planned to restore the area in accordance with its former appearance.

One of the important points of the reconstruction project is a large-scale landscaping of the territory of the area: planting a large number of trees, breaking up lawns. And also the modernization of its lighting system. It is also expected to return to the square of the monument to writer Alexei Maximovich Gorky, dismantled in 2005 in connection with the reconstruction works on the square.