MOSCOW 135

Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer,
rebuilt in the 1990s at huge cost

Novodevichiy

Convent i

Новодевичий монастырь

Novodevichiy monastyr

Novodevichiy proezd 1. Map E1.

Tel 246 8526. q Sportivnaya.

@ 64, 132.  5, 15. # 10am–

5:30pm Wed–Mon. & 8 book in

advance. 7 grounds only. 5 =

Considered one of the most
beautiful of the semi-circle of
fortified religious institutions
to the south of Moscow,
Novodevichiy Convent was
founded by Basil III in 1524
to commemorate the capture
of Smolensk from the
Lithuanians. The Cathedral of
the Virgin of Smolensk was
built at this time though the
five-tier iconostasis, frescoes
and onion domes were added
in the 17th cen tury. Most of
the other buildings were also
added in the late 17th century
by Peter the Great’s half-sister,
the Regent Sophia. In 1812,
Napoleon’s troops tried to
blow up the convent but,
according to one story, it was
saved by the nuns. The ceme-
tery here is the final resting
place of several famous
Russians, such as the writer
Nikolai Gogol and the com-
Outdoor ice-skating in Gorky Park, a popular activity in the winter months poser Dmitry Shostakovich.

Five-tier iconostasis in the cathedral

of Novodevichiy Convent

Gorky Park u

Парк культуры и отдыха

имени М. Горькоrо

Park Kultury i otdykha imeni

M. Gorkovo

Krymskiy val 9. Map F1. Tel 237

707. q Park Kultury, Oktyabrskaya.

     10am–10pm daily (pleasure park

     
     

     open May–Oct). & 7 -

     
     

Moscow’s most famous park

is named in honour of the

writer Maxim Gorky (1868–

1936) and extends for more

than 120 ha (297 acres) along

the Moskva river. Opened in

1928 as the Park of Culture

and Rest, it incorporates the

Golitsyn Gardens, laid out by

Matvey Kazakov (1738–1812)

in the late 18th century, and

a 19th-century pleasure park.

During the Soviet era,

loud speakers across the

park deliv ered speeches by

Com mun ist leaders. The park

was immor talized in the

open ing scenes of Michael

Apted’s film Gorky Park.

However, due to the tense

political climate of 1983, the

Tretyakov

Gallery y

Третьяковская галерея

Tretyakovskaya Galereya

See pp136–7.

used as a swimming pool. The
rebuilding project was contro-
versial from the start, on the
grounds of taste and cost. In
1995 a presi den tial decree
declared that no public money
should be spent on it. Funds
were to come via dona tions
from the public, the Russian
Church and foreign donors.
Much of the US$200 million
spent, however, came from
the state budget, at a time
when Muscovites were suffer-
ing extreme poverty.
The original cathedral was
built to commemorate the
deliverance of Moscow from
Napoleon’s Grande Armée
in 1812. Begun in 1839, but
not completed until 1883, it
was designed by Konstantin
Ton, who also designed the
State Armoury. The cathedral
was Moscow’s tallest building
then, the gilded dome rising to
a height of 103 m (338 ft) and
domi nating the skyline for

film was shot in Finland.

Today, the highlights include

fair ground rides, wood land

walks, boating lakes, a

10,000-seat outdoor theatre

and, in winter, an ice rink.

miles. With a floor area of

9,000 sq m (97,000 sq ft), it

could accommodate more

than 10,000 worshippers.