Geyer Almshouse

At the end of the XVIII century, a vast area near the Alekseevsky monastery belonged to second major A. L. Demidov. Later, the territory became the property of military commander Alexei Ermolov . In 1859, the land was acquired by the merchant of the first guild, Joseph Nikolaevich Geer. Ten years later, he sold part of the territory to the merchant Vladimir Zanegin ^{[3] [4]} . However, the site still had impressive dimensions. According to the testimony of collector Pyotr Schukin , in addition to the estate, it housed a garden and a vodka factory:

My parents often visited the Swiss consul, an old man, Osip Nikolaevich Geer, who lived in his house near the Alekseevsky monastery, where he had a beautiful garden park and a vodka factory. Duchessi pears ripened in the garden, and Geer's vodka and liquors enjoyed well-deserved fame [3] .

Geer died in 1876 ^[5] , and after 18 years his widow Natalya Petrovna turned to the mayor Konstantin Rukavishnikov with a proposal to arrange a poorhouse for old men of both sexes on the estate site. She intended to donate a territory with a total area of ​​more than 14 thousand fathoms , provided that four of them were assigned to a charity house named after her husband. In September of the same year, the City Duma decided to accept the donation in compliance with the set conditions. At the request of Rukavishnikov, the governor Alexander Bulygin also sent a petition to Emperor Nicholas II to allow him to assign the name of Joseph Geer to the institution. A positive response was transmitted on April 12, 1895 in a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . During this period, Natalia Geer donated another small plot, so the total value of the donated land exceeded 250 thousand rubles ^{[6] [7] [4]} .

The city authorities planned to use the rest of the territory to organize a shelter in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II . However, due to a crush on the Khodynsky field, the device of the charity center was postponed. According to some reports, in the territory of the former possession of Geyers, a shelter for orphans did not last long, their parents died during a crush ^[8] .

The construction and organization of the Geer Almshouse was led by the Moscow City Public Administration, so the work was entrusted to the city architect Lev Kekushev. His assistant was Illarion Ivanov-Shits. The total construction cost exceeded 140 thousand rubles, some of which were allocated from the budget. The official opening of the institution took place on January 1, 1899 ^{[8] [7]} . The event was attended by Bishop Tikhon of Mozhaisk and prominent public and cultural figures. So, the archivist Julian Tolstov compared the newly-built building with the grand-ducal palace. Since August 1899 , a house church was operating at the almshouse, consecrated in honor of the namesake holy husband and grandson of Natalia Geer - Joseph the Betrothed ^{[9] [4]} .

On the ground floor of the building were located office premises, an infirmary , a Zeikhaus , a kitchen and apartments for staff. On the second - chambers designed for 100 people . The institution provided full board to the elderly impoverished bourgeois. The maintenance of guests was carried out on private donations and state financing, 186 rubles per year were allocated for each tenant ^[10] . The organization operated a pharmacy for the poor ^{[7] [4] [11]} .

In 1901, Natalia Geer allocated more than 12 thousand rubles for church utensils and the installation in the house church of the iconostasis made of white marble according to the sketches of Lev Kekushev. The design consisted of seven parts, united by a carved cornice . The iconostasis was supplemented with bronze royal gates with six round medallions , the main ones depicting the Archangel Gabriel and the Mother of God . The medallions were combined with a wicker grate, the gates were crowned with a massive equilateral cross . On the first tier there were unusual double icons , the design of which made it possible to fix other images in the hands of angels during the holidays ^{[8] [6] [4]} . An additional house was erected for ministers of the house church on the territory of the almshouse ^[12] .

In 1906, after the death of Natalia Geer, the complex was supplemented with extensions built on funds bequeathed to the philanthropist ^[8] . During the First World War , a hospital was equipped in the building ^[1] . After the October Revolution, the almshouse was liquidated. The church was closed, its decoration was taken out, the cross on the dome was replaced with the image of George the Victorious , who had previously crowned one of the risalits of the house. At the same time, his coat of arms of Moscow was lost to him. There were proposals to create a school on the territory of the temple for the police and cadet club ^[13] . In the 1920s, the complex was occupied by the Sokolniki District Committee of the RCP (B.) , Later - the Sokolniki Council. Since 1967, the house was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Meat and Dairy Industry of the USSR , for some time the premises were occupied by the Raznoexport association. During this period, the wings of the house were supplemented with two-story extensions ^{[14] [15]} . The dilapidated structure was repeatedly renovated, but not restored ^[16] .

The building of the almshouse was built along the street and had a symmetrical three-part composition, the center of which was the house church of St. Joseph. When decorating the facades, Kekushev used the techniques of Roman-Byzantine architecture : a squat bell dome with ribs , rich arctural decor, capitals with floral ornaments, figured glazing in the form of honeycombs and stained glass . Thanks to harmonious proportions and the general plastic parts, the structure creates a monumental image. The protruding risalits of the main facade were covered with pitched roofs, giving the structure a resemblance to the early Christian basilicas . At the level of the second floor, the central risalit was decorated with three semicircular light openings. Massive windows of the second tier were decorated with large platbands and flanked by round columns ^{[4] [1]} . Initially, the building of the almshouse was separated from the roadway by a massive fence with forged gates, dismantled later ^{[8] [2]} .

A spacious lobby was located in the central volume of the house, and a dining room was arranged above it on the second floor. On the opposite side of the main entrance was the volume of the house church, allocated on the outside with a risalit apse . It was expanded with a bell tower, the sloping dome of which towered above the building. On one side of the central premises, a grand staircase with wrought iron railings was arranged, and on the other, a service staircase leading to the belfry . The dining room and the prayer room were combined in a narrow opening so that patients could see the service without going down to the first floor ^{[8] [6] [4]} . At the request of Natalia Geer, the floor of the church, the lobby and the adjacent premises were laid out from mosaics , and parquet was laid in the other rooms ^[12] .

In 2004, the building of the almshouse was recognized as an object of cultural heritage of regional significance ^[17] . Later the complex was repaired. The project was developed by restorers B. E. Pasternak and T. S. Borisova with the participation of A. V. Kuznetsov and O. Zamzhitskaya. During the work, the original architectural ensemble was restored, the late wings, superstructures and floors were dismantled. Nevertheless, the interior decoration of the premises was not restored ^{[18] [19] [16]} . Moskvoved Andrei Lednev points out that in 2015 the building was also planned to be renovated, but the idea was not implemented. As of 2018, the building is empty ^{[8] [14] [20]} .

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• Joseph Geyer Almshouse in the project “Once upon a time there was a house”
• Joseph Geer Almshouse in the Discover Moscow Project
• Photo tour of the Joseph Geer Almshouse