Moscow Off The Beaten Path Tips by kris-t Top 5 Page for this destination

Catlic church

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary is one of only two Catholic churchesthe largest in Russia.
It's a neo-Gothic church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow. Located in the Central Administrative Okrug.

27/13 Malaya Gruzinskaya st., Moscow

Construction work began in 1901 and was completed ten years later. The style was influenced by Westminster Abbey and Milan Cathedral.

The cathedral was closed in 1938 and reopened in 1996. Now The cathedral is once again the setting for regular church services in multiple languages—Russian, Polish, Korean, English, French, Spanish, Armenian and Latin—as well as benefit concerts featuring organ and church music.

Organ and church music concerts take place regularly in the cathedral. Entry is free, except for selected concerts.

Phone: 252-40-51

Website: http://catedra.ru/index.php

Polytechnical museum Museums Review

Polytechnical museum is a scientific, enlightening and cultural-leisure centre of Russia, the main museum in history of science and technology.

In December 1991 the Museum was declared a federal property and defined as a particularly valuable object of Russian national heritage, including the Museum itself and the Central Polytechnical Library.

The Museum keeps more than 100 collections with more than 170,000 exhibits. Many of them are unique relics of science and technique. Museum's exposition occupies about 10,500 sq. m. and it is designed according to the chronological principle with the application of original historical documents and materials, relics of science and technology, working models and installations, dioramas.

There are departments of Geology and Mining, Metallurgy, Chemical technology, Engineering, Automation and Computers, Automobile transport, Radioelectronics and Communication, Optics, Meteorology, Cosmonautics, Power engineering in the Museum. Visitors themselves can take part in entertaining physical experiments in the new department "Igroteka", which is an interactive exposition.

Museum offers entertaining programs for parents with children "Day-off in Polytechnical", introducing unique relics of science and technology in museum collection. Special courses for specialists in different lines of training are designed for adults also.

Opening time:
from 10.00 to 18.00 every day

Entrance fee:

for adults - 150 rubles (US 5.00)

for schoolchildren & students - 75 rubles

Ticket offices are open daily except Monday and last Thursday of every month, from 10.00. to 17.00.

The price of excursion:

for adults - 3500 rubles (US 118.00)

Advance orders of the excursion program by telepnone: (095) 923-4287.

Other Contact: 3/4, Novaya Square, Door way ¹ 1

Phone: (095) 923-0756

Website: http://info@polymus.ru

Moscow Kievskaia railway station

Was opened 29.06.1899
Train movement directions: all trains to the territory of Ukraine and transit in Europe. metro "Kievskaya"

Main directions:

Ukraine:
Evpatoria
Kaluga
Kiev
Kishineu (Mold.)
Lvov
Odessa
Simferopol
Ujgorod
Europe:
Budapest-Keleti
Sofia

Museum of history of Moscow Museums Review

The Museum of History of Moscow is one of the oldest museums of the city. It's collection was based on the exhibits of the pavilion "Moscow" at the All-Russian Artistic and Industrial exhibition, which was held in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896 where the Moscow City Adminisration displayed its achievements in providing the city with all amenities, improving its medical and sanitary conditions, in a public education, charity. Just in this year the Museum of Moscow Municipal Facilities and Services was opened by the order of the Moscow City Duma.
The Museum changed its name and location several times within a hundred years history. In 1921 the Museum was called Moscow Municipal Museum and was located in Sukhareva Tower - the restored monument of 17th century. Under the influence of the plan of Moscow's reconstruction accepted in 1935 the name and an expositions character of the Museum were changed. In this time it was called the Museum of History and Reconstruction of Moscow and moved into the building of the Church of John the Theologian "under the Elm", were it is located now.

Since 1987 the Museum is called the Museum of History of Moscow.

Phone: 924-84-90

Website: http://www.museum.ru/moscow/mainengl.htm

Moscow Paveleckaia railway station

Was opened 19.01.1900
Train movement directions: Central part of Russia, West-South part of Ukraine, Baltic countries.
metro "Paveletskaya"

Main directions:

Russia:
Astrahan
Baku
Doneck
Rostov
Saratov
Volgograd
Voronej

Visoko-Petrovsky monastery Monuments & Landmarks Review

Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery was founded in 1380 in the village of Vysokoye by Prince Dmitry Donskoi after his return from the Battle of Kulikovo.

This site was once occupied by the ancient Bogolubskaya Church of Ivan Kalita. It is said that when the Muscovite Prince Ivan Kalita passed this place, he suddenly saw a high mountain covered with snow which all of a sudden melted away, and then the mountain also disappeared. He described this vision to Metropolitan Pyotr a few days before his death.
The Metropolitan explained that the high mountain was the Prince, and the snow was the humble Metropolitan who should take leave of this world before Kalita.

To make a memorial to this miraculous vision Kalita built the Church of the Bogolyubskaya Icon to the Mother of God, which later became the main church of Visoko-Petrovsky Monastery.

The monastery came under the patronage of a boyar family, the Naryshkins, and in particular Natalia Naryshkina Peter's the Great mother.

In 1812 the convent was ransacked by the French, and in Bogolubskaya Church Marshal Mortie sentenced some local people to death for setting fires.

Other Contact: 28 Petrovka St

History of Moscow

The first chronicle record of Moscow dates from 1147. The foundation of the city of Moscow is related to the name of Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, a Suzdal prince famous for creating towns (in 1954 a monument to Yuri Dolgoruki was built in the center of the capital).

At first Moscow was one of the smaller towns near the south-west frontier of Vladimir and Suzdal Land. Little by little significance of the town grew. Even numerous wars and devastation could not stop that process.

There are several legends about the foundation of Moscow and origin of the very word «Moscow». One of them tells of the conflict between prince Yuri and boyar Kuchka. The boyar did not show due respect to the prince. For such an attitude the great prince ordered «that the boyar be captured and put to death». On the spot from which the village was taken from Kuchka the prince decided to found «the city of Moscow». In the opinion of historians, real events form the core of this legend.

There is also a legend tracing Moscow's «genealogy» back to … Ilya Muromets. According to that legend, the capital of this great power was founded on the place where the legendary hero had died. The first chronicled record of Moscow is related to the fact that Yuri Dolgoruky met his ally, Novgorod-Seversky prince Svyatoslav there («come to me, Brother, to Moscow») and arranged a feast. Judging by the fact that Moscow managed to feed two numerous druzhinas (princes armed militia), it was already a significant settlement at that time.

Judging by the large number of mounds on the outskirts of Moscow, it was already the center of an agricultural area which adjoined the town.

Kolomenskoye Museums Review

A museum in the open air; consists of churches, towers and wooden buildings from the 16th and 18th centuries. John the Baptiser church, The Church of Diakovo village, Voznesenia church, bell-towers, house of Peter the Great, monuments of Russian wooden architecture. The oldest oak-trees in Moscow grow in the park. Costume shows with games, walks, songs, dances are organized on Russian Orthodox and ancient pagan holidays. A cafe, a bar, a restaurant, a parking place.

Nearest metro station - Kolomenskaya
The Church of the Ascension, built as a palace church in 1532, is the earliest and the most significant of Kolomenskoye?s buildings. It is supposed that the Church of the Ascension is a votive church constructed by Vasily III as an offering of thanks for the birth of his long-awaited son Ivan, to be known as Ivan the Terrible. The Church of the Ascension is known as the Russia?s first stone tent-roofed church. The sweeping silhouette of the church resembles the magnificent wooden tower-like churches erected by Russian carpenters. In contrast to traditional Russian domed cruciform churches, the Church of the Ascension was created in the form of a gigantic pillar and has neither supporting columns nor piers. The entire weight of the building presses against to the walls which are 2.5 to 3 metres thick. The height of the church is 62 metres.

Phone: 095 115-23-09

Some VT member was born here...

It's not just the house, where I was born, it's an example of Postconstructivism architectural style (early Stalinist architecture before World War II) , wich was build 1934—1936, architect Golosov.
In sixties it were classic Soviet communal apartments (nowdays it's elite apartments) - several families lived in the same apartment with common bathroom and kitchen. My family of 4 had 1 room there.

Podkolokolnui pereulok - street in the Moscow downtown between Solyanka Street and Pokrovsky boulevard, steps from famous Khitrovka (a square in the centre of Moscow from 1820 to 1930, a bawdy place of Moscow, a den for thousands of unemployed and criminals).

Another example of Postconstructivism architectural style is the well-known House on the quay ("House of government ") (see Things To Do for more).

Varvarka Street

Varvarka Street is the oldest (and MUST see) street of Moscow that dates back to the 12th century.
Varvarka is one of the three main streets of Kitai-Gorod. At first it made a start from Spasskiye gate of the Kremlin and lay along the crest of the hill above the Moskva-river.
Since the middle of the 16th century the street has been actively built up. After the fire of 1812 most of the houses and shops in the street were rebuit in stone.

Varvarka Street has preserved many churches and the old atmosphere of Kitai-Gorod:
the Church of the Protecting Veil of Our Lady on Pskov Mount (1698);
Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki (c.1630);
the Monastery of the Holy Sign (1684);
Church of St. Maxim the Blessed (1698);
Church of St. Barbara the Martyr (1658).

On another side you will see some samples of classic 18-19th century architecture.

Website: http://virtour.ru/virtour/pano.php?id=21&mar=2&lang=eng