Ulitsa Znamenka 6
Closed: to public
Subway: Borovitskaya, Biblioteka imeni Lenina
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.