Manege (Moscow)

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The Manege ( Russian Манеж ) is one of the largest cultural exhibition complexes in Moscow and has been used for changing exhibitions and art fairs, often with international significance, since 1957. It is part of the historical center of Moscow and borders the Alexander Gardens and the Kremlin .

history

The Moscow Manege
Moscow arena before the fire (1960)

In 1817 the ring was built as a parade hall for the officer's riding school to honor the victory over Napoleon in 1812 and was inaugurated with a parade on November 12, 1817 by Tsar Alexander I as part of the 5th anniversary of the victory. The military use for a complete company of 2000 men and simultaneous riding demonstrations led to a very large dimension of 170 by 45 meters for the time and were designed by the Spanish engineer and Russian general Agustín de Betancourt y Molina (1758-1824) with a pillarless , hitherto unparalleled roof structure, constructed as a bold feat of engineering. In order to complete the hall in time for the anniversary, it was built in a record time of only six months.

From 1823 to 1835 the building was redesigned in the classicist style by the Russian-Italian architect Joseph Bové (1784–1834), who had led several urban development projects, including that of Manege Square , in order to close the gaps caused by the city fire of 1812 was laid by the Muscovites themselves to repel Napoleon's troops.

In the 1830s, the roof construction of the pillarless parade hall had to be reinforced with supports in the hall for structural reasons.

The arena has been used for civil exhibitions and trade fairs since 1831, in 1872 for the polytechnic exhibition , for concerts or in 1867 for a ball with 12,000 guests. After the October Revolution of 1917, it was temporarily used as a garage by the government.

In 1957 it was used again for public exhibitions and events. In 1962, in the wake of restrictive state cultural policy, there was talk of a manege scandal during an art exhibition.

In 1997, for the 850th anniversary of Moscow, the manege was restored, at the same time an underground shopping center ( Russian Охо́тный Ряд - Okhotny Rjad) was built under Manege Square , which the Muscovites also call Manege. The hall is still used for art, cultural and other exhibitions and events.

On March 14, 2004, on the evening of the Russian presidential elections , the ring caught fire, and two firefighters were killed by a collapsing roof section. The authorities named a short circuit as the cause during the fire, but the Moscow press suspected arson. She recalled that a group of investors, criticized by citizens, wanted to replace the historically important manege with a new building with an underground car park. This group also submitted a report that claims that the wooden roof structure of the 186-year-old manege was at risk of collapse and fire. Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov also supported the new building.

Around a year after the fire, the arena building was reopened after extensive reconstruction.

Exhibitions

Moscow Design Museum

Since November 2012, an exhibition on Soviet design from the 1950s to 1980s has been on view in the Manege . The exhibition, which is sponsored by a private association, the Moscow Design Museum and supported by the Culture Department of the Moscow City Government, has met with great interest among the population, especially since it is open until 10 p.m.

Special exhibitions

Web links

Commons : Manege  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The draft does not determine the design in FAZ of December 18, 2012, page 27

Coordinates: 55 ° 45 ′ 12.3 "  N , 37 ° 36 ′ 44.2"  E