Muscovites and guests of the Russian capital are very fond of strolling along Sofiyskaya Embankment. After all, here you can not only see many architectural sights, but also admire the beautiful panoramas of the Moscow River.
Sofiyskaya Embankment (Moscow): history and modernity
The embankment is located in the very center of the city. It offers a gorgeous view of the Moscow Kremlin with its turrets. It received its name in honor of the temple of Sofia, located here. We invite you to take an absentee walk along the Sofia Embankment with a visit to its most famous sights.
It is curious that in Soviet times (from 1964 to 1992) the street bore the name of Maurice Thorez - the head of the Communist Party of France. In the early 90s, it got its modern name - Sophia Embankment. Metro is the most convenient way to get here. The nearest stations are Kropotkinskaya and Borovitskaya, which you need to get off at.
The embankment was dressed in stone in the first half of the XIX century. The famous engineer Andrei Ivanovich Delvig worked on this project. In the 1930s, Soviet architects decided to demolish the embankment, however, fortunately, these plans were not realized.
On the odd side of the Sofiyskaya Embankment, the Moscow River flows, on the even - various buildings and architectural monuments are located . Some of them will be discussed later.
Sofia Temple - a monument of religious architecture
Sophia Church of the Wisdom of God in the Middle Gardeners - this is the name of this church. It was she who gave the name to the entire promenade.
The first church on Sofiyskaya Embankment was built at the end of the 15th century. It was wooden. An orchard was pitched around him, which is why the whole area began to be called Gardeners. In 1682, the wooden church was replaced by a stone one. Later it was rebuilt several times. In particular, at the end of the century before last, the refectory was thoroughly reconstructed.
The exterior of the church is typical of Russian temple architecture. The heads of the temple of Sofia are traditionally decorated with kokoshniks, and the windows are with keeled platbands.
The bell tower of the temple of Sofia
The bell tower of the church of Sofia is the main architectural dominant of Sofia Embankment. Visually, it harmonizes perfectly with the red-brick towers of the Kremlin, located on the opposite side of the river.
The bell tower was built much later than the temple - in 1862 (pay attention to the entertaining game of numbers and dates). The building was designed by architect Nikolai Kozlovsky. The three-tier bell tower is made in the Byzantine style and goes directly to the promenade (in contrast to the church, which "hid" in the courtyards).
In the 1930s, the church of Sofia, of course, was closed. In the middle of the twentieth century, it looked very deplorable: the plaster from the walls was peeling off, the residents settled in the buildings, and the crosses were replaced by television antennas. In the 1970s, the Soyuzpodvodgazstroy trust took over the bell tower. Only in 1992 the object was returned to the Orthodox Church, and in 2012 the bell tower of the church was thoroughly reconstructed.
Apartment building Pertsova
From Sofiyskaya Embankment it is difficult not to notice the amazing building, which is located on the opposite bank, at the beginning of Soymonovsky passage. This is Pertsov’s apartment building - a real masterpiece, built in the Art Nouveau style. The building attracts attention with its unusual shapes and colorful majolica. Do not be too lazy to cross the bridge over the river to view it in detail.
The house was built at the beginning of the twentieth century for Peter Pertsov, an engineer of the railways of the Russian Empire. The contrast of the external and internal facade of the building is striking. From the yard it looks very simple and unpretentious, but from the outside it is simply amazing! The interiors of many rooms are decorated in an oriental style: here you can see carved stairs, beautiful majolica furnaces and bright stained-glass windows.
Pyotr Nikolayevich Pertsov lived in his chic mansion until 1922. For the active defense of the Orthodox Church, the Bolsheviks sent him to prison, and then he was evicted from his house.
Manor of Kirillov
In the embankment area there is another unique architectural monument - the estate of Averky Kirillov. This unusual house was built in the second half of the XVII century.
The decor of the building is very beautiful and sophisticated. Each of the two tiers is crowned with a highly artistic cornice. The walls of the house are lavishly decorated with pilasters and pseudo-columns, and the windows are decorated with lush platbands. On the south wall you can still see the ancient murals.
In 1941, the Institute of Cultural Studies was located in the estate of Kirillov, which is still located there.
Manor Kharitonenko
Another chic estate was preserved on Sofiyskaya Embankment (house No. 14/12). This building belonged to the "sugar king" - Ukrainian industrialist Petr Kharitonenko. It is worth noting that he not only owned factories, but was also a major patron of the Russian Empire. Kharitonenko spent most of his time in this estate, on the banks of the Moskva River.
Perhaps there is no longer a building on this embankment that can be compared in splendor and grandeur to the estate of the “sugar king” Kharitonenko. The complex of buildings was erected at the end of the XIX century in the classical style. But the interiors of the estate were decorated in a rare Russian style of Gothic Art Nouveau.