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MOSCOW. 



MOSCOW. 



871 



Tha ratbeilr&l of the Aaramption, foondad in 1S29, ii deemed the 

 moat ipleudid in Moioow. It U by no meaaa a large edi6oe compared 

 with the catbadrala of other countriei, but the interior ii adorned 

 with extraordinaij profuaion and aplendour. Many highly vene- 

 rated relios ara preaarred in this cathedral The Buasian aovereigna 

 are hero crowned and anointed. Tha eathedral of St.-Uichael contains 

 the tomba of the Rantan aoTereigna, the grand-dukes and czan, from 

 the time that Moacow became the capital till the death of Peter 

 the Great, and, beaidca those of many male members of the imperial 

 family (the femalea ara deposited elsewhere), that of Peter IL The 

 eathedral of the Annunciation is smaller than the preceding, but 

 built in better taste, and being splendidly ornamented, is a pleasing 

 and magnificent object, forming a* it were a wing to the pslsce. 

 The floor is paved with jaspers, agates, and carnclians of different 

 ■iaes and shapes. The catliedral of the Transfiguration is a very 

 plain and neariy square edifice, founded in 1828, and rebuilt in 

 1527. Including the cathedrals, there are 32 churches in the 

 Kremlin. 



Alter the cathedrals, the IvanoTskaya Belfry claims attention for 

 its liat, its elegance, and magnificent appearance. The belfry has been 

 antinly rebuilt since 1812 nearly in the same style as before, but it is 

 now more beautiful and splendid. The tower is 269 i feet high to the 

 top of the cross, which is 18 feet 8 inches. Besides many other bells, 

 there is in this belfry the celebrated bell said to be the largest in the 

 world. It was cast in 1736, but fell in consequence of a fire in 1737, 

 and lay sunk by its weight to some depth in the ground till 1837, 

 when the emperor Nicholas had it raised and placed on a pedestal ; a 

 piece broken off by the fall is also placed on the pedestal. It weighs 

 10,000 poods, or 800,000 Iba. English. The bell in the first story of 

 the tower weighs 64 tons, and requires the united strength of three 

 men to toll it - The view from the summit of this tower of Ivan 

 Veliki over the city and its environs is surpassingly fine. The Kremlin 

 contains likewise the imperial museum, the arsfnal (which contains a 

 vast colleetion of French cannon tftken on the retreat of Kajioleon L 

 in 1812), the treasury, the immense pile of buildings called the senate, 

 tha palace of the patriarchs of Moscow, now called the Synodalni 

 Dom, or House of the Holy Synod, and the Vosnesenskoi nunnery, 

 in the eathsdral belonging to which a great number of grand-ducbesscs 

 and empreaaea are interred. The Treasury contains the crowns, 

 ■oeptrea, thrones, arms, and drinkingTc8.<H!l8, apparel, and other memo- 

 rials of the grand-dukes and czars, fonning n collection of vast intrinsic 

 ▼aloe. Outside the Holy Gate of the Kremlin in the Kraanoi-Ploscbad 

 (Red Place), between the walls of the Kremlin and those of the Kitai- 

 Oorod, is the cathedral of St.-Basil, a grotesque building, ei-ected by 

 an Italian architect for Ivan the Terrible, and surmounted by above 20 

 towers and domes of different shapes and sizes, and painted of various 

 colours. 



2. The Kitai-Oorod, surrounded by a wall with 12 towers and fi 

 gates, is prop>erly the city. The houses, which are mostly of stone or 

 brick, are built dose to each other, contrary to the usual mode. It is 

 tha centre of the trade of Moscow ; and contains the bazaars, the 

 magaaioaa, and the richest shops. Among the public buildings are the 

 foUowing:— The Pokrovskoi cathedral, built in 1554, was originally 

 ■o eonstnicted as to have 9 separate churches or chapels, to which 

 11 more have since been added, so that there are now 21 places 

 of worship joined twether, in which divine service may be performed 

 at the same time. Tbe house of the town council, a handsome edifice, 

 was formariy the university. The printing-office of the Holy Synod 

 is a very fine building, in which there are SO presses for printing 

 ecclesiastical books in Slavonian, and books in Greek, Latin, French, 

 and German, for the spiritual schools nnder tha synod. In the 

 Kraanoi-Ploaohad is a splrndid monument erected by the emperor 

 Alaxander in honour of Miuin and Pojaiski, who delivered the country 

 from nsarpcn and foreign invaders in the 1 7th century, and placed 

 oo tha throne Michael Romanof, the fint sovereign of tbe reigning 

 &mily. This monument consists of colossal bronze statues of the 

 two heroes, 14 feet hi^h, on a pedestal of a single block of red granite, 

 adorned with bas-relieb. In tbe Kitai-Oorod, to the norUi of the 

 cathedral of St.-Basil, are the Oostinnoi-Dvor, or Great Bazaar, and 

 tba Riadi. The former is a colossal building three stories high, and 

 thraa rows of pillan and shops stand one above another, conneot«d by 

 BDnMroos paaiagaa and stepsi Upwards of 1000 wholesale merohants 

 trade bare in tbe produce of tbe Baltic, the BUck Sea, the I^^ant, 

 waatam Eorope, Siberia, China, Tartary, Ac. ; there seems a continual 

 fair all through tbe year. Tbe Uiadi is an open q>aoe of gronnd laid 

 out in narrow streeta of shops or booths ; tiia traden are grouped 

 acoording to their respecUve callings. It is tbe noisiest and most 

 bMtthig place in Moscow. The secondhand markets are numerous ; 

 tha iMfMt is held along tbe wall of the Kitai-Oorod. During what U 

 called th« winter market, which is held immediately after the frost 

 baa aet in, vast quantities of perishable provisions— fi«h from the 

 White Saa and tlie great northern Ukea, tnwsa oxen and sheep from 

 the Crimea and the sboras of the Caspian, dear from Siberia, Ac— are 

 piUd in huge heap* in the streets, and a vast traffic is carried on in 

 mail proriaiaai, for the winter supply of the city itself, and many other 

 towns, 



3. The Sdoi-Oorod, or ^^'h!te Town, the third grand division of the 

 city, forms above two-thirds of a circle, inclosing the Kremlin and 



Kitai-Gorod on the north side of the Moskwa River, which forms the 

 Boutbem boundary of these divisions. Besides msny fine palaces of 

 tbe nobility, tbe Beloi-Oorod contains aeveral remarkable edifices, 

 such as the University, the Medioo-Chirurgical Academy, the Foundling 

 Hospital, the Poat-Omce, College of Foreign Affiiirs, the residence of 

 tbe governor-general, the Riding School, the aasembly-rooms of the 

 nobiUty, Uiree monasteries, three nunneries, and numerous churches. 

 The palace of the governor stands in a fine elevated aituation, and is 

 a princely edifice of three immense stories, beaidas the baaement, in a 

 simple style of architecture. Tbe internal arrangement, the size and 

 elegance of the apartments, as well as the rich furniture and decora- 

 tions, correspond with tbe external magnificence of the building. 

 The University, founded in 1705, suffered severely in consequence of 

 the French invasion, before which it was very flourishing. The fine 

 library and valuable collections of all kinds fell a prey tu the flames. 

 The building has since been reiwired. The number of professon and 

 teauhen in 1846 exceeded 100, and the students numbered above 

 1000. Tbe university possesses valuable mineralogical, anatomical, 

 and other collections. 



The Riding School, or Exercise House, an enormous edifice to the 

 north-west of the Kremlin, was built in 1817. In Russia, where the 

 cold in winter is so severe, and the heat in summer frequently so 

 intense, the inconvenience, and sometimes the imposgibility, of tmining 

 and exercising troops out of doors render such buildings as this abso- 

 lutely necessary. The government has therefore provided both the 

 capitals, and some of the chief towns, with these edifices. This at 

 Moscow is, we believe, the largest in Russia. It haa two fronts, 

 precisely similar, and two similar ends. Tbe length ot each front is 

 560 feet, and tbe breadth of each end 168 feet ; the height is 43 feet 

 Each front has 32 and each end 8 plain Ionic columns, with fine 

 arched windows between, the frames of which, and the doon of oak, 

 not painted, make an agreeable contrast with the white walls. In 

 ttiis building 2000 infantry and 1000 cavalry may be exercised at the 

 same time. The weight of the roof rests on the walls without hori- 

 zontal pressure. The Beloi-Qorod contains the only two theatres in 

 Moscow — the French theatre, a small building, and the Imperial 

 theatre, a showy building, with a large and handsomely fiited-up 

 interior. They stand near each other, to the north of the Kotai-Qorod. 

 Nearer the boulevard is the bonk. The Foundling Hospital, fuunde(i 

 in 1763, is on immense quadrangle four stories high, beaidea 

 the basement It is situated on the north b.tnk of the Moskwa, 

 between the east wall of the Kitai-Qorod, and the mouth of the 

 Jausa. It is a simple and uniform edifice of vast extent The upper 

 part of the building is appropriated to infants and wet-nurses, of each 

 of which there are always 600. The next suite of rooms is occupied 

 by children from 4 to 7 years old. Other floors contain chapela, school- 

 rooms, dining-rooms, kitchen, &c. Besides the children in the house, 

 many others are given out to peasants' wives to nurse. Every child 

 brought to the institution is received ; its name, number, and date of 

 admission are entered on the books, a corresponding ticket is tied 

 round the child's neck, and a duplicate is given to tbe mother, who on 

 presenting it may again receive her child. A small deposit left with 

 the child ensures its being brought up in the house ; boys left without 

 a deposit are brought up for the army. AU who give proof of good 

 abilities are carefully educated, both boys and girls, for engineers and 

 governesses respectively. Some of the boys are sent to the imiversity, 

 Beaidea a good education in tbe Russian language, the girls are 

 taught manual labour, part of the proceeds being applied to the sup- 

 port of the institution, and tbe remainder laid up for a marriage 

 portion. Tbe main expenses of the establishment are defrayed by a 

 tax on all places of amtuemeut, and the interest of sums borrowed 

 from a bank attached to the hospital. The entire number of children 

 belonging to the house, in and out, amounted to about 25,000 in 184S. 

 Persona of both sexes may return to the hospital should they fall into 

 distresa 



The assembly house of the nobility is a largo pile of building. The 

 interior is fitted up with great splendour. The gi-and hall is large 

 enough to contain 2000 persons. It was buAit in 1812, and boa since 

 been rebuilt. Several of the private palaces in this part of the town 

 are of vast extent, and a few of them are good specimens of archi- 

 teotiue. The College of Mines, the College of l-'oreigu Affairs, 

 containing an immense mass of valuable state papera, and the Post- 

 OtBce, are more remarkable for their use than for their style of architec- 

 ture. Several of the churches and monasteries are worthy of notice. 



4. The ZemlianoiGoroil, or Earthen Town, was so called from the 

 earthen rampart which formerly surrounded it, and which is now 

 replaced by the boulevard, fonning a noble promenade planted with 

 trees. In this division are the depot of the commissariat, a handHomo 

 building, consisting of a large central structure three stories high, 

 adorned with Uoric columns, with a balcony at tlieir base, and two 

 wings. The dopOt for spirits, which occupies an immense space 

 forming two squares, is chiefly remarkable for its lengtli and its use 

 it being tbe dep6t for tbe spirits made at tbe distilleries belonging to 

 the crown, and from which all Moscow and the neighbourhood are 

 supplied. Tbe Imperial I'liilanthropic Society, and the Moscow Com- 

 mercial School (an excellent institution), are plain edifices ; the 

 MedicoChirurgical Academy is a large building three stories high, 

 with a portico of six Doric columns, and has two detached advanced 



