Arbat (district)
The Arbat district ( Russian Райо́н Арба́т ) is one of the oldest places in the Russian capital Moscow . It includes Arbat Street, which has been known since 1493 and which gives it its name, as well as a large number of surrounding streets, squares and alleys. The district, which is part of the city's central administrative district, has an area of 276 hectares and has 20,100 inhabitants. It extends from the walls of the Moscow Kremlin to the left bank of the Moscow River .
history
The history of the district is directly linked to the history of Arbat Street. This was first mentioned in writing in 1493 in connection with a major fire that began in a wooden church building near today's Arbat Street and shortly afterwards spread across the entire area. The exact origin of the name Arbat is not known, but according to a common assumption it comes from Arabic and means something like "suburb".
Over the centuries, Arbat Street gained considerable importance for Moscow, as it was also part of a traffic route that connected the center of the city - i.e. the Kremlin - with the western suburbs as well as with Smolensk and other important cities west of Moscow at the time. While Arbat Street and the surrounding quarters were predominantly inhabited by craftsmen up to the 17th century (which the names of some of the streets still recall today), the area became a preferred residence for the Moscow nobility from the 18th century . This explains the large number of historical houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries around the Arbat, which is still striking today. Numerous famous artists had also lived on or around the Arbat, including the poet Alexander Pushkin , whose former home on Arbat Street now houses a museum.
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Attractions
The most famous attraction in the district is Arbat Street, which is now a lively pedestrian zone and where dozens of old Empire houses and late Classicist former houses are located. A similarly rich collection of historical buildings is also found in many of the surrounding streets. For example, on Siwzew-Wraschek-Gasse (Russian: переулок Сивцев Вражек ) you will find the former house from the 1820s of the philosopher Alexander Herzen , who lived there from 1843 to 1847. A prominent work of the avant-garde is the home and studio of the architect Konstantin Melnikow from 1931, which is located on Krivoyarbatsky Street ( Кривоарбатский переулок ), just a few steps from Arbat Street. The wedding-cake style skyscraper of the Russian Foreign Ministry is also located in the district of Arbat, namely on Smolenskaya Square on the west end of Arbat Street.
See also
Web links
- Official website of the district (Russian)
Individual evidence
- ↑ named Smolenskaja naberezhnaya
Coordinates: 55 ° 45 ' N , 37 ° 35' E