Pashkov House (Дом Пашкова) (Moscow)

Pashkov House (Дом Пашкова) (Moscow)

 

Ulitsa Znamenka 6

Closed: to public

Subway: Borovitskaya, Biblioteka imeni Lenina

 

Description of the Pashkov House

Pashkov house is a neoclassical mansion that stands on a hill overlooking the Western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, near the intersection of Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its overall design was attributed to the famous architect Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov. It used to be the building of the Rumyantsev Museum - Moscow's first public Museum-in the 19th century. The current owner of the Palace is the Russian state library. On the Vagankovsky hill under the Pashkov house is considered one of several possible locations of the legendary Library of Ivan the terrible.

The Pashkov house was built in 1784-1786 by the Muscovite nobleman Pyotr Pashkov, hence the name. He was a retired Lieutenant captain of the Semyonovsky guards regiment and the son of Peter the Great's orderly. It is believed that the building was designed by Vasily Bazhenov as part of the reconstruction of the Kremlin. In theory, the Pashkov House was supposed to build the lines of the new Palace of the Moscow Palace. Fortunately Bazhenov was not allowed to rebuild the Kremlin and the poet Pashkov house clearly stands out against the background of medieval walls. Throughout the 20th century, Bazhenov's authorship was disputed, as no written evidence has survived for centuries, and the only thing that serves as proof is the oral tradition and similarity to other buildings of Bazhenov, and drawings of his project for the reconstruction of the Kremlin.

As soon as it was completed, the Pashkov House became a prominent landmark in Moscow. For many years, the magnificent white stone Palace that stands on Vagankovsky hill has amazed people and was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the Russian capital. This is one of the key places described by Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel "the Master and Margarita". Here, as you know, Levi Matvey met Woland and Azazello, asking him to take the Master and Margarita to him, since he deserved peace, but not light.
 
The impressive appearance of the building is caused in part by the place where it was built. Pashkov house stands on a high Vagankovsky hill, as if continuing the line of its ascent, at the open corner of two descending streets. The main facade is oriented to the Sunny side. In relation to the street, as well as to the entrance from the lane, the mansion is placed not on a straight street, but somewhat sloped. Because of this, it is better perceived from side, more distant foreshortened points of view. The place of the building is important and symbolic: Pashkov house stands on a hill opposite Borovitsky hill, crowned by the Kremlin. It is important to note that the Pashkov house was the first secular building in Moscow, from the Windows of which you could look at the towers and buildings of the Kremlin not from the bottom up, as well as observe Ivanovskaya and Sobornaya squares.
 
At sunset high above the city on the stone terrace of one of the most beautiful buildings in Moscow there were two people: Woland and Azazello. No one could see them from below, but they could see most of the city themselves. ("Master and Margarita", M. A. Bulgakov).

 

Building owner
The first owner of the house was P. E. Pashkov, after whose name the mansion got its name. His heir A. I. Pashkov and the latter's son Vasily preferred the old estate "second house of Pashkov" on Mokhovaya street (now the building of the Moscow state University journalism faculty). At the beginning of the XIX century, Bazhenov's masterpiece was in disrepair.
In 1839, the house was purchased from Pashkov's heirs by the Treasury for Moscow University. In 1843, it housed the Moscow noble Institute, transformed from A University Noble boarding school, later the Institute was transformed into the 4th city gymnasium (since 1852).
In 1861, the building was transferred for storing the collections and library of the Rumyantsev Museum.
In 1921, due to the arrival of more than four hundred abandoned, ownerless and nationalized book collections in the Museum after the revolution, all departments of the Museum were removed from Pashkov house. Only the Museum's library remained, renamed and transformed into the famous state library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin. the building was assigned to the Department of rare manuscripts. Currently, Pashkov house is part of the library building complex, but it was not used for many years, as it was constantly renovated, which began in 1988 and ended in 2007.
Currently, the right wing of the Pashkov house houses the Department of manuscripts, while the left wing houses the music and music Department and the Department of cartographic publications, which opened to readers in April 2009.