Nizhny Novgorod is the capital of the Volga region and the fifth megalopolis of Russia (in number), leading its history from the 13th century. The heart of Nizhny Novgorod is the Kremlin, whose fortified white stone wall has a length of about two kilometers.
The city has many historical and architectural attractions, including the Freedom Square of Nizhny Novgorod and the old prison. The story is presented in this article about this historical place.
General information about Nizhny Novgorod
Before we describe in more detail the Liberty Square in Nizhny Novgorod, we will provide some information about the city itself. Amazingly beautiful old Russian city is located at the meeting place of the great rivers - Volga and Oka. Moscow is 400 kilometers away.
Surprisingly, this city has retained the spirit of antiquity. The pearl of the Volga impresses with a huge number of cultural, historical and architectural monuments. It is included in the first hundred cities on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The city is famous for its Kremlin, literary critic Dobrolyubov, famous Russian writers A. Pechersky and M. Gorky, Kulibin (self-taught inventor), mathematician Lobachevsky, as well as his people's militia, which liberated the country from the Poles. Nizhny Novgorod is the center of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the capital of the Volga region. The population of the metropolis is 1 million 300 thousand people.
Among the nationalities, Russians predominate significantly (95%), however, apart from them, Ukrainians, Mordovians, Tatars and Armenians live in Nizhny Novgorod.
The following are more detailed information about the Freedom Square of Nizhny Novgorod.
History of the square
Once called Ostrozhnaya Square, after the 1917 revolution, it received the name Freedom Square. Located in the historical central part of Nizhny Novgorod.
It was located around the prison, which was built in 1820, and therefore received its first name. The fortress was built by the famous architect A. Betancourt, who designed the Main Fair House in Nizhny Novgorod, the first bridge across the Neva River and Central Embankment in St. Petersburg.
The Freedom Square of Nizhny Novgorod, which formed around the prison, was for a long time located on the edge of the city, where there were wine and timber depots, as well as brick factories to the north. Thanks to active development in the middle of the 20th century, Freedom Square became part of the city center.
Description of the modern square
Where is the Freedom Square of Nizhny Novgorod, in what area? Administratively, it is located in the Nizhny Novgorod district of the city.
Today this place is one of the main transport hubs of the city and a meeting place for citizens, since it is quite easy to get to it from any corner of the city. In addition, in the central part of the square there will be a large square with a monument erected in honor of the participants of the 1905 revolution. This park is located between the Opera House and the transport ring located on Freedom Square.
Many visitors to the city and even some of its residents do not suspect that right behind the nine-story apartment buildings in a quiet corner is the prison prison building.
Nizhny Novgorod prison
Here was the Provincial Nizhny Novgorod prison.
The main route through the city to Siberia ran through this city, therefore, from the very beginning of its existence, the Nizhny Novgorod prison was used not only for imprisonment, but also for the placement of prisoners of transit. Only in the 2nd half of the 20s of the XIX century up to 250 people passed weekly through Nizhny Novgorod.
For this purpose, the prison was used until the autumn of 1914. After that, the Nizhny Novgorod prison was transferred to new buildings built on the Arzamas highway.
The Nizhny Novgorod prison building is a two-story building with four round towers in the corners. The central part is occupied by a church with a belfry. The first and second floors were intended for common chambers, and the towers - for solitary. In the basement of the building there were dungeons (punishment cells) for special prisoners. On the courtyard of the prison there were outbuildings: barracks, a bathhouse, a forge, guards, a stable and a hospital. All this has not survived to this day. The outer courtyard was occupied by wooden barracks intended for transit prisoners.
The decision to turn this building into a museum was made in 1981. Today, this fortress is a branch of the Museum of Local History.
Finally
How to get to Freedom Square in Nizhny Novgorod?
You can get to it by trolleybus number 3 and 10, minibuses and bus number 35.
It should be noted that the importance of the prison in Nizhny Novgorod as a monument of architecture and history was not timely assessed. In the 50-60s of the XX century, it was sandwiched by residential buildings built on three sides. Especially tangible architectural loss from the street. Barbarian, where this unique historical monument is closed by a faceless high-rise building.