The square near the Belorussky railway station is one of the most interesting historical places in Moscow. Changed beyond recognition over the past centuries, it still keeps the memory of the past of the capital.
Planning of Moscow: cities and ramparts
Moscow, founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky, is one of the oldest centers of Russia. It has a radial-annular or concentric layout. In the center is the Kremlin - an ancient Russian fortress with defensive towers. According to ancient Russian traditions, no one settled on the territory of the fortress. There was only a garrison guarding the fortress.
Inhabitants built their houses near the fortress walls. These houses made up a settlement, which over time was fenced with a fortress wall or rampart. Posad grew and gradually went beyond the annular shaft. The newly rebuilt part of the city was again protected by an annular rampart or fortress walls.
Thus, initially Moscow had a defense system of 4 fortress "rings". After the fortress wall of the Earthen City burned down, the inhabitants poured an earthen rampart in its place, which performed the same function. In 1742, at the initiative of the College of Chambers, which was in charge of the revenues of the Russian Empire, the Chamber-College Wall was built. Ramparts were called circular earth embankments with ditches and outposts (guard posts) that defined the boundaries of the city or its parts.
Kamer-kollezhsky shaft was built to replace the fortification erected by the merchant company that sold vodka - Kompaneisky shaft. The company wall blocked the way for smuggling vodka into the city. She quickly fell into disrepair and was dismantled. And the newly rebuilt Kamer-kollezhsky shaft did not make it possible to transport a large number of various goods duty-free to Moscow. 37 outposts were built along the rampart.
Tverskaya Zastava in Moscow: formation of the square
Tverskaya Zastava Square formed in front of the Belorussky railway station. Railway tracks connected Moscow with many European cities.
This square appeared in the 18th century, when the Tverskaya Zastava of the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val was erected. The road to Tver passed through the shaft, 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 Tver outpost on the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft. When regional duties were abolished, the outpost was used by the city's police to control migration. Yamskaya Sloboda was located near the Tverskaya Zastava from the side of the capital, and villages from the outside.
In 1864, the border of Moscow along Kollezhsky Val was officially defined, the Moscow territories were transferred to the management of the Moscow district administration and the Duma, and the lands beyond the outpost - to the zemstvo.
Triumphal Gates of Tverskaya Zastava
In publications there is information that in 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from burning Moscow through the Tverskaya Zastava. Two years later, it was decided to restore the burnt-out wooden Triumphal Gates on the square near the outpost, built under Peter I, but Alexander I imposed a ban on construction. Only twenty years later, by decree of Nicholas I, a gate was erected here, already made of stone. They became a monument to the victory in the war with Napoleon. The arch was designed by the famous architect Osip Bove.
Keeping in its appearance the traditions of the ancient Roman era, the building was made in accordance with all the canons of classical ancient architecture. The triumphal arch was made of white stone quarried in the hills near Krylatskoye and cast iron used for the columns. Decorated with a chariot of Glory drawn by six horses, high reliefs and sculptures designed by sculptors Ivan Vitali and Ivan Timofeev. Relief images - a woman warrior killing a dragon with a spear, a battle near the Kremlin walls, sculptural images of Roman soldiers in tunics - symbolize the power of Russian weapons, courage and courage, the patriotism of the Russian people.
Among the high reliefs there is also an image of Emperor Alexander I, presented in the guise of a Roman emperor, which caused displeasure of the Russian church, headed by Metropolitan Philaret.
In connection with the installation of the gate, the square changed its name to Starotriumphalnaya, and receivedthe second name is "The Square of New Triumphal Gates".
Tverskaya Zastava Square: perspectives
Recently, according to the decision taken by the mayor of the city Sergei Sobyanin and the project of Moscomexpertiza, due to the fact that the area near the Belorussky railway station is an important transport hub of the capital, tram tracks will be laid here. Previously, until 2008, trams ran across the square from Lesnaya Street to the station, but were dismantled. It was decided to keep the historical route. In addition, in the perspective of the reconstruction of Tverskaya Zastava, it is planned to restore the square in accordance with its former appearance.
One of the important points of the reconstruction project is a large-scale landscaping of the area: planting a large number of trees, laying out lawns. As well as the modernization of its lighting system. The monument to the writer Alexei Maksimovich Gorky, dismantled in 2005 in connection with reconstruction work on the square, is also expected to return to the square.
