The Hermitage Garden (see photo below) is a monument of landscape gardening art. It is located in the very center of Moscow. Residents of the capital highly appreciate this islet of green nature, located among noisy courtyards and gassed streets. Here young mothers with strollers walk, lovers meet and couples make a promenade.
Have you chosen the Hermitage park as your vacation destination? How to get to it? It should be borne in mind that it is located near Karetny Ryad Street and Chekhovskaya and Pushkinskaya metro stations.
Appearance story
The Hermitage Park was the first entertainment garden in Moscow. It was opened in 1830. In those ancient times, the garden was located not in its present place, but at Bozhedomka. The Hermitage Park offered to its visitors coffee houses and gazebos, pavilions and a theater. He reached the peak of his popularity in those years when he was owned by the well-known entrepreneur M.V. Lentovsky.
In the past, he was an actor in the Maly Theater. Boating on the pond in boats, water fireworks, processions of military bands and other entertainment events were arranged in the garden. Not only all residents of Moscow, but also foreigners visiting the capital came to rest in the Hermitage Park.
After Lentovsky went bankrupt, this place gradually became desolate. Somewhat later, the garden was built up with houses.
The Hermitage Park received its rebirth in 1894, when Moscow merchant Ya.V. Schukin bought the estate located in the carriage row. Literally in a year, the neglected territory turned into a blooming garden. In the wasteland, flowerbeds were laid out, paths laid and bushes and trees planted. A theater building also appeared in the garden.
Cultural activities
A significant event took place in the Hermitage Park on May 26, 1896. On this day, a publicly screened movie of the Lumiere Brothers was held here . Two years later, a theater was opened in the park, whose leaders were V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and K.S. Stanislavsky. 10/26/1898, the premiere of their production called "Tsar Fedor Ioannovich." On the same stage, such plays as Uncle Vanya and Seagull A.P. were played by the Moscow Art Public Theater. Chekhov.
Many celebrities performed at the theater of the Hermitage Park. Among them F.I. Chaliapin and S.V. Rachmaninov, Anna Pavlova and Sarah Bernhardt, Ernesto Rossi and others.
The Hermitage is a garden in which Schukin built a summer building, the Mirror Theater. In the future, it was planned to erect a new building. It was supposed to be a winter theater, designed for a thousand spectators. However, the implementation of plans was prevented by the First World War.
Years of Soviet Power
After the revolution of 1917, the Hermitage Park was nationalized. A little later, during the NEP, he was leased out in private.
In 1924, the building located in the Hermitage Park was given to the theater of the Moscow City Council of Trade Unions. Later it was renamed the Mossovet Theater.
War period
During the years of Soviet rule, the Hermitage Park was also one of the most popular places where residents of the capital could relax. In autumn 1941, it was closed. The work of the park resumed in April next year. In 1943, performances were staged here. For this, artists returned from evacuation to Moscow. The room of the theater was not heated. However, this did not stop the audience or the artists.
Post-war period
In the summer of 1945, the Hermitage Garden was reconstructed. In 1948, a summer concert hall was built on the territory of the park. On his stage, performances by K.I. Shulzhenko, A.I. Raikina, L.I. Ruslanova. Here you could listen to the L.O. orchestra Utesova.
In the fifties and sixties of the last century, Muscovites came to the Hermitage Garden to play chess, read, just walk and listen to the performances of their favorite artists. A summer-type cinema was opened in the park in 1953. It immediately became a popular venue for Muscovites and guests of the capital. A large number of people came to see paintings exhibited directly in the open air.
The popularity that the Hermitage Park Garden enjoyed was reported by statistics. So, in 1957, this green corner in the capital was visited by 1.5 million people. R. Kartsev and V.S. performed on the stage of the park. Vysotsky, foreign theater and music groups. The Hermitage Garden Mirror Theater was chosen as the location where the first game, What? Where? When?". In 1980, the cinema was handed over to the Miniature Theater, headed by A.I. Raikin.
Garden Modern Life
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Hermitage Park survived the time of desolation. Fortunately, it has already passed. In 1991, the New Opera Theater was opened for guests of the park. The Hermitage and Sphere theaters work here. To the 850th anniversary of Moscow, the park was reconstructed. Restoration work has touched many historical buildings.
The Hermitage Garden is currently a wonderful place to relax. In the afternoon, young mothers like to walk here with their babies. Schoolchildren sometimes come from neighboring yards. On warm summer days, non-professional dancers performing classical dance art perform directly on garden paths or on an open stage.
With the onset of the evening, the Hermitage Park becomes the venue for various events. In the summer, these are presentations and exhibitions, concerts of stars from abroad, as well as a jazz international festival. In winter, the park has a large ice rink.
There is a nightclub and a tea culture club in the garden, as well as several restaurants.
Theater "New Opera"
In the 21st century, the Hermitage Park experienced a great shock. There was a fire on its territory. As a result, part of the historical building that was leased to the Diaghilev club was destroyed by fire. Otherwise, a prosperous life continues in the garden, as before, it remains one of the most beloved places of Muscovites. Here you can spend all your free day with pleasure. First, just take a walk, admire the flower exhibition or dance with unprofessional dancers on a summer outdoor venue, and a little later dine, visiting a restaurant, and go watch the performance.
To date, three theaters are operating in the Hermitage Garden. One of them - “New Opera” - is open in a rebuilt building. Previously, the Mirror Theater was located here. In 1997, a new building was built for the New Opera.
The theater gained popularity immediately after the opening. Thousands of spectators sought to get into it to listen to classical works in innovative productions. The most famous of them are "Eugene Onegin", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "La Traviata" and others. The performances, carried out by the first artistic director of the theater Evgeny Kolobov, are still sold out.
They know and love the theater far beyond the borders of the Russian capital. In recent years, he has been awarded several very prestigious prizes. On their list is the Star of the Week diploma, established by the German newspaper Abendzeitung, the Russian Opera Prize Casta Diva, and others. In addition, the theater became a member of the European opera community Opera Europa.
"Hermitage"
This is another garden theater. Founded by Mikhail Levitin, it has been around for decades. The Hermitage is valuable to theater-goers in that it is used to stage plays created by writers of the 1920s.
Among them are Nikolai Oleinikov and Yuri Olesha, Isaac Babel and Alexander Vvedensky.
Recently, the performances of Latin American authors have been shown on the stage of this theater.
"Sphere"
This small, but at the same time unusual and very interesting theater in the Hermitage Park is intended for the general public. It was created in 1981. Its openness is attractive to the public, because the audience in a small room, in the middle of which is the stage, often become participants in the performances.
Tea club
The Moscow Hermitage Park offers its visitors an unusual pastime. In the garden there is a unique club, which presents a whole collection of Chinese tea of elite varieties, as well as exquisite utensils for tea drinking ceremonies.
You can get acquainted in this club with specialized literature. Visitors to the institution take off their shoes and outerwear, sitting directly on soft carpets in small cozy rooms. Only after this begins the tea drinking ceremony, which takes place under the guidance of specialists who give new knowledge about the usual drink.
Garden walks
The green corner in the very center of Moscow - the Hermitage Park - welcomes its visitors with a cozy and well-groomed territory. In summer, fountains work here. Poplars and oaks, maples and lindens grow throughout the park. Between the trees there are paths with benches installed along them. Planted bushes of roses, lilacs and honeysuckles are pleasing to the eye.
In 2000, two sculptures appeared on the alleys of the park. One of them was donated by the City Hall of Paris. This is a bust of Victor Hugo. Its author is L. Marcest. The second sculpture is a gift from the Italian government. This is the figure of Dante Alighieri. The author is R. Piras. In 2004, after restoration, the first electric lantern of Moscow, which was made in 1880 at the Catherine Plant , was again lit in the garden.