Boring Garden

Territory Unification

Trubetskoy Estate

The date of foundation of the Neskuchny estate is considered to be 1728 - it was then that Prince Nikita Trubetskoy bought a plot of land near the Kaluga outpost . According to one version, the name "Neskuchnaya" was assigned to the estate under Prince Trubetskoy and corresponded to the nature of the amusements conducted in it. The owner arranged magnificent receptions and balls, thanks to which Neskuchny became a famous place among noblemen and industrialists ^{[3] [4]} .

In the 1750s, a manor house was built in Neskuchny. According to the surviving album with images of the architect Dmitry Ukhtomsky , a regular garden with arranged stalls , bosquets , paths, a pond and a labyrinth was laid out in front of the estate. An alley leading to the house through the garden was the central axis of the estate ensemble ^[5] . At the beginning of the XIX century, this estate belonged to a retired ensign, Prince Lev Shakhovsky. According to the testimony of the historian L.P. Aleksandrov, in the 1820s, Prince Shakhovskaya no longer lived in the estate, and in 1826 it was bought by the palace department of Nicholas I , the wooden manor house was demolished. The emperor wanted to arrange a summer residence and called the acquisition Neskuchny Garden ^[6] .

Northern Manor

In the middle of the XVIII century, the industrialist and philanthropist Prokofy Demidov bought a piece of land near the Trubetskoy estate ^[7] . The site was divided into six rectangular terraces that led to the Moscow River. There was a palace on the upper terrace (now the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences is located on this place), then stone conservatories and bosquets were arranged, and a large pond and a house with rare birds and animals discharged from Holland and England were laid down ^[8] .

The Demidov Garden had the form of an amphitheater . More than 2,000 plant species were represented in the garden, including rare tropical specimens. The first seeds and processes were obtained from the Demidov Botanical Garden in Solikamsk . Initially, fruit trees were planted, then shrubs and herbaceous plants. Palm trees and trees from hot countries grew in stone greenhouses, and soil sheds and hotbeds were used to grow pineapples and grapes . The park was open to visitors. Many contemporaries called it one of the best in Europe ^{[9] [7]} .

In 1786, Demidov died, and his estate was bought by the wife of the Prosecutor General, Prince Alexander Vyazemsky . In 1793 it passed into the possession of Count Fyodor Orlov . At the beginning of the 19th century, the northern estate was owned by Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky and his daughter Anna ^{[10] [7]} . The mention of the manor gardens was preserved in a letter to Miss Martha Wilmot dated June 16, 1807: “... every evening we visit one of the charming surroundings of Moscow and stroll in the gardens and groves of Neskuchny, Ostankin , Tsaritsyn and in many other charming places that I can not describe " ^[11] .

Under the Orlovs, many decorative objects were arranged in the garden: paths were broken, hills were poured, temples and gazebos were erected, and baths were built. The summer “air” (open) theater, popular among Muscovites, for 1,500 seats, worked in the garden, the repertoire was varied, performances were arranged twice a week. Along with the performances of the largest European masters of instrumental and vocal music divertissements were staged here, foreign illusionists toured ^{[12] [13]} and others.

In 1832, Emperor Nicholas I acquired the Orlovs' estate and annexed them to the neighboring possessions of the Trubetskoy-Shakhovsky. The Demidov Palace was named Alexandrinsky (Alexandria) ^{[15] [7]} .

Golitsyn Manor

Between the two estates, which formed the basis of the Neskuchny Garden in the 19th century, there was a plot belonging to Princess Natalya Golitsyna , and then to her son, the Moscow Military Governor-General, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn . The site passed along Kaluga Street ^[16] . In order to combine the possessions purchased in the early 1830s, after the princess died in 1842, the Golitsyn estate was also acquired by the state ^[17] .

Thus, the Neskuchny Garden was formed in the first half of the reign of Nicholas I from the noble estates of the Princes Trubetskoys (southern part of the park), Golitsyns (central) and Orlovs (northern). From 1842 until the 1917 revolution, Neskuchny Sad belonged to the imperial family ^[7] . At the beginning of the 20th century, the garden was nationalized, finally transferred to public use and open to visitors by everyone ^{[18] [19]} .

Soviet time

VSHV

In 1923, the first All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Industrial Exhibition (VSHV) was held on the territory of Neskuchny Garden. The designer of the exhibition master plan Ivan Zholtovsky , the chief architect Aleksey Schusev and the chief designer Alexander Kuznetsov ^{[20] [21] [22]} took part in its design.

On the territory of the exhibition, expositional buildings of high artistic significance were presented. Among them, the pavilion "Makhorka" by architect Konstantin Melnikov and "Engineering" Ivan Zholtovsky - the only surviving object, is under restoration for 2018). The modern structure of the park reflects elements of the layout of the exhibition, in particular - the central, ground floor . The garden fence was erected in 1935 according to the project of the architect Vitaliy Dolganov ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]} .

Gorky Park

In 1928, Neskuchny Garden became part of the first Soviet park of culture and recreation. At the place where the botanical garden was located at the time of the industrialist Prokopiy Demidov, the Bow Square was opened, dedicated to the interaction of the city and the village. A symphonic stage was established here, at which politicians spoke, rallies and concerts were held. In 1932, when the PKiO received the name of the writer Maxim Gorky , the Green Theater for 20 thousand spectators opened on the site of the square. Since 1936, film screenings have been held at the theater. During the Soviet period, Neskuchny Sad was an active recreation area and was part of the program of many events held in the Central Park of Culture and Health ^[24] .

Modernity

Currently Neskuchny Garden is the historical part of Gorky Park. Alleys for walking are laid in the garden, tennis courts, a football field are equipped, a chess club, a fitness center and a Workstation co -working center are operating. Since the 1990s, the game “ What? Where? When? " ^{[25] [26]} .

In the 1990s, Neskuchny Sad was a traditional gathering place, the Eglador, for Tolkienists (fans of John Tolkien 's books) and fantasy roleplayers . Since the beginning of the XXI century, fans have become less common ^[27] .

In December 2017, by order of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, the ensemble "Neskuchnoe Estate", the end of the XVIII century. - beginning of the XIX century: Garden and park constructions, the end of the XVIII century: a summer house by the Moscow river, a bath house by the pond, a hunting lodge by the ravine, three garden bridges, a grotto ” was taken under protection as an object of cultural heritage ^[28] .

• The hunting lodge - the rotunda of the middle of the XVIII century
• Summer (Tea) house of Count Orlov
• Bath house with a dome of the end of the XVIII century   an architectural monument (federal) ^[29] and the Grotto pavilion in the Neskuchnoye palace estate. The bath house has been empty since the 1960s, it is on the balance of Gorky Park. In September 2003, it burned. Flooded due to violations of the drainage system. It is covered with a temporary roof, the colonnade is sewn up with metal sheets. In April 2015, the Department of Cultural Heritage agreed on the project documentation for the conservation of the monument. Nearby is a boulder grotto of the Classicism era, on the site of which a landfill is currently organized ^[30] . In 2017, the Act of State Historical and Cultural Expertise of the section on ensuring the preservation of archaeological heritage sites in the Bathhouse was submitted for public discussion ^[31] .

• Picturesque bridges through ravines
• Ensemble of the Alexandria Palace with outbuildings and guardhouse
• Ivan Vitali fountain in front of the palace
• Manege, which houses the Mineralogical Museum named after Alexander Fersman
• Rotunda in honor of the 800th anniversary of Moscow

Near the garden is the metro station " October " and " Leninsky Prospekt ." The Andreevsky pedestrian bridge is thrown into the garden across the Moskva River, and it takes 10 minutes to get to the Frunzenskaya metro station. In the garden there is also a marina for motor ships cruising along the Moscow River. The main entrance and roads to the main alleys of the Neskuchny Garden leading to the Pushkinskaya embankment of the Moscow River and the Alexandria Palace are located in the area of ​​houses 16–20 along Leninsky Prospekt ^{[32] [33]} .

• Alexandrov L.P. The Past of the Neskuchny Sad. Historical background . - M .: Publishing House M. and S. Sabashnikovs, 1923 .-- 58 p.
• Aleksandrov L.P., Nekrasova V.L. Neskuchny Sad and its surroundings. A guide to botanical excursions. - Ed. M. and S. Sabashnikovs, 1923 .-- 240 p.
• Evangulova O.S. Neskuchnoe near Moscow // Art "Universe" of the Russian estate. - M .: Progress-Tradition, 2003 .-- S. 268—269. - ISBN 5-89826-140-0 .
• Kucher K. Gorky Park: A leisure culture in the Stalin era. 1928-1941 / per. with him. A. I. Simonova; scientific ed. L.V. Leitner. - M .: ROSSPEN , 2012 .-- 352 p. - (History of Stalinism). - 2,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-8243-1576-9 .
• Pylyaev M.I. Old Moscow. - M .: ZAO SVAROG and K, 1997.
• Pylyaev M.I. Old Moscow: Stories from the past life of the capital of the throne / Yu. N. Alexandrov. - M .: Moscow Worker, 1990. - ISBN 5–239–00569–9.
• Ugrekhelidze E. A. Culture of the city park in the 1920-1950s (for example, Neskuchny Garden) // Bulletin of the RSUH. - 2016. - No. 4 (6) . - S. 89-95 .