House of Steingail (Lopatins) in Gagarinsky Lane

The one-story mansion, located at the intersection of Gagarinsky and Khrushchevsky lanes, is attributed to rare examples of the “post-fire” empire that has survived to this day.

It was built in 1816 on the basis of the stone foundation of the building, which burned down during the fire of 1812 ^[1] .

The house itself is wooden, and is lined with relief stucco imitating rust .

It is noteworthy that the main decorative elements are made on the facade overlooking Gagarinsky Lane (northern facade), while the modestly decorated entrance to the building is located on the side of Khrushchevsky Lane.

The central windows of the northern facade and the step attic located above them are emphasized by four columns connected by arches . Inside the semicircular niches, bas-reliefs of griffins are made . The facade is also decorated with stucco inserts and medallions located above the windows in the center and in the window openings - at the edges of the building.

The original layout of the front suite with a corner hall, a living room and a bedroom has survived to this day, some elements of the interior decoration — walnut doors, cornices, fragments of art paintings on the ceiling — have been partially preserved. ^[2]

Baron Steingail

The first and most mysterious owner of the house was Vladimir Ivanovich Shteingail (1783-1862) - a baron , colonel , participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 .

Occupying the position of adjutant and ruler of the office of the Moscow Commander-in-Chief at that time, he was personally involved in the "project for the construction of the capital and the rules of assistance to the devastated" ^[1] .

Apparently, taking advantage of his official position, the baron ordered a house project to one of the famous Moscow architects, whose name, however, did not survive to this day.

V.I.Shteingale was a member of the Masonic Order of Moscow. In addition, in 1824 he joined the Northern Secret Society , participating in the preparation of the Decembrist uprising of 1825 .

The Baron’s house has repeatedly held meetings of these secret organizations . For these purposes, apparently, even at the design stage, a secret room was provided with a door simulating a cabinet ^{[3] [4]} According to other sources, the mansion even had an underground passage leading to the building on the opposite side of the lane. ^{[5] [6]}

It is known that in 1824 the poet, Decembrist K.F. Ryleev stayed in the house of Steingail.

Further Owners

In 1830, captain Nikolai Nikolaevich Turgenev, the uncle of the famous writer Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, settled in with his wife and children at home.

In 1834, Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov , Prince of Italy, Count Rymniksky, a Russian state, public and military leader, grandson of the great Russian commander Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov lived in the house.

Lopatin Family

In 1872-1917, the house belonged to the family of Lev Mikhailovich Lopatin , a well-known philosopher, psychologist, professor at Moscow University, and chairman of the Moscow Psychological Society.

During this period, the mansion in Gagarinsky Lane became the center of the cultural and philosophical life of Moscow.

It has become a tradition here to conduct "Lopatin environments" in which L. N. Tolstoy , I. A. Bunin , I. S. Aksakov , A. F. Pisemsky , V. O. Klyuchevsky , S. M. Soloviev , I. participated . E. Zabelin , A. N. Ostrovsky , F. M. Dostoevsky , I. S. Turgenev , M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin , A. A. Fet , F. I. Tyutchev , K. S. Stanislavsky , V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko , M. M. Antokolsky , V. I. Gerier , N. V. Bugaev , S. S. Korsakov , A. M. Ivantsov-Platonov , A. F. Koni and many others ^[7] .

E. N. Trubetskoy wrote in his memoirs ^[8] :

Recent History

After serving his term in the Gulag and many years of exile in the North, since 1958, Yuri Borisovich Shmarov lived in the house, an outstanding genealogist, a connoisseur of Moscow, known for his collection of pedigrees and portraits of representatives of noble families, numbering more than 17,000 copies. He dedicated one of his works to the mansion in Gagarinsky Lane ^[9] .

Currently, the house has been restored, it houses the Department of Architecture of the Russian Academy of Arts . The mansion is also used by the president of the Academy Zurab Tsereteli to receive high-ranking guests ^[10] .