This is not to say that Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane in Moscow is very long: its length is only 384 m. It starts from Leontief Lane and connects to Tverskaya through the arch of a residential building. Small Gnezdnikovsky Lane, which is nearby, is even shorter - 320 m, it is located from Tverskaya to the Swedish impasse.
But these lanes were located immediately in two metropolitan areas - in Tverskoye and Presnensky, while Bolshoi bent at a right angle, resembling a knee.
Where did the unusual name come from?
The name of the alleys comes from the ancient name of this Moscow area - Gnezdniki. But with this word, historians begin to have difficulties. There are several versions of what the word "nests" means:
- as if in these places, in the groves, there were many birds, and Muscovites hunted their nests;
- perhaps this was the name of artisans who made hinges for doors and shutters;
- however, most likely, people who made arrows were called nests, and arrows at that time were nested.
In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane bore the names of the owners of this area, the Urusovs and Islenievs. Small Lane was named after the Sheremetevs and Wadbolsky.
History
The area in the area of Gnezdnikovsky Lane began to be considered the territory of Moscow in the 16th century, but stone structures began to be erected here only a century later. The construction acquired a particular scope at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.
So, in 1912, a house appeared here, which for two decades was the highest in the capital. Now this is house number 10. Several buildings were built already in the Soviet years, for example, on the site of the demolished Nikolskaya Church, a school was built, which is now called gymnasium No. 1520.
What interesting can you see?
The most famous house in Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane of Moscow, of course, is No. 10. He even has his own name - the house of Nirnsee.
The architect Ernst Nirnzee acquired a site on which several low tenement houses were crowded, demolished them and built, as his contemporaries said, a “turchez”. The nine-story building was immediately created as a house where all apartments will be rented to bachelors. Therefore, the apartments had a small area: the smallest was 27 m², and the most spacious - 45 m². A dining room was located on one of the floors, the apartments were electrified, and elevators worked in the porches. The basement was also planned to be rented, and on the roof there was a restaurant and an observation deck.
The apartments here were mostly rented by actors of the Moscow Art Theater, located nearby. It was in house number 10 that the famous cabaret Jimmy's Curve and Bat were located, followed by the Gypsy Theater Romen, the Satire Theater and the Kaverina Studio. The editorial offices of various newspaper editions, a cinema and even a film pavilion were also located here.
In Soviet times, house number 10 in Gnezdnikovsky Lane was called the fourth house of the Moscow City Council, as the apartments in it were received by prominent party figures and employees.
During the defense of Moscow, in 1941, anti-aircraft guns were installed on its roof, and after the war, salute shots were fired from them.
But today attracts tourists to this building in the center of the capital, the fact that it is here that the famous mystical writer Mikhail Bulgakov met his love, his Muse. Now in house number 10 is the RATI Theater and other institutions.
In the Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane, many houses were built as profitable, therefore, among the names of the residents you can find the famous composer Rimsky-Korsakov, playwright Tarnovsky and others.
Several houses in the Small Gnezdnikovsky Lane are also objects of cultural heritage. Among them is the apartment building, which belonged to the clergy and the elder of the Church of St. Nicholas, and the school for girls and boys. Some buildings are valuable as architectural monuments of the XVIII-XIX centuries.
Modernity
Today, most of the buildings in Gnezdnikovsky Lanes, Bolshoi and Maly, belong to various institutions, banks, and editorial offices. There are also many residential apartments. Even a small living space in this elite district of the capital costs about 20 million rubles.
How to get there
It’s easy to find Bolshaya Gnezdnikovsky Lane on the map of the capital, it’s easy to get here. Having left at the Pushkinskaya metro station, you need to walk a few meters along Tverskaya and turn right.