Neskuchny Garden is located on the right bank of the Moscow River and is the largest park in the historical part of the city.

Neskuchny Garden was formed in the first half of the reign of Nicholas I from noble estates that previously belonged to the Trubetskoys (in the south), the Golitsyns (in the center) and the Orlovs (in the north).

The garden got its name from the Neskuchnoye estate of Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy.

On October 18, 1728, the prince bought, in the name of his five-year-old son Peter, from the Archimandrite of the Zaikonospassky School Monastery German (Koptsevich) “a courtyard mansion with trees planted on the banks of the Moscow River.” The site was located near St. Andrew's Monastery.

In the early 1750s, Trubetskoy, on the site of the purchased building, erected an estate - Neskuchny Country House (a two-story house with four wings) according to the design of the architect Ukhtomsky.

Behind the house there was a “labyrinth” and greenhouses, and in the ravine there was a menagerie.

By the beginning of the 19th century, little remained of the Trubetskoy estate. Celebrations and celebrations were held in the park, and in 1805, balloon launches took place.

The only building remaining from the Trubetskoy estate is the Hunting Lodge.

Initially, there was a Stone Gallery in it, hunting rifles and gunpowder were stored, and servants lived. During Soviet times, the Samovarnik tea house was located in the house.

And since 1990, the Hunting Lodge has been a venue for games of the television club “What? Where? When?”

The last owner of the Trubetskoy estate, Prince Shakhovskoy, sold it in November 1826 for two hundred thousand rubles to establish the summer residence of Emperor Nicholas I in Moscow.
After the purchase, the garden was not closed to visitors, and in 1830 a summer aerial theater was opened in it, in the creation of which the architect Osip Ivanovich Bove took part.

The theater could accommodate up to 1,500 spectators and was “like a large covered gallery in a semicircle, and the stage itself was adapted so that trees and bushes replaced the scenery.” The theater immediately became very popular among Muscovites. Performances were given twice a week. Famous Russian actors played here: Shchepkin, Mochalov, Lensky and others. Ticket prices ranged from 15 rubles for boxes to one and a half rubles in the second gallery.

The theater existed until 1835, when the glory of Neskuchny was eclipsed by a new amusement park - Petrovsky, with a theater erected in it.

The Trubetskoy estate was bordered by the possessions of the Golitsyn princes, whose name was also given to the nearby Golitsyn hospital.

One of the owners of the estate was Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, who became the prototype of the countess in Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades.”

Natalya Petrovna, who lived in St. Petersburg, did not want to part with her Moscow dacha and ordered in her will not to sell it earlier than 5 years after her death.

The princess's son, Moscow mayor Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn, sold the estate in 1843 to the Department of Appanages for thirty thousand silver rubles. The property acquired by the emperor occupied an area of ​​about 12.5 hectares. More than 2,500 trees grew in the park - linden, birch and maple. The main house of the estate stood without glass and was in a dilapidated state.

In 1951, on the site of the Golitsyn estate, a rotunda gazebo was built in honor of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of Moscow.

The northern part of Neskuchny Garden, located closest to the city center, was purchased in 1754 by Prokofiy Demidov from different owners: one plot from General Soimonov, the other from the widow of Prince Repnin.

A stone house was built on the resulting large plot. At the palace, Demidov laid out a garden in the shape of an amphitheater.

The first plants were obtained by exchanging seeds and obtaining shoots from the Demidov Botanical Garden in Solikamsk.

From the manor house to the river, the garden descended with ledges that had different widths and heights, but the same length of 95 fathoms. The upper platform was separated from the yard and the house by a lattice about 10 fathoms wide.

Initially, fruit trees were planted, then shrubs and herbaceous plants. The garden had many stone greenhouses containing palm trees and trees from hot countries, and on the fifth platform from the top there was a large pond and poultry house with rare birds and animals imported from Holland and England. In addition, ground sheds and greenhouses served for growing pineapples, grapes and other plants.

After the death of the owner, the empty Demidov estate was acquired by Elena Nikitichna, the wife of Prosecutor General Vyazemsky, who spent her childhood in these places, on the estate of her father Nikita Trubetskoy.

In 1793, the former estate of Demidov was bought by Count Fyodor Grigorievich Orlov, one of the famous Orlov brothers.

Under Count Orlov, Demidov's house was rebuilt, a complex of outbuildings was created, a park was landscaped on the slope of the high bank of the Moscow River, in which a figured pond, pavilions, bridges and a grotto appeared.
Two thalwegs saturated with groundwater were used to create the Catherine Pond.

Having no legitimate offspring, Fyodor Orlov bequeathed the estate to his 11-year-old niece Anna Chesmenskaya. All management of Neskuchny on behalf of his daughter was carried out by her father Alexey Grigorievich Orlov-Chesmensky.

In the former Demidov Palace, the old count gave feasts for the amusement of his only daughter, at the end of which fireworks were set off. Count Orlov turned the new estate, called the “May House” at that time, into an entertainment house.

“In the summer, not a single holiday, not a single Sunday passed without some kind of celebrations and holidays in the count’s garden,” contemporaries recalled. The slopes of the ravines were strengthened and formed; two capital stone bridge: Upper and Middle. The main planning changes in the estate took place at the same time and they were connected with the count’s main passion - horses. Along the northeastern border of the service yard, an extended stone two-story building of the Manege and adjacent stables was erected. In the Orlov Manege, carousels were held - equestrian competitions and processions, in which his daughter Anna took part.

Currently, the Fersman Mineralogical Museum is located in the former arena building.

The former house church at the arena has also been preserved.

In 1804−06, a two-story Summer (Tea) House with 4 Corinthian columns was erected on Orlov’s estate. A large area was built in front of the southern façade of the house.

According to one version, the house was the place of secret meetings between Empress Catherine II and Grigory Orlov, according to another - as a place of games for Anna Alekseevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya. The house offers a picturesque view of the Moscow River and Frunzenskaya Embankment.

In the ravine, near the figure-shaped Catherine Pond with natural banks, another classic pavilion was erected - the Bath House (or Bath), built on the site between the thalwegs. Until now, a significant amount of groundwater has been filtered through the pile system of the Bath House.

The house had bathtubs and a sauna.
In Soviet times, the Bath House was a dining room and a cafe "Float".

Since the 1960s, after the first fire, the gradual destruction of the Bath House began. During another fire in 2003, the columns partially collapsed, the dome burned down, and the remains of the building were sheathed in iron sheets and painted green. Now it is difficult to recognize the elegant Bath House in this shabby, painted building.

Near the Catherine Pond, a “passage grotto with a stone vault, decorated with spongy stones on the outside,” previously crowned with a “Birch Gazebo,” has been preserved. The grotto was built in 1807, after which it was rebuilt twice - in 1836 and 1856. Its last reconstruction in 1856 was carried out by the architect and engineer Pyotr Dmitrievich Delsal.

In the 1970s, the grotto was used by Moscow “walruses” as a locker room: “It was in this grotto that the Moscow walruses set up a locker room for themselves. Initially, the grotto was a walk-through, through-hole, but lovers of cold water swimming closed the exit towards the river and hung a door on the opposite side parties and divided the resulting closed room into male and female halves" (from the story by Valentin Kuznetsov "Walruses of the Neskuchny Garden").

After the death of Count Orlov, his daughter Anna inherited his fortune.

In 1826, Orlova gave a ball on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas I, which was attended by 1,200 guests, and the palace halls were illuminated by 7,000 candles.
In 1832, Anna Orlova sold the luxurious estate for one and a half million rubles to Nicholas I, who gave it to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna - since then the palace began to be called Alexandria.

In 1843, after the purchase of the Golitsyn dacha, the Neskuchny Garden and the Alexandria Summer Palace were united into a single ensemble.
The chief architect who was involved in the refurbishment of the former Demidov house royal palace, was Evgraf Dmitrievich Tyurin. The estate was renovated and service buildings were reconstructed. Lawns were laid out in front of the palace, and a guardhouse was built next to the Cavalry Corps.
Sculptural two-figure groups holding a cornucopia were installed on the pylons of the entrance gate.

In front of the palace, a cast-iron fountain by sculptor Ivan Petrovich Vitali has been preserved. Previously, from 1835 to 1934, the fountain stood on Lubyanka Square, where it served as a water intake basin into which drinking water from the Mytishchi water supply system.

After the revolution, the palace housed a furniture museum. And in 1934, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences was transferred to it from Leningrad.

Neskuchny Garden was opened to the public in the absence of the imperial family in Moscow.
In 1861, it was planned to transfer the Neskuchny Garden with the former Golitsyn estate to the disposal of the Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants for the establishment of a Zoological Garden here. However, the Zoo was built on Presnensky Ponds.
In 1890-1905, Neskuchny Garden became the summer residence of the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. In those days, access to Neskuchny Garden was limited.
In 1928, the territory of Neskuchny Garden became part of the Park of Culture and Recreation, which later received the name Gorky Park.

Palace in Neskuchny (G. M. Antsiferova)

The house in Neskuchny Garden, called the Alexandrinsky Palace (see illustration), is considered to be a work of late classicism. Its palace appearance was associated with the activities of the architect E. D. Tyurin in the 30s of the 19th century, when he was the chief architect of the Moscow palace office. But, as will be shown in the article, the appearance of the building was formed much earlier. It belonged to the Orlovs since the 90s of the 18th century; before that, the Vyazemskys owned the house, and in the middle of the 18th century. here stood the house of P. A. Demidov.

The purpose of this article is to identify the building of the Alexandrinsky Palace with the house of P. A. Demidov and clarify the time of its reconstruction during the period of classicism.

The view of the garden facade of P. A. Demidov’s house has come down to us in an engraving in the book of Academician P. S. Pallas, published in 1781 and dedicated to the description of the famous botanical garden of Demidov (see illustration) *.

* (P. S. Pallas. Catalog of plants located in the Moscow garden... Prokofy Akinfievich Demidov. St. Petersburg, 1781.)

The assumption about the identity of the house in this engraving and the Alexandrinsky Palace was made by L.P. Alexandrov, who, based on the coincidence of the number of storeys and the number of window axes, considered only the decor of the building to have changed *. He saw the facade depicted in the book as poorly articulated plastically as the modern garden façade of the palace. However, there is no doubt that in the engraving the central part of the building is recessed, although the cornice is not loosened in this image, which can be explained by the architectural lack of professionalism of the engraver (this is also evidenced by the inconsistent placement of the shadow shading of the volumes). At the same time, an open balcony with an enclosing lattice, supported by columns, is in line with the side parts, which, therefore, are nothing more than risalits.

* (A. P. Alexandrov. The past of Neskuchny Garden. Historical reference. M., 1923, p. 45.)

But the garden facade of the Alexandrinsky Palace has a small protrusion in the center. Apparently, between the risalits of Demidov’s house, some kind of volume was built into the entire height of the facade. If this is so, then we should not talk about changing the decor, but about a significant restructuring of the house. The study of graphic materials and full-scale analysis of the interiors of the Alexandria Palace also leads to the conclusion about a decisive change in the original space-planning structure of the building.

On the floor plans of the house, dating back to 1831 (see illustration) *, in the central part of the garden facade, the area of ​​the front two-story hall (the full height of the second and third floors) and the same area of ​​vaulted rooms on the first and basement floors are clearly visible. The window openings of the original facade are left on the inner wall of the hall; on the first floor they are also easily visible, although they are partially blocked.

* (State Research Museum of Architecture named after. A. V. Shchuseva, b. I, No. 5673. Facades and plans presented by A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya. They are all undated, made on Whatman paper with watermarks of 1829 and apparently date back to 1831, when negotiations began on the sale of the house.)

What is visible in the modern interior of the palace? On the third floor, before skylights were made in the ceiling and roof * in 1856, the entire central part had no natural light, although five semi-circular second-light windows on the inner wall of the large columned hall open into these rooms. It is obvious that before the building was rebuilt, the central rooms and the staircase on the right side of the house faced the garden façade and were illuminated by their own windows.

* (TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 20, No. 18199, AL. 25-31.)

Likewise, in the mezzanine, the oval columned hall with a painted ceiling located in the center turned out to be half-dark; daylight entered it through the windows of the large columned hall adjacent to it. Of course, initially this hall had windows overlooking the garden façade, as did the antechamber rooms located on either side of it. The same can be said about the central rooms of the lower floor. All this means that the rooms in the center of the building, now deprived of natural light, were blocked off by new rooms built between the projections. The new facade has the same five window axes, corresponding to the built-up central part of the house *.

* (These observations and studies conducted by the author of the article in 1959-1960. (the manuscript is in the archives of the Inspectorate for the Protection of Monuments of Glavap), confirmed by V. T. Shmakova’s discovery of the original plan of the house, a description of which see: “In the vicinity of Moscow. From the history of Russian estate culture of the 17th-A1A centuries.” M, 1979, p. 387-388.)

The new order decoration that the building received during the reconstruction changed the relationship of its facades. If Demidov's house was facing the garden and the Moscow River with its main façade, which corresponded to the methods of estate construction of the mid-18th century, now the representative decoration of the opposite facade with an impressively highlighted central part made this façade, oriented towards Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street, the main one, respectively with the principles of construction in the era of classicism.

Before trying to determine when the reconstruction of the Demidov house could have taken place, it is necessary to briefly trace, starting from the mid-18th century, the history of ownership in Neskuchny. (Let us note in advance the trend of consolidation of plots on the territory of Neskuchny by purchasing neighboring estates, which began at this time and ended a hundred years later with the unification of the entire territory of Neskuchny - a garden that already belonged to the royal Alexandrinsky Palace).

In the middle of the 18th century. in the area from the Kaluzhskaya Zastava to the place where the Golitsyn hospital was later built, there were several estates located between the Moskva River and B. Kaluzhskaya Street *. The very first large property from the outpost in the 40s and back in the late 70s belonged to the Prosecutor General Prince N. Yu. Trubetskoy. In 1804, the courtyard of V.I. Zubov was listed on this territory. After Zubov, the estate was owned by Prince L.A. Shakhovskoy, and in 1826 it was purchased by the Moscow Palace Office. The area to the right of Trubetskoy in the 18th century. belonged to N. M. Golitsyna. It was purchased by the palace department only in 1842.

* (Information about the location of estates is taken from the following sources: A. Mikhailov. Architect Ukhtomsky and his school. M., 1954, p. 184; Moscow State historical archive, f. 105, op. 9/1, No. 664; MGINTA, Serpukhov part, No. 731-733; TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 20, No. 18758, l. 3.)

Property to the right of Golitsyn in the second half of the 18th century. consisted of four sections: Pokhodyashin, Soymonov, Demidova and Serikov. It is on the common territory of these four sites that the Alexandrinsky Palace with the entire complex of buildings related to it is located *.

* (Information about this part of Neskuchny is found in the case of the purchase of a house from Orlova-Chesmenskaya (TsGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 60, No. 29712, l. 59), as well as in the publication: "Act books of the 18th century", Vol. VIII. M., 1898 (sales certificate No. 585 for 1754).)

In 1754 M.A. Demidova bought the neighboring yard of the Soimonovs. Pokhodyashin's yard was purchased by F. G. Orlov in 1786. The courtyards of Serikov and Demidov were bought by E. N. Vyazemskaya * (probably after the death of P. A. Demidov in 1788, since it is unlikely that he himself could sell his estate with the botanical garden, which was his brainchild). In 1793, Vyazemskaya sold all this property to her neighbor F.G. Orlov, who, thus, became the sole owner of all four plots contemporaneous with Demidov and the owner of the Vyazemsky house **, i.e. Demidov’s former house.

* (E. N. Vyazemskaya, daughter of N. Yu. Trubetskoy, owner of the estate in Neskuchny.)

** ("Indicator of Moscow, showing in alphabetical order the names of the owners of all houses in this capital...". M., 1793.)

In 1796, according to the will of F. G. Orlov, the entire property in Neskuchny was inherited by his niece A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya, who was eleven years old at that time. The actual owner of the estate was her father, the famous Catherine’s nobleman (then already retired) Count A.G. Orlov-Chesmensky. In the same year, after the accession of Paul, A. Orlov went abroad, and returning in 1801, settled in this house and lived in it until his death in 1808. A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya owned the estate and house until 1832, when all this property was sold by her to Nicholas I.

Thus, evidence from the deed books of the mid-18th century, the alphabetical index of Moscow in 1793 and the deed of sale in 1832 through the chain of owners connect the building of the Alexandria Palace with the house of P. A. Demidov.

In the book by P. S. Pallas, dedicated to the description of the famous Demidov garden, it is said about the house: “This garden was established together with a huge house around 1756... the garden goes from the courtyard to the Moscow River with ledges... the upper platform is separated from the courtyard a beautiful iron grille..." * .

* (P. S. Pallas. Decree. op.)

Let's return to the engraving of the house. If the constructive solution of the facade in this image (even with errors of illiterate shading) does not raise doubts and provides a starting point for recognizing the future Alexandrinsky Palace in it, then the ambiguity, surprise, and some curiosity of the image of the details of the facade make it extremely difficult to attempt a stylistic attribution of the Demidov house.

What features connect this building to the mid-18th century? We see in the engraving beautiful baroque lattice fences of the garden, balcony, roof; The baroque descents of the naively shown staircase seem to be of the Corinthian order. The lush frame of the windows in the risalits on the first floor seems to be rusticated, and in the center it seems to be picturesque. But the corner rustications of the risalits are archaic for this time, and the cornice mutulas are premature. The steep gables above the windows and the continuous edge on the third floor are unclearly depicted - is this a roller or a painting?

The Demidov house, chronologically fitting between the house of N. Yu. Trubetskoy in Neskuchny, built in the 50s, and the Apraksin house built in the 60s on Pokrovka, does not remain on the axis of this well-articulated baroque architecture, but is somehow pushed back to the early years first half of the 18th century There is some archaism in it, although the author paid tribute to modernity by introducing a large order and baroque grilles (probably Demidov casting) into the architecture of the house.

Three names are associated with the authorship of the Demidov house. The first of them - the serf builder Sitnikov - is named in Bessonov’s book: “Sitnikov’s name was mentioned in 1755 in connection with the construction of the Demidov Palace in Moscow. In the 80s of the 18th century, he participated in the construction of the Moscow Orphanage” *. It may be noted that in a letter from P. A. Demidov, dating back to the construction of the Orphanage, Sitnikov is mentioned, here named as the architect **. The name of Ivan Fedorovich Sitnikov appeared in 1828 in connection with the construction of a cast-iron staircase in the Orlova-Chesmekskaya house according to the design of Bove ***. The documentary reliability of this name in the affairs of the palace department in 1828 makes it impossible for the same Sitnikov to participate in the construction of the Demidov house in 1755. Perhaps this name should be associated not with the construction of the house, but with its later reconstruction?

* (S. V. Bezsonov. Serf architects. M., 1938, p. 84. Bezsonov writes that Sitnikov is I. A. Demidov’s serf. But of the three Demidov brothers there was none with the initial I (Prokofy, Grigory and Nikita Akinfievich). This is apparently a typo.)

** (K. Golovshchik. Family of nobles Demidov. Yaroslavl, 1881. Applications, p. 26.)

*** (Correspondence between O. I. Bove and I. F. Sitnikov regarding the estimate for the construction of the stairs. Beauvais' address: "to His Excellency I.F. Sitnikov." See: TsGIAL, f. 472, op.58/893, No. 35, pp. 5, 11.)

Fragment from materials for the "Atlas of Moscow". 1806-1808 Common buildings on Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street. near the Golitsyn hospital. CVIA, f. VUA, No. 22174

The middle name is the architect Iecht. He is credited with the authorship of the Demidov house. This name appears for the first time in Sobko's Dictionary *; in the guidebook of 1913 **. it is attributed to the Orlov house, which is chronologically impossible if Iecht died in 1763; Demidov’s house is no longer remembered in 1913; in the architectural guidebook published in 1959 *** the architect Iest is mentioned, and in this version this name is enshrined in the latest edition of Moscow ****. Be that as it may, we do not have data to give us an idea of ​​the creative personality of this architect. We also cannot rely on any documentary evidence, so it is better to leave the question of his participation in the construction of this house open. And finally, V. T. Shmakova published another name - V. Yakovlev, the architect who signed the original plan of the house *****.

* ("Iecht Wilhelm, foreign architect in Russia... died 1763... built Alexander's palace in Moscow...". - "Dictionary of Russian artists, sculptors, painters, architects...". Compiled by N. N. Sobko, vol. II, issue. 1. St. Petersburg, 1893, p. 513.)

** ("Moscow Guide...", edited by I. Mashkov. M., 1913, p. 18.)

*** ("Moscow. Architectural Guide". M., 1959.)

**** ("Moscow. Architectural monuments of the 18th century half of the 19th century"M., 1975. Album, p. 349.)

***** (V. T. Shmakova. The building of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - "Nature", 1974, No. 1, p. 99. See also: “In the vicinity of Moscow. From the history of Russian estate culture of the 17th-19th centuries,” p. 387-388.)

The new facade decoration of the palace makes it possible to date the reconstruction from the 80s of the 18th century. It is possible that the house was rebuilt by P. A. Demidov himself after the publication of Pallas’s book in 1781; It should also be remembered that Orlova-Chesmenskaya sold the already rebuilt house to the tsar. Let's make a list of house owners at these deadlines:

P.A.Demidov 1781-1788

A. A. and E. N. Vyazemsky.....1788-1793. F. G. Orlov................1793-1796 A. G. Orlov................796-1808 A. A. Orlova............1808-1832

Now let’s introduce into the study the earliest (of the ones we found) drawing. This is a plan of the Orlova-Chesmenskaya courtyard, dating back to 1804 (see illustration) *, with a schematic plan of the house, the main volume of which is outlined as an even rectangle, and the dotted line indicates the steps of the staircase on the garden facade, a balcony and two symmetrical semicircular colonnades of the current main facade. This means that by 1804 the house was rebuilt.

* (MGINTA, Serpukhov part, No. 731-733.)

If the old garden facade of the house is depicted in an engraving of 1781, then the opposite facade was also depicted in one of the drawings made for compilation in 1806-1808. "Atlas to the capital city of Moscow." This is a "profile" done in watercolor *. It starts from Kamer-Kollezhsky Val, goes along Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street and beyond. On Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya we see a group of buildings with the following explication: “1 - Kaluzhskaya outpost, 2 - philistine buildings, 3 - Golitsyn hospital.” Among the “philistine buildings” is depicted a house that, by a number of features, is recognizable as the house of Orlova-Chesmenskaya (see illustration). It seems to be located too close to the Golitsyn hospital, but when measured to scale from the center of the building to the left wing of the Golitsyn hospital, it turns out to be 150 fathoms, as well as on the plan of the adjacent properties of the Alexandrinsky Palace, the Golokhvastov site and the Golitsyn hospital. In addition, the "profile" shows a long one-story building, which appears on the 1804 plan and is visible in the engraving and thus provides an additional landmark.

* (Central Military Historical Archive, f. VUA, No. 22174.)

Since the topographical reference is beyond doubt. Since the “profile” shows Orlova-Chesmenskaya’s house, we can say with confidence that it is shown already rebuilt. The cornice, so magnificent on Demidov’s house, is missing here. Instead, three attics separated from each other complete the risalits. There are no columns or balconies indicated on the facade, and the scale of the image is so small that the shape of the window openings, except for the semi-circular windows at the top of the side projections, is impossible to determine. But it's impossible to imagine big house late XVIII - early XIX centuries. without a classic order. It is clear that the compiler of the “profile” simply omitted the details of the facade due to the small scale. And this has a certain effect. Devoid of decoration, the facade in its purely constructive scheme is associated with the architecture of the first half of the 18th century. Its triple projections, located close to each other, are characteristic of buildings of this time. Winter Palace Peter's Palace (in Zubov's engraving) and Anichkov Palace, and in Moscow Gagarin's house on Tverskaya structurally represent the same compositional scheme. And thus, the facade in the “profile” confirms its “antiquity”, its relationship with the garden facade in the engraving in Pallas’s book.

On the other hand, it is important that on the street façade there are, although conditionally and exaggerated, semi-circular windows - a characteristic attribute of the new classicist decor of the building, and their shape corresponds to the motif of semi-circular windows on the garden facade. Semi-circular windows indicate that the house had been rebuilt by the time it was depicted on the “profile”, i.e. by 1808, and with adjustments to the considered MGINTA plan - by 1804 *.

* (Although it is known that works from 1792-1795 were used for the Atlas. on compilation master plan Moscow (P.V. Sytin. History of planning and development of Moscow, vol. II. M., 1954, p. 396), we have no reason to date this particular “profile” and will rely on 1804.)

So, in the period from 1781 to 1804, the house could have been rebuilt by: Demidov himself, the Vyazemskys, F. Orlov and A. Orlov. What arguments can there be “for” and “against” here?

In 1781, P. A. Demidov was already over 70 years old and it is difficult to imagine that, having lived for a quarter of a century in his house, in his old age he would begin to remodel it in a new fashion.

It is very tempting to assume that it was A.A. and E.N. Vyazemsky who rebuilt the house. They buy a rich estate with greenhouses, services, and a huge, but already old-fashioned house. 1788-1793 - the very heyday of classicism, this is where the house would have to be rebuilt. But, from our point of view, this is done by the next owner - Fedor Orlov.

As you know, the Orlov brothers - Grigory, Alexey, Fedor and Vladimir - after retiring in 1775, moved to Moscow. In the book “Biographical Sketch of Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov”, published by his grandson, there are the following lines about Fyodor Orlov: “He lived for several years either with Vladimir or with Alexei, who each pulled him to their side; but, wanting to start his own house and Having a great taste for architecture, he built a palace on the beautiful bank of the Moscow River, which was superior in elegance to the mansions of Count Alexei (on the Donskoy Field, which later gave way to the City Hospital) and Count Vladimir (on Nikitskaya)."

* (V. Orlov-Davydov. Biographical sketch of Count V. G. Orlov, vol. II. St. Petersburg, 1878, p. 25.)

Let's consider two versions arising from this family legend. If we are referring here to F. Orlov’s house on the former Pokhodyashin site, then we are talking about a relatively small, summer (without stoves) * really elegant house (now the so-called Tea House), built in the style of classicism, like the “bathroom” pavilion below by the pond. But the word “palace,” of course, is more suitable for Demidov’s former house, and the essential nature of the restructuring that took place here is equivalent to the concept “built.”

* (“In the garden of the Alexandria Summer Palace on the banks of the Moscow River there is a very solid and beautiful stone structure without stoves, therefore called the “Summer House.” - From a report in the affairs of the Moscow Palace Office for 1833 TsGIAL, F. 472, op. 12/846, No. 43, l. 94.)

In addition, in 1878, when V. Orlov-Davydov wrote his essay, they no longer remember about Demidov’s house, but they know that the Orlovs’ house became the royal Alexandrinsky Palace.

Thus, the family memories of the Orlovs give us the greatest reason to believe that the house was rebuilt in 1793-1796. Fedor Orlov.

On the plan of the Orlova-Chesmenskaya property of 1804 and on the “profile” of Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street. we see the house with those features that it has retained to this day - semi-circular columned balconies, attics, semi-circular windows. Apparently, no significant work was carried out on the facades under Orlova. Orlova herself moved to St. Petersburg back in 1820 (she was a maid of honor), and in 1832 the Tsar bought a house with the entire estate from her.

Nicholas I's interest in Orlova's house arose back in 1826, when during the days of the coronation the royal family lived in her house in Neskuchny *. This year concerns the case of the release of 12,850 rubles from the “Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty” for the construction of a hanging cast-iron staircase in the Orlova-Chesmenskaya house, cast at the Shepelev factory according to O. I. Bove’s brouillon **. Let us note that this is the first name of the architect obtained from documents in the construction chronicle of the house.

* (TsGIAL, f. 472, op. 12/846, No. 43, l. 14.)

** (TsGIAL, f. 472, op. 58/893, No. 35, pp. 1-16. The author owes the reference to these documents to A. N. Petrov.)

The condition of the building is carefully documented in preparing the home for sale. In 1831, an assessment commission headed by the architect Mironovsky made a graphical recording, inventory and estimates for all buildings *. From a comparison of these materials with the plans presented by Orlova-Chesmenskaya **, and with the modern building, it is clear that the interior of the house in its basic layout has not undergone changes, retaining the planning structure obtained during reconstruction in the 90s of the 18th century. and largely inherited from the mid-18th century.

* (TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 60, No. 29712.)

** (State Research Museum of Architecture named after. A. V. Shchuseva, b. 1, no. 5673.)

Tall gray stone entrance steps lead to the grand vaulted entryway. In the right half of the house, from the first to the third floor there are flights of oak stairs on creeping vaults. In the left half, the main cast-iron staircase from 1829 leads to the mezzanine. Two more narrow white stone staircases, located symmetrically along the garden façade, lead to all floors and to the basement.

The state drawing rooms, lined with artificial marble, with painted lampshades, located in the mezzanine enfilade, were called blue, crimson and large yellow living rooms after the color of the furniture; towards the southern end there were, also with paintings on the ceilings, a small living room and a corner dining room. The doorways of the enfilade are directed along an axis starting from the southern end facade of the building. At the other end, the perspective of the enfilade is closed by a high white marble fireplace in the blue living room, from which the enfilade turns, stringing on its axis a front bedroom with a columned alcove and a corner study room. The enfilade opened on both sides from the middle large living room, to which a solemn approach led from the main staircase through the antechamber and the small columned hall.

A number of living rooms were located on the lower and upper floors: on the third floor there was a library, on the first floor there was a kitchen in the left half, near the utility staircase, and a bathhouse near the front entrance. All rooms on the first floor are vaulted, including the part along the garden façade that was added at the end of the 18th century.

Almost all the rooms on the mezzanine are decorated with picturesque lampshades and stucco moldings. The ceiling of the large columned hall, erected in the 90s of the 18th century, is similar to the painting of the large double-height living room on the opposite facade. Both lampshades have components of a late classical large grisaille pattern with brightly colored inserts and floral garlands. The same features were used to paint the lampshade in the small living room, in the corner living room and in the bedroom. The painting of the main staircase * and the antechamber is uniform in style. The nature of the ornament and the severity of the monochromatic grisaille give these rooms a certain official coldness. The painting of all these rooms, although somewhat different in emotional character, can be dated to the first third of the 19th century. It can be assumed that these paintings are simultaneous with the work carried out in the house in preparation for the coronation of 1826.

* (The painting was done in 1829 after the installation of a cast-iron staircase. See: TsGIAL, F. 472, op. 58/893, No. 35, l. 16.)

A completely different painting of the plafond of the small columned hall was discovered under a later layer during the restoration of the painting in 1959. The ornamental motif of the plafond and the combination of tones - soft green amphorae on a muted pink background - force this painting to be attributed, like the painting of the corner room at the beginning of the enfilade, to the left on the other hand, to the period of early classicism, i.e., in all likelihood, to the time before the house was rebuilt in the 90s.

A new stage in the construction history of the building, when it became the Alexandria Palace, is associated with the activities of E. D. Tyurin in 1833-1870, when he was the chief architect of the Moscow Palace Office *.

Here is a strict list of works carried out in the palace under the leadership and according to Tyurin’s designs, compiled by us based on documents from the Moscow Palace Office for the years 1833-1860. * :

* (TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 21, No. 19327, l. 5, No. 19326, l. 59; State Research Museum of Architecture named after. A. V. Shchuseva, b. 1, Nos. 3520, 3524, 3651, 3665. 3699, 5673, 5674, 5676; TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 16, pp. 321, 426, part 60, No. 29712, l. 32, No. 29748, l. 51, No. 29790, pp. 4-8, No. 29818.)

1833 Construction of cast-iron lattice balconies at the bottom of the semicircular balconies of the mezzanine on the main facade. Arrangement of the church premises on the mezzanine with the ceiling raised by two and a half arshins, installation of a flagpole.

1856 Construction of light openings over the dark rooms of the third floor. The addition of a wooden terrace on the left side of the garden façade near the new corner living room on the ground floor and the alteration of the arched column opening of the portal in connection with this, replacing the columns with pillars. Installation of a through interfloor hatch for mechanical lifting of a chair near the corner living room. Replacement of the Ionic capitals of the colonnade of the side semi-circular balconies of the main facade with Corinthian ones.

1860 Construction of a kitchen building at a distance behind the right wing and addition of a connecting wooden gallery to the end façade of the palace.

1833-1836 Construction of a wooden guardhouse on a stone foundation, and in 1836 - a stone one.

1836-1870 Installation of allegorical sculptural groups on the pylons of the entrance gate.

That's all that Tyurin did (not counting periodic repair work).

In subsequent years, the palace was run by the architects Gavrilov and Kolbe. During the period of preparation of the building to house the courtyard during the coronation in 1881-1882. Marble, stucco and painting works of a restoration nature were carried out in the interiors *. Later, the facades of the palace were not altered **.

* (TSGADA, f. 1239, op. 3, part 35, No. 24095, pp. 19-24.)

** (The good condition of the Alexandria Palace was certified by the commission of the subdepartment of architectural restoration of the museum department of the Main Science on December 28, 1918 (Academy of Architecture, Archives of the Central State Museum of Russian History, op. 1, no. 248, l. 5(132), A-1028, no. 3772(6). Commission noted that it was necessary, for artistic reasons, to remove the late wooden coverings of the balconies, dismantle the wooden terrace on the garden facade and restore the arches with columns, which were replaced with pillars in 1856. In the photograph of the palace, signed on October 30, 1927 (GIM, department architectural graphics, Gubarev's photo album, A-1028, No. 3772(6), the wooden terrace is no longer there, but the columns in the arched doorway have not yet been restored. In all likelihood, at the same time as the terrace, the wooden gallery leading to the kitchen building was dismantled. In the photograph of it The stone fence with vases on top, connecting the wings with the palace, on the right side adjoins directly to the portal, blocking the lower part of the garden facade in the same way as it is depicted in the watercolor of the mid-19th century. A photograph from it is in the State photo library. Scientific Research Museum of Architecture named after. A. V. Shchuseva, K. V., neg. 21970.)

So, apart from partial and, in any case, not decisive changes, the building to this day has retained the architectural appearance obtained during reconstruction in the 90s of the 18th century, and the interior has retained the planning structure of the mid-18th century.

The Neskuchnoye estate was located near the Kaluga outpost and covered the area from the Kaluga road to the Moscow River, where part of a high plateau and a deep, unsightly ravine with steep and gentle banks overlooked.

It was not easy for D.I. Ukhtomsky to transform this territory into a ceremonial residence, since the estate had a rather difficult terrain for laying out a park.
The estate was built in the first half of the 1750s under the influence of the Baroque style, and subsequently became an example of a Russian estate of the mid-18th century.

The Trubetskoy clan - the last clan of pre-Petrine Russia - was in close relations with the Romanovs. Nikita Yuryevich’s aunt, Irina Grigorievna Naryshkina, is the second cousin of Peter I’s mother. Her daughter, cousin of the owner of the estate, A.I. von Hesse-Homburg - wife of Louis-John-Wilhelm of Hesse-Homburg - heir to the German throne of the Land County.

Title page of the album of drawings by D.V. Ukhtomsky estate Neskuchnoye

The most clear idea of ​​what the architectural and park ensemble of Trubetskoy’s estate looked like is given by some of the sheets of Ukhtomsky’s 1753 album.

Perspective of the N.Yu. estate Trubetskoy. From the album D.V. Ukhtomsky

From the street there was a view of the estate, hidden behind a wooden fence consisting of a balustrade, above which towered sculptures and vases of flowers. The entrance gates were decorated with wooden carvings and paintings. Shells and busts were located in the niches of the pylons, and luxurious garlands were hung on the sides, which completed the baroque attire of the gate. There were guardhouses at the gates.

Behind the gate there is a formal garden. Green spaces taller than human height were divided into separate rooms - blocks - in the form of squares or rectangles.

The space of the garden was strictly organized: there were zones of greenery, main and economic pavilions, for example, a poultry house.

Across the entire park from the gate to the main house there was a central alley with trees, the crowns of which were trimmed in a spherical shape.

Several wooden gates in the regular part of the park led from one part of the park to another. Also, wooden gates were the entrance to the neighborhoods. The statues located at the intersections of the alleys gave the garden solemnity and illusion.

Ukhtomsky adapted the ravine as a menagerie - menagerie. The introduced gloss of regularity was adjacent to the natural naturalness of the transformed relief. A stream flowed through the ravine, turning closer to the Moscow River into a cascading pond.

Between the house, surrounded by four symmetrically placed wings, and the river, there was a labyrinth - a ground floor and greenhouses.

The alley, which contained the main axis of the estate's layout, led to the main entrance to the main two-story house. An elegant gate, similar to triumphal arch, with carved figures and drapery.

The facade of the main house is richly decorated with a baroque pediment and sculptural decoration above the roof.

The main house of the Neskuchnoye estate.

The main house is a very typical example of mid-18th century architecture. The first floor was decorated with a colonnade, and on the second floor the most impressive thing was the balcony. The roof of the main house was cut through with lucarnes framed by figured platbands. The decor used cartouches with shells and garlands that decorated the window frames. The pediment of the main house was decorated with reclining female figures and topped with a crown. The cartouche contains the prince's coat of arms, which was supported by figurines of cupids. The house was completed by a carved parapet with vases on pedestals.

The valet's house was also harmoniously combined with the main house - one of the cour d'honneur's service buildings, also decorated with lucarnes and a balustrade.

Small guest house was located closer to the entrance, isolated by the park specifically so that the owners felt calm. And the main house stood far away from the noisy road.

Also to the side stood a house of solitude - closed from prying eyes by the greenery of the quarter, in which, as the name suggests, the owner or his guests could retire.

There was a poultry yard in the park - an aviary for songbirds with an internal bypass gallery.

On the very bank of the Moscow River there was a gallery and a greenhouse.

And the entire perspective of the palace and park ensemble was closed by the Moscow River and the Novodevichy Monastery, visible in the distance.

In 1791, the estate passed from P.N. Trubetskoy - from his son into the hands of Nikita Yuryevich’s brother, Prince D.Yu. Trubetskoy.

In September of the same year, due to dilapidation, the main house, four outbuildings, exit gates, a gallery, three gazebos, a greenhouse and services were dismantled.

Only the so-called hunting lodge has survived to this day.

On the plan this house is designated as “Gallery standing on an island.” During its construction, the project was slightly modified, resulting in the formation of the existing volume. The house still stands on the edge of the cliff.

Hunting lodge

P.S. I also came across an interesting note that I had never seen anywhere before, but it, however, is related to the Neskuchny Garden already from the time of Nicholas I - a description of the church in the Alexandrinsky Palace:

“At the top of the Palace there is a Church. This is a small hall, illuminated from above by a frosted cap, with three semicircular windows from the large front hall. Church in the name of St. Alexandra. The iconostasis is simple, wooden, with images without vestments, but in good Italian writing; on the cornice, above the altar, along the golden field, there is an inscription: “Holy is Thy temple, Diven in righteousness, hear us, O God.” In the altar there is an image of the Savior; a cypress floor-round board is also preserved, on which the face of the Lord is depicted with remarkable artistry in oil paints Sabaoth."

Literature:
1. Monuments of Moscow Architecture. Volume 6
2. Murzin-Gundorov V.V. - Architectural heritage of Russia. Dmitry Ukhtomsky
3. Architect Dmitry Vasilievich Ukhtomsky. 1719 -1774. Catalog

Relatively close to the new building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is also the old building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The official address of the building located in Neskuchny Garden is Leninsky Prospekt, building 14. Pundits occupy the building of the Alexandria Palace (also known as Neskuchny Palace) in Neskuchny Garden.

Prokopiy Akinfievich Demidov is the eldest son of the largest Ural mining owner A.N. Demidov, the largest owner of mining enterprises. He founded the Moscow Commercial School in 1772, is known for donating thousands of dollars to Moscow University and millions of dollars in contributions to the construction of the Moscow Orphanage, of which he was a member of the board of guardians. He was famous for his eccentricities, and was characterized by his contemporaries as a rude and independent person, so much so that he aroused the indignation of Catherine II, who spoke of him as an “impudent talker.” He enthusiastically indulged in botany, collected a herbarium that was donated to Moscow University, wrote a study on bees, and was very fond of songbirds.
Over the course of a number of years, Demidov acquired land in his wife’s name from several Moscow owners. In 1754, a yard with the house of F.I. was purchased for these properties. Soimonov, a famous navigator and cartographer. This rounded off the site, and the estate occupied the entire space lying between “the ditch and the road that goes from the Church of the Reese-Statement to the Moscow River.” The “petition of noblewoman P.A.” has been preserved. Demidov and his wife Matryona Antipova” dated April 10, 1756 that they want to build “stone chambers.” There is also a resolution: “it is allowed to build according to the attached plan by architect Yakovlev.”

The Demidov Neskuchny Palace, located on the banks of the Moscow River, is an architectural monument of the mid-18th century and perfectly represents the classical style. The palace had an enviable fate. During the life of the owner, it was filled with thousands of cages with birds. The entire Moscow nobility traveled to admire these wonders. There were painters, writers, statesmen, scientists... After the death of the owner, the palace at one time belonged to the Counts Orlov. Later, Nicholas I bought the building along with the land and settled his wife Alexandra Fedorovna in it (sometimes the palace was called Alexandria). After the revolution unique monument history turned into a museum. People came here to get acquainted with the richest collections of exquisite furniture. They say that Ilf and Petrov composed their famous novel about the ill-fated chairs not without a hint heard within these walls.
The fence lattice was made in the 50s of the 18th century at the Nizhny Tagil Demidov plant according to the design of F.S. Argunov. Cast iron doors are not assembled from separate parts, but are cast in one piece.
During Procopius Demidov’s tenure, the Neskuchny Palace estate was famous for its famous botanical garden. Demidov, keen on collecting exotic plants, back in the 1740s. I asked brother Gregory for cuttings and seeds from his Solikamsk garden. After the death of Gregory, Procopius transported the most interesting plants from the Ural collection to Moscow. The garden itself attracted the attention of visitors; access to it was open, and it was always filled with visitors. The popularity of the garden was also facilitated by the eccentric inventions of the owner. For example, once, instead of plaster copies of Roman statues, he placed chalk-smeared men in the flowerbeds, who called out to everyone who dared to pick a flower. The rumor about living statues excited Moscow, and people poured into the garden. It was then that the name of the current place arose - Neskuchny Garden.

Environmentalists consider it necessary at the beginning of spring, when a campaign to improve city parks traditionally starts in Moscow, to pay special attention to such a landmark object for the capital as the Neskuchny Garden, due to the neglected state of this natural area.

Neskuchny Garden is the oldest park in Moscow, located almost in its center. Occupies the territory of the Green Theater of the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. M. Gorky to the Third Transport Ring.

Neskuchny Garden was created by decree of Nicholas I in 1847 as a result of the merger of three estates on the banks of the Moscow River, which once belonged to the Golitsyns, Demidovs and Trubetskoys and were purchased by the Palace Department for the imperial family.

The garden probably inherited its name from the pleasure estate of Prince Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy “Neskuchnoe”.

The estate of Prosecutor General Prince Trubetskoy appeared in 1753 on a site adjacent to the Kaluga outpost (now Gagarin Square) and stretched to the Moscow River. The site consisted of a high plateau and a deep ravine with a pond at the bottom.

On this not very convenient place for a park, the architect Dmitry Ukhtomsky built a palace called "Neskuchny" country house", and laid out a regular garden. The house was two-story, built in Baroque forms, with a pediment and sculpture above the roof. The first floor of the main facade was decorated with a colonnade, the second - with a balcony.

As the famous Moscow expert Pyotr Sytin wrote, by 1783 the first owner of this territory laid out a small park here in the “Versailles style” - with trees trimmed in the form of pyramids and cubes, laid paths along it, equipped grottoes, and built bridges across the streams. There were gazebos scattered around the large house.

The entire space of the garden was divided by green living walls into garden cabinets of rectangular and square shapes; sculptures were located in the niches. Some of the park's alleys were covered, completely covered with greenery. A central alley lined with trimmed trees led to the house through the entire garden.

After Trubetskoy's death, Neskuchny was owned by Pyotr Trubetskoy, Elena Vyazemskaya, and the Shakhovskys. In 1826, Leonty Shakhovskoy sold the estate to the Palace Department for Emperor Nicholas I.

Simultaneously with "Neskuchny", a little closer to the center of Moscow, around 1756, the estate of the industrialist and philanthropist Prokofy Akinfievich Demidov, the son of the famous founder of metallurgical plants Akinfiy Demidov, arose.

The main attraction of the Demidov estate was Botanical Garden, in which there were more than two thousand plant species. The garden was shaped like an amphitheater. It descended by ledges to the Moscow River. Each terrace was intended for a special type of plant, winter and summer greenhouses - for trees, pineapples, grapes and palm trees. On the lowest, fifth terrace, wider than the others, there was a pond, an aviary, where rare birds and animals lived. In this garden, experiments were carried out on breeding new varietal plants.

Prokofy Demidov was known for his original, often eccentric actions. For example, in his garden, he placed gardeners covered in chalk in the flowerbeds so that they would call out to everyone who intended to pick a rare plant.

After Demidov's death in 1786, his house and garden passed to Elena Vyazemskaya (daughter of Trubetskoy, owner of Neskuchny). In 1793, the Demidov estate was bought by Fyodor Orlov, then it went to his niece Anna Orlova Chesmenskaya, who in 1832 sold the estate to Nicholas I. The Emperor set up a summer palace for his wife Alexandra Fedorovna. The palace was named Alexandria.

The estate of the princes Golitsyn was also located on the territory of the Neskuchny Garden. Since 1793, this estate belonged to Princess Natalya Petrovna Chernysheva (nee Golitsyna). Chernysheva had a tough and authoritative disposition; she did not want to sell her estate for any money. In her will, she allowed the estate to be sold no earlier than five years after her death. The estate was acquired by the Palace Department from the princess's son in 1843.

In 1826 1843 On the site of the noble estates of the Trubetskoys, Golitsyns and Demidovs, the ensemble of the imperial residence of Nicholas I was erected.

The palace buildings and garden plantings of Neskuchny were arranged under the leadership of the architect Evgraf Tyurin and the gardener Pelzel. By their order, the remaining Demidov greenhouses were destroyed, in 1834 the terraces and pond between the palace and the Moscow River were filled up, and all the buildings on the former Golitsyn estate were destroyed. The garden grew wild every year, turning more and more into a grove.

When the royal family was not in Moscow, Neskuchny Garden was accessible to the people and became a public garden in the second half of the 19th century. his favorite hangout. But when the Moscow General Governor Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the Tsar’s uncle, settled there in the 1890s, access to the Neskuchny Garden was closed to the people.

After the October Revolution, the Neskuchny Garden became accessible to everyone, and the Museum of Furniture of the 18th - early 19th centuries was established in the palace.

In 1928, the park was greatly reduced due to the cutting of trees and was included in the park named after. Gorky.

Now almost nothing remains of the former greatness of Neskuchny Garden. From old buildings and gardening structures of the 18th century. A little has survived: the summer house of Count Orlov, a bath house near a filled-in pond, three garden bridges, a grotto, as well as the Hunting Lodge of the Trubetskoy estate, known as the venue for the games of the elite television club "What? Where? When?"

From the first half of the 19th century. the main entrance gates have been preserved, which lead to the old building of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences (former Alexander Palace), with sculptural groups Ivan Vitali's "Seasons", three service buildings and an entrance gate built by the architect Tyurin, a white stone bridge, under which there used to be a passage from the palace to the Moscow River.

One of the most famous buildings in the park is the Rotunda, built in 1947 and dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the capital. In 2007, the “Alley of Love” was opened next to the rotunda. The idea of ​​​​creating an alley is to “revive” this section of the park and reproduce here the words of Griboedov “...happy hours do not watch.” The clocks here show the same time: five minutes to six. That's why lovers are never late for a date. This watch symbolizes love as an eternal feeling.

For several years, the Neskuchny Garden was a meeting place for Tolkienists, who gave it the name Eglador. Fans of Tolkien’s books once staged whole battles here. More than 10 years ago, on Thursdays they began to gather in Neskuchny and act out the history of Middle-earth. There were more and more Tolkienists and their spectators, punks, hippies, metalheads began to move here, bikers came, and Neskuchny Garden became, as it were, a second Arbat. The noisy masses began to attract the attention of the authorities and in 1997 the Tolkienists created for themselves a new piece of Middle-earth - Mandos in Tsaritsyn Park. And in Neskuchny there were tournaments of minstrels, bards, and storytellers.

The Moscow table tennis championships were once held here. Next to them were chess players. The chess house that existed here in past years burned down, but in its place stands a roomy chess pavilion, always full of people.

In an old mansion with columns, on a cliff above the Moscow River, there is a library where those who like to read in silence gather. Entrance to the reading room is free.

In the park there is a Children's Equestrian School, the Mineralogical Museum named after. A.E.Fersman.

Neskuchny Garden offers a tennis court and table tennis tables.

In winter you can meet winter swimming enthusiasts here.

In 2009, Neskuchny Garden received the status of a specially protected area (SPNA) of the natural complex of Moscow.

Currently, Neskuchny Garden covers almost 60 hectares of land. The garden has a length of six and a half kilometers, is a single green area, in the plantings of which there are about six dozen species of tree species. Linden, elm, ash, oak, maple, birch, and willow predominate. In the central part there are gray and walnuts, chestnuts, and bird cherry.

On the territory of the park there are plants listed in the Red Book of Moscow, including the water bat (myotis daubentoni), two-colored leather bat (Vespertilio murinus), shrike (lanius collurio), hobby hobby (falco subbuteo), four-spotted swiftlet (sericoda quadripunctratum), andrena bloody red (andrena haemorrhoa), dawn or aurora (anthocharis cardamines), dense corydalis (corydalis solids), buttercup anemone (anemonoides ranunculoides).

Some forest birds nest in the park, and in 2009, crested ducks, diving ducks listed in the Moscow Red Book, bred on the ponds of the Central Park of Culture and Culture. Neskuchny Garden is one of the most nightingale-like places in the capital.

About 20 years ago there were a lot of squirrels in Neskuchny Garden. They were very brave and friendly: you just had to extend your hand with nuts or seeds - they were already there. They even crawled onto my clothes. Over time, the protein became less and less. Now there are no squirrels in Neskuchny Garden.