Tverskaya Street

The first mention of Tverskaya Street dates back to the 12th century. The street itself was originally the main road to Tver, which in the 14th century connected with the road to Novgorod. This certainly influenced its significance, but it was the founding of Saint Petersburg that played the decisive role. Then, Tverskaya Street became the route to the new capital and was embedded in the minds of all citizens as the main arterial road. The tsars, ambassadors, and important guests used it to arrive in Moscow.

During the reign of Peter the Great, temporary triumphal arches were installed in the squares along Tverskaya Street to celebrate holidays and military victories, and solemn processions to the Kremlin took place along the street. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the best houses, stores, and hotels were built on Tverskaya. Together with the mansions of the Moscow nobility and parish and house churches, they shaped the architectural character of the street until the 20th century.

A lot has happened in the past century: most of the backyards and monasteries have disappeared, Tverskaya Street has been widened and shortened and had its name changed and changed back (it was known as Gorky Street from 1932 to 1990), but it still remains the capital’s most famous and significant street. Today, Tverskaya starts at Manezhnaya Square and ends at Triumphalnaya Square. It is the home of luxury hotels (Ritz-Carlton, Marriott Grand), the oldest stores (Eliseevsky, the Moskva bookstore), cafes, restaurants, museums, and theaters. It is the heart of the nightlife and cultural life of the city. The appearance of the street is mostly defined by buildings in the Soviet classical style of the mid-twentieth century, but there are also older buildings, such as the English Club (the former Razumovsky Palace), Savvinsky Courtyard, Postnikovsky Passage, and the Hotel National. The “House Under a Skirt” and the Central Telegraph Building are outstanding architectural objects of the twentieth century.

The street was modernized in 2016–2017 – the sidewalks were widened and paved with granite slabs, most of the utility lines were hidden underground, hundreds of trees were planted, the bus stops were renovated, and signs and streetlights recreated from historical drawings were installed.

Photo: travellgide.ru