Vorobyovy Gory - observation deck, nearest metro station, interesting historical facts. Vorobyovy Gory Vorobyovy Gory history

The observation deck on Vorobyovy Gory is perhaps the most famous observation deck from where you can look at the panorama of the capital. This is what many guests of the city do and the residents of Moscow do not lag behind - the views from here are truly worthy of attention. Especially when you know where and what to look at, all the most iconic points of the city emerge into a whole exciting story.

The site is part sightseeing tour around the city, a favorite place for wedding photographers, a walking alley for students of Moscow University (whose main building is very close), mothers with strollers, romantic couples and even a long-standing meeting place for bikers.

The Sparrow Hills (in Soviet times they were called Lenin Hills for a long time, and only in 1999 the historical name was returned) is considered to be the right side of the Moscow River in the southwest of the city. Geographically, this area is located quite high (it is considered one of the seven hills on which, as you know, Moscow stands). The winding river washes away the high hilly bank, feeding the beautiful forest around, making this place one of the most picturesque areas of the city.

The observation deck was designed during the construction of the university complex and was built together with it from 1949 to 1953. The project was led by Vitaly Ivanovich Dolganov, a famous Soviet architect who took an active part in the landscaping of Moscow and the creation of the city's landscape and park culture.

Muscovites love this place on major holidays, when fireworks roar over the city. On the Sparrow Hills there is a “mission control center” - the main headquarters, from where all fireworks in the city are commanded. Here you can clearly see not only the “local” fireworks, but also a multidimensional picture when you simultaneously watch fireworks throughout the city. Photographers and videographers come here for this opportunity.

Last years Observation deck became even more comfortable than before. Coffee shops on wheels and snack machines appeared. The site is beautifully lit in dark time days. The territory is patrolled by police, but do not turn off your vigilance - the multimillion-dollar city attracts a variety of “characters”.

Attractions

It makes sense to go to Vorobyovy Gory for at least two reasons: to see the sights of Moscow from a flying height and to relax in nature.

Cable car on Vorobyovy Gory

From the observation deck you can clearly see several embankments - Novodevichy and Berezhkovskaya, Vorobyovskaya and Luzhnetskaya, and the bridges connecting them.

Directly behind the stadium, the multi-colored domes of St. Basil's Cathedral stand out, part of the bell towers of the Kremlin, and the power of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior are visible. Here you can also see another landmark of modern Moscow - the huge figure of Peter I, installed on the Red October Spit, a very odious work by Zurab Tsereteli. Right there in the gap is the third “Stalinist skyscraper” - near the Red Gate, and the famous medical University named after Sechenov.

If you move from the central part of the panorama to the right, you can immediately see the fourth “high-rise” - the house on Kotelnicheskaya, the oldest residential complex on the embankment, living in which in the middle of the last century was a sign of special elitism. The house is familiar to many - it played an important role in the popular Soviet film “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears.”

If you move your gaze further, it is difficult to miss the Shukhov TV Tower - an engineering project of incredible courage and implementation, created in the 20s of the last century. At the moment, the tower is practically not used for its intended purpose and is left as a historical monument.

Even further to the right you can find in the panorama the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences - a 22-story high-rise building built in the 1990s.

In a word, it’s difficult to even name another place other than the observation deck on Sparrow Hills, from where you can see so many of the capital’s attractions at once and understand how they relate to each other.

Panoramic view of Moscow from the observation deck on Sparrow Hills - Google Maps

Sights of Sparrow Hills

If you get to the observation deck, be sure to take a look interesting places around. First of all, of course, the territory of the Moscow state university- is still the main stronghold of science and classical education in Russia. The main building of Moscow State University (it’s hard to miss, it dominates the entire space around) has its own observation deck. The site is located at an altitude of 200 meters (24th floor). True, you won’t be able to get there for free - access is only allowed as part of an excursion group.

For nature lovers, the territory of the Sparrow Hills is almost ideal: there is a botanical garden of Moscow University, the Moscow River embankment, Andreevsky Pond, many pleasant paths and routes: no matter which direction you go, there is great walking everywhere.

How to get to the observation deck

The landmark for getting to the Vorobyovy Gory observation deck can be considered Kosygina Street. Entrance to the site is absolutely free from anywhere on the street - free of charge and around the clock. Even binoculars here that provide 15x magnification are available completely free of charge, which is a rarity these days.

View of the observation deck from Kosygina Street - panorama Yandex Maps

How to get there

The main landmark for the observation deck is the main building of Moscow State University (this is University Square). Very little passes directly near the University public transport. A trolleybus (route No. T7), which runs along Kosygina Street, can take you directly to the place. You can get off at the “Observation Deck” or “University Square” stops. Bus number 111 also stops on the square near the main building of Moscow State University. From here you will need to walk about 500 meters to the observation deck. For more details, see the Mosgortrans company website.

A funicular will soon open on Vorobyovy Gory, which will take you up from the embankment. It will start from the Luzhniki Arena and include 3 stations (one on the left bank, one on the right, and one at the top).

Trolleybus stop near the observation deck - Yandex Maps panorama

Metro to Vorobyovy Gory

The most guaranteed way to travel around Moscow (from the point of view of calculating travel time) is the metro. The Vorobyovy Gory observation deck is located near the Sokolnicheskaya Line metro station of the same name. When leaving the metro, follow the signs - you need to exit towards the embankment.

From the metro to the observation deck it is about 1.5 kilometers - you can easily walk there. It is more convenient to do this not along the main road, but to take a “shortcut” by walking along an eco-trail. It's difficult to get lost here - there are signs along the road.

Coordinates of the observation deck for the navigator: 55.709315, 37.542163.

You can also get to the observation deck on Sparrow Hills by taxi. There are plenty of opportunities for this in the capital. Act here mobile applications for calling a taxi, such as Yandex. Taxi, Uber, Gett, Maxim, Rutaxi. Also, if you drive, you can use the car sharing system (car rental service) - Delimobil, Anytime, YouDrive and others.

Video: Sparrow Hills from above (drone filming), review

Sparrow Hills

First mention:
As part of Moscow with:
Other names:	Vorobyovo (beginning of the 14th century - 1956), Vorobyovy steep, Lenin's mountains(1935-1999)
	CJSC, South-Western Administrative District
	Ramenki, Gagarinsky
Metro stations:	Sparrow Hills

Vorobyovo village

Boyar Vorobyovs

Vorobyovsky Palace

Mamonova dacha

Soviet time

Main building of Moscow State University

Springboard and metro bridge

Modernity

Monument to Prince Vladimir

Sparrow Hills(in 1935-1999 - Lenin's mountains) - the name of an area in the south-west of Moscow, which is the high right bank of the Moscow River (a steep cliff of the Teplostanskaya Upland, washed away by the flow of the river), covered with a forest park. Located opposite Luzhniki, they are considered one of the “seven hills of Moscow”. Stretches from the mouth of the Setun River to the St. Andrew's Bridge of the Small Moscow Ring railway. In the east they border with Neskuchny Garden. They rise above the Moscow River up to 80 meters.

The slope facing the Moscow River is dissected by deep ravines, along which small rivers used to run: Chura with its tributaries, Krovyanka and Kotlovka; There are outlets of groundwater (springs), and landslide processes are observed. The landscape of the Sparrow Hills is formed by the park of the same name, which includes three preserved ponds, as well as an array of broad-leaved forest.

Vorobyovy Gory is one of the the most beautiful places in Moscow. The high right bank of the Moscow River has always attracted attention with its dense forest, complex terrain and wonderful views of the river. The widest and most picturesque panorama of the capital opens from the Sparrow Hills.

General historical background

The name of the Vorobyovy Gory is named after the village of Vorobyovo, which existed here since the beginning of the 14th century, named after its original owners, the boyars Vorobyovo.

In the middle of the 15th century, Princess Sofya Vitovtovna, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt and the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I, bought the “priestly village of Vorobyovo” from the descendants of the Moscow boyar Yuri Vorobyov, who in 1352 was sent by the Grand Duke Simeon the Proud to Constantinople for approval of the Moscow the metropolitan see of St. Alexy, and gave it, according to her will, to her beloved grandson, Prince Yuri Vasilyevich of Dmitrov in 1453. After the death of the childless Prince of Dmitrov in 1473, the village of Vorobyovo passed, by his order, to his brother Ivan III, the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Vorobyovy Gory also had another, more ancient name - Vorobyovy Kruchi.

On the site of the Trinity Church on the Sparrow Hills in the Middle Ages, there were several successive wooden churches, the oldest of which appeared here back in the 14th century, when the village was the patrimony of the Vorobyovy boyars, long before the purchase of the village by Sofia Vitovtovna, as evidenced by her spiritual charter ( in the document Vorobyovo is called a village and, moreover, a priest’s village). Later, the Vorobyovsky Palace was built here, which for several centuries became the residence of Moscow, Russian, and then Russian monarchs.

For many centuries, the Sparrow Hills were the place from where the conquerors who came to Rus' looked at Moscow - in 1591 the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey, in 1612 - the Lithuanian hetman Khodkevich, in 1812 from here Napoleon first looked at the city.

From 1648 to the 18th century, St. Andrew’s Monastery operated at the foot of the northern part of the mountains, reopened in 2013. There, next to the royal Vorobyovsky Palace and the settlement of the Andreevsky Monastery, there was Vasilyevskoye - a large estate near Moscow, known as Mamonova Dacha.

Vorobyovy Gory has long been famous for its clean, fine-grained white sand. In this regard, glass and mirror factories were built here in the 17th century: one of them was the mirror factory of Ost Heinrich Brockhausen.

Ancient times and the Middle Ages

Ancient settlement on Vorobyovy Gory

An ancient settlement on the Sparrow Hills existed already in the 1st millennium BC. e., when it came new era- Iron Age. As archaeological excavations of the 19th century showed, on the territory of the village of Vorobyova there was an ancient settlement of the so-called Dyakovo period. The same fortifications were discovered in the areas of Ramenki, the Setun River and St. Andrew's Monastery.

The carriers of the Dyakovo culture were Finno-Ugric peoples. This is evidenced by place names that are more ancient than Slavic and traces of material culture. It is believed that the Dyakovo people were the ancestors of the chronicle Meri and Vesi (Vepsians).

The economy of the Dyakovo residents consisted of residential buildings, arable land, blacksmithing, iron smelting and jewelry production. Farming was by hoeing, and millet, barley, wheat and flax were grown in the fields. Iron tools were made from ore mined in the swamps and were initially rare. The main game animals were beaver, elk, bear, and mustelids. A particular intensification of hunting was noted in the late period of the existence of settlements at the beginning of the new era.

The bearers of the Dyakovo culture were brave and enterprising people - traces of active trade with neighbors were found in the settlements - glass glazed beads, arrows, horse harness items (cheek-pieces and bits), buckles, as well as jewelry of the Scythian “animal” style. The Dyakovites owe their “polished” ceramics to the neighboring Baltic tribes - Golyad, and the champlevé colored enamel - to Eastern Europe. The Dyakovites were sun worshipers - solar signs decorate both utensils and jewelry.

In the VI-VII centuries AD. e. In connection with the massive resettlement of the Slavic tribes of the Krivichi and Vyatichi from the west to the territories occupied by the Finno-Ugric people, a change of cultures occurs. Modern authors define it as the Meryan culture of the 6th-9th centuries - mixed Finnish-Slavic. Some of the ancient settlements of the Dyakovo type developed into large villages, turned into boyar estates, and then into noble estates. Future ancient city Moscow becomes the center of land consolidation, and the Finno-Ugric and Slavs become one of the state-forming peoples Ancient Rus'.

Vorobyovo village

The owner's village of Vorobyovo grew up on the site of an ancient settlement - a settlement of the Dyakovo culture, over time turning into a boyar household estate. It is named after the boyar family of the Vorobyovs, who received it as an patrimony from the Grand Dukes of Moscow for their many services.

It was first mentioned in the spiritual charter of Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovtovna in 1453 as “the priest’s village of Vorobyovo,” purchased from the descendants of the Moscow boyar, the ambassador of Grand Duke Simeon the Proud to Constantinople, Yuri Vorobyov (1352-1353). After the purchase, the village turns into a grand ducal residence, an ancient wooden church is being rebuilt here, wooden palace. Large colorfully painted gates led into the estate, fenced with high fences. The mansions themselves were a vast structure, covered with planks, with numerous turrets; the passages were surrounded by railings made of turned balusters, numerous windows had glass and mica windows inserted into carved jambs. Inside the building there were tiled stoves, on the walls upholstered in red cloth, “in gilded and azure frames” hung paintings and images, “written in picturesque writing.” A church was built nearby, furnished with exceptional luxury. Around the choir were crowded household services: baths, glaciers, cellars, granaries, cattle and stable yards, a green birch grove that replaced the park; There was also a fishpond in which sturgeon, sterlet and other fish were kept. Deer walked freely in the grove, swans swam along the river. The estate had arable land, orchards, hayfields, and mills. This entire farm was served by numerous courtyard people.

Subsequently, Vorobyovo more than once appears on the pages of the chronicles of the Great Moscow Principality, the Russian Kingdom and the Russian Empire. Vorobyovo was very loved by Vasily III, Ivan IV the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Alexey Mikhailovich.

In 1949, large-scale construction of a new building for Moscow State University began in the village of Vorobyova, which continued until 1953. And in 1956, due to the redevelopment of the territory near the new building of Moscow State University, the village of Vorobyovo was finally demolished. Today, only the Trinity Church on Vorobyovy Gory reminds of him.

Boyar Vorobyovs

The Vorobyovs are a very ancient Russian boyar family, dating back more than a thousand years. Few noble families have such ancient and rich history. It traces its ancestry back to the probable ancestor of the baptist, the 10th century Novgorod Novgorod mayor, Voroby Stoyanovich (see also Baptism of Novgorod).

In the XIII-XVII centuries, many Vorobyov nobles served as boyars, Moscow nobles, tenants, governors, ambassadors and clerks. They have ancient roots going back to Muscovite Rus' during the reign of Daniil of Moscow and Ivan Kalita. They arrived in Moscow from Veliky Novgorod, probably during the reign of Alexander Nevsky or Daniil of Moscow, along with other eminent and noble Novgorod boyar families. In Moscow they had a large family estate in the village of Vorobyovo, now known as Vorobyovy Gory.

The Moscow boyar Yuri Vorobyov, perhaps already in 1352, before his trip to Constantinople as a grand ducal ambassador, owned the village of Vorobyovo near Moscow. This trip required knowledge of the Greek language, Holy Scripture, Byzantine court etiquette and much more. This trip was not the first order of the Grand Duke that the Moscow boyar carried out. There were other equally important and complex assignments that required high professionalism, knowledge and erudition to complete them. The successful solution of such problems contributed to the rise of the Vorobyovy boyars in the hierarchical ladder of the Great Moscow Principality, for which they were granted this fiefdom on the Vorobyovy Gory. It should also be noted that already in the middle of the 14th century, boyar Yuri had the surname Vorobyov, noted in several chronicles of Ancient Rus', then many noble surnames, including eminent ones, had them only by the beginning of the 16th century. This indicates the very high social status of boyar Yuri Vorobyov at the court of the Grand Duke of Moscow and the entire ancient boyar family as a whole.

In the middle of the 15th century, the village of Vorobyovo became the property of the grand-ducal family and became a favorite vacation spot of the grand dukes and kings of Moscow, the grand-ducal and royal residence. The descendants of boyar Yuri Vorobyov lost him to the grand ducal family. After the sale of Vorobyovo, part of the numerous boyar family continued to live on the Vorobyovy Gory for more than a hundred years, until they were settled by Ivan IV the Terrible in the Oryol region. Apparently, the Vorobyovs, for the most part, enjoyed the complete trust and favor of the grand ducal and royal authorities, always being close to them, trying not to participate in conflicts between opposing boyar factions. The closeness to Grand Duke Vasily III, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, and later the first Romanov tsars, who loved Vorobyovo very much and lived in it for a long time, explains the large representation of the Vorobyovs in the government bodies of the Great Moscow Principality and the Russian Tsardom in the 16th and 17th centuries, which were constantly in their sight. Even during the oprichnina, not a single person from the family suffered. There is a legend of the Oryol nobles Vorobyovy that their distant ancestors were from the Moscow Vorobyovy Hills.

On the other bank of the Moscow River on the Luzhnetskaya embankment opposite the Vorobyovy Gory there is a chapel in honor of the baptist of Rus', Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, Equal-to-the-Apostles, at whose court the probable ancestor of the Vorobyov boyar family, the Novgorod mayor Vorobey Stoyanovich, was brought up. The chapel of Prince Vladimir, whose name is extremely rarely given to churches in Russia, is very clearly visible from the Sparrow Hills.

Vorobyovsky Palace

Vorobyovy Palace is the residence of the great Moscow princes, Russian tsars and Russian emperors on the Vorobyovy Gory in the 15th-18th centuries.

Historians of villages near Moscow Vladimir and Grigory Kholmogorov give the date of construction of the latter royal palace in this place - under Princess Sofya Alekseevna in October 1684, “it was ordered to make stone basements for wooden mansions 80 fathoms long without an arshin, across 6 fathoms with half a fathom, fifty zhiten, and there is a passage under those mansions.” The work was carried out by mason Arkhipka Danilov “and his comrades”.

Construction of the palace took several years and was completed by 1690, when Peter I was already on the throne.

The building followed the stylistic principles of the Moscow Baroque, widespread at that time in Russian architecture. The purpose of its main branches is well known thanks to the research of I.E. Zabelin and numerous documents.

In 1732-1735, a new palace was built here according to the design of the architect I. F. Michurin. According to Cornelius de Bruin, who from here, “from the heights of the Tsar’s palace,” drew a panorama of Moscow, “in the lower housing of this palace there were 124 chambers, and I believe that there were the same number in the upper one. It was surrounded by a wooden wall; located at the height of the mountain opposite the Maiden Monastery, on the other side of the Moscow River, 3 versts west of the capital.”

The historian M.P. Pogodin said that in his youth, that is, at the beginning of the 19th century, he still saw “the remains of the palace of Ivan the Terrible.” V.L. Snegirev wrote in a book about Vitberg: “Here once, in the 16th century, the father of Ivan the Terrible, Vasily Ivanovich, built a wooden palace on a white stone foundation. Peter the Great ordered a birch grove to be planted behind the palace. Over time, this place was abandoned; in the second half of the 18th century, the wooden mansions fell into complete disrepair and were dismantled. The ruins of the old foundation have been preserved.” The palace was finally destroyed by the Moscow fire of 1812, after which, according to the memoirs of F.F. Vigel, even the foundation was partially dismantled.

Trinity Church on Sparrow Hills

An ancient wooden church on Vorobyovy Gory already existed in 1453, when Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna bought the village of Vorobyovo. In addition, Vorobyovo always had its own parish priest. This is indicated by the spiritual letter of the Grand Duchess, in which Vorobyovo is called “the priest’s village.”

The first known priest of the wooden Trinity Church was Father Titus, who was rector from 1628 to 1632.

As several ancient wooden churches fell into disrepair, new ones were built in their place or nearby. Finally, the current building of the temple began to be built in 1811 in the Empire style - late classicism according to the design of the architect A. L. Vitberg: quadrangular in plan, with portals decorated with columns, single-dome, with a two-tier bell tower. In 1812, M.I. Kutuzov prayed here before the council in Fili. The building survived the Napoleonic invasion. Construction was completed in 1813.

The first rector of the stone church was Father Yakov Ilyin. The stone temple was erected near the previous wooden one. In 1811, on the site of the altar of the old temple, a white stone monument topped with a cross was erected, which has survived to this day. The porch in front of the entrance on the western facade of the bell tower and extensions on its sides appeared during renovations of the building in 1858-61 and 1898.

IN Soviet time The Trinity Church did not close; both its appearance and interior escaped destruction.

St. Andrew's Monastery in Plennitsy

St. Andrew's Monastery in Plennitsy is one of the oldest stauropegial monasteries in the city of Moscow, located at the foot of the Sparrow Hills. Tradition dates the establishment of the men's monastery “near Vorobyovy Kruchi in Plennitsy” to the 13th century, but early documentary evidence about it dates back only to the middle of the 16th century. Until the end of the 16th century, the monastery was called the Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage.

The founder of the monastery is considered to be the Moscow boyar, okolnichy of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Fyodor Rtishchev.

From the middle of the 17th century, the “Teaching Brotherhood” was located within the walls of the monastery, which united the most educated monks of that time “for the sake of book learning,” and essentially became the first academic structure in Moscow.

With the beginning of Catherine’s secularization, in 1764 the St. Andrew’s Monastery was converted into a parish church, since “it turned out to be hopeless for its own maintenance,” and an almshouse was set up in its buildings.

During the epidemic of 1771, a cemetery was built on the territory of the St. Andrew's Monastery for noble townspeople and inhabitants of Moscow monasteries.

By the decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' dated August 14, 1991, the Patriarchal metochion was opened in the former St. Andrew's Monastery with the churches of the Resurrection of Christ in Captives, the Apostle Evangelist John the Theologian (Archangel Michael) and the martyr Andrei Stratelates.

Later, by the decision of the Holy Synod of July 16, 2013, the Patriarchal Metochion in the former St. Andrew's Monastery was transformed into the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery monastery Moscow. Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov was appointed as the vicar of the St. Andrew's Monastery. The monastery houses the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Synodal Library of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Before the revolution

At the beginning of the 19th century, on the Sparrow Hills, on the site of the Sparrow Palace, it was planned to build the Cathedral of Christ the Savior according to the plan of the architect Karl Witberg, but it was not possible to build it here.

WITH late XIX century Vorobyovy Gory - popular country place For countryside holiday Muscovites.

Mamonova dacha

The so-called Mamonova Dacha is the former Vasilyevskoye estate near Moscow, which belonged successively to princes V.M. Dolgorukov-Krymsky, N.B. Yusupov and Count M.A. Dmitriev-Mamonov, after whose last name it received its name. Located at the foot of the Sparrow Hills, next to the St. Andrew's Monastery (modern address - Kosygina Street, no. 4).

The building is based on a mansion from the 1730s designed by architect I. F. Michurin. The manor house acquired its current Empire appearance in the 1820s, under Prince N.B. Yusupov: then a domed hall for balls and receptions was built over the central volume, and belvederes in the form of turrets appeared above the side ones.

The property consisted of a front yard open in front of the main house, a regular park adjacent to the front yard from the east, and a garden with outbuildings bordering the front yard from the west. The estate was famous for its orchards and greenhouses, from where “red, white and green watermelons, different kinds of best-tasting melons and cantaloupes, as well as many other rare fruits” came to the table of Muscovites.

After the death of Mamonov, in 1877-1883, the estate passed first to I. S. Fonvizin, who rented it out to Dr. Levenshtein, who located a psychiatric hospital here, and then to the merchant F. F. Noev, who, based on Yusupov’s greenhouses, organized a floriculture farm here . In 1910, “Noah’s Dacha” was bought by the Moscow City Duma to establish a public park here.

After the revolution, the wrought-iron fence surrounding the estate and the interiors of the main house were gradually lost; the ancient greenhouse was reconstructed and connected by a passage to the main house.

In 1923-1943, the main building housed the Central Museum of Ethnic Studies. A unique exposition of the dwellings of the peoples of Russia was located right in the park, under open air. During the war it was closed, after which the main building became the property of the Institute of Chemical Physics (at that time the interiors were lost), and the upper estate park was occupied by the Institute of Physical Problems. In addition to the institute buildings, there were mansions of the party nomenklatura (in particular, A. N. Kosygin and M. S. Gorbachev lived here). Here are also the museum-apartments of scientists Nikolai Semyonov (in the northern wing of the main building) and Pyotr Kapitsa, who headed these two institutions.

Only the lower part of the park is open to the public. In February 2013, a fire broke out at the Institute of Chemical Physics, which may have destroyed the palace belvedere.

In 1925 on Vorobyovy Gory for the first time in Soviet Russia The official Bird Day was held: under the leadership of Nikolai Dergunov, young naturalists of the Moscow Central Biological Station hung birdhouses here. The poet Vladimir Mayakovsky took part in the preparation of the event (and perhaps in it itself).

In 1935, the Sparrow Hills in honor of V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin were renamed “Leninskie”; they officially bore this name until 1999 - however, the name “Sparrow Hills” remained in use (for example, the penultimate chapter of the novel by M. A Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” (1929-1940), is called “On the Sparrow Hills”). The park on the territory of the Lenin Mountains was laid out in the 1930s according to the design of architects V. I. Dolganov and M. I. Prokhorova. In 1948, an observation deck was built according to Dolganov’s design.

Main building of Moscow State University

Architects B. M. Iofan, L. V. Rudnev, S. E. Chernyshev, P. V. Abrosimov, A. F. Khryakov, V. N. Nasonov, sculptural design of the facades - the work of V. I. Mukhina’s workshop.

In January 1947, at the proposal of I.V. Stalin, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to build eight high-rise buildings in Moscow, of which the tallest was to be the new building of Moscow State University on the Lenin Hills (building height - 182 meters, height with spire - 240 meters, number of storeys in the central building - 36).

Excavation work on the territory of the former village of Vorobyov, which finally disappeared in 1956, began in 1948, the ceremony of laying the first stone took place on April 12, 1949. Work on the construction of the university was supervised by L.P. Beria. Military construction units from nuclear industry facilities were transferred to the site. The three largest buildings - the faculties of physics, chemistry and biology - were built by a camp-type organization of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs - SU 560; the labor of several thousand prisoners was used in the construction.

On March 6, 1951, Stalin endorsed the architectural and planning assignment for the construction of roads and landscaping of the areas adjacent to the future building. On September 1, 1953, training classes began in the building.

Central building The university complex together with the observation deck have become a new tourist attraction in the capital.

Springboard and metro bridge

In 1953, a ski jump was built on Vorobyovy Gory: illuminated ski slope with a chairlift 340 meters long.

In 1958, the Luzhnetsky metro bridge with the Leninskie Gory metro station located on it (after 1999 - Vorobyovy Gory) was built across the Vorobyovy Gory, connecting Komsomolsky Prospekt and the Moscow State University area. An escalator was built near the exit from the station leading to Kosygina Street, which made it possible to climb towards the observation deck (now destroyed).

Building of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The new building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences is located at the foot of the Sparrow Hills, on the banks of the Moscow River. It was built from the late 1960s to the early 1990s according to the design of a creative team of architects and designers. The building houses concert hall“Academic” with 1,200 seats, where various scientific and creative events are held.

Nature reserve "Sparrow Hills"

In 1987, the Vorobyovy (at that time - Lenin) Mountains were declared a natural monument; in 1998, the State nature reserve“Sparrow Hills”, declared a specially protected natural area.

The reserve is located on the high right bank of the Luzhnetskaya bend of the Moscow River (in fact, Vorobyovy Gory is a ledge of the Teplostanskaya Upland, rising above the river’s edge to a height of 80 meters). The high and steep slope of the river valley is dissected by deep gullies descending to the Moscow River. Its characteristic feature is the widespread development of landslide terraces. Due to the danger of landslide processes, Vorobyovy Gory successfully avoided intensive development and largely preserved its natural appearance - this is the only specially protected natural area in Moscow where a natural broad-leaved forest with its characteristic flora and fauna has been preserved in such close proximity to the city center.

Almost the entire length of the Vorobyovy Gory is covered with old broad-leaved forest, consisting mainly of linden, oak, maple, birch and ash: the roots of the trees secure the steep slopes from erosion and washout. Under the forest canopy, among other herbaceous plants, there are lilies of the valley, bluebells, lungwort, corydalis, and broad-leaved napkin. Diverse and animal world park: squirrels and moles, nightingales and warblers live here. The long-eared owl, raven and gray owl are listed in the Red Book of the city of Moscow. In the sky above the nature reserve you can see a falcon, sparrowhawk, and kestrel.

The reserve conducts excursions, runs an environmental education program, and has developed three ecological trails.

Modernity

In 1999, Vorobyovy Gory was returned to its historical name, and at the same time the Lenin Gory metro station was renamed.

Competitions began to be held on Vorobyovy Gory mountain bike and motorsport.

In 2013, the reserve was annexed to the territory of the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. Gorky and Neskuchny Gardens.

The observation deck, which nowadays attracts not only tourists and newlyweds, but also communities of motorcyclists and fans of street car racing, underwent a major renovation in the second half of 2014: it was built into the granite pavement interactive map Moscow is illuminated, the balustrade is illuminated, and a recreation area is equipped under the platform.

At the beginning of 2015, plans were announced to reconstruct the ski jump and build a new cable car between Sparrow Hills and the Luzhniki Stadium, which will have to combine excursion, transport and sports functions.

Monument to Prince Vladimir

At the beginning of 2015, it became known about the authorities’ plans to erect a monument to Prince Vladimir on the Sparrow Hills on the Day of National Unity, November 4, 2015. In February 2015, the competition commission of the Russian Military Historical Society chose the design of the studio of Salavat Shcherbakov (architect Vasily Danilov), according to which the monument, 24 meters high and weighing 330 tons, should be installed at the very edge of the hill. A fundraiser for construction was announced; on February 25, the installation of the monument was supported by the Moscow City Duma.

At the same time, a collection of signatures began demanding that the project be stopped, since the Moscow City Duma did not conduct an open competition for projects required by law, nor an environmental assessment, and the very construction of the monument on this site conflicts with the legislation on protection cultural heritage, interferes with the established architectural ensemble and actually eliminates the observation deck. On April 21, the creation of a citywide coalition in defense of the Sparrow Hills was announced. By early June, the petition had been signed by almost 60 thousand people. A petition was also created in support of the Moscow City Duma’s decision to erect the monument, which was signed by 52 thousand people by the end of May.

The sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov does not insist on the observation deck of the Sparrow Hills: “Moscow - a beautiful city, there are a lot of places to place it,” and he is ready to adjust the size of the monument. Earlier, the Arkhnadzor movement proposed alternative options for installing the monument.

At the end of May, the observation deck was fenced off, and work began on it without a building permit or approvals required by law, and the interactive tiles laid in 2014 were dismantled.

Sports and active recreation

Vorobyovy Gory includes two embankments of the Moskva River, Vorobyovskaya and Andreevskaya, used for cycling, roller skating, skateboarding and walking.

In culture

In Russian oral folk art, there is an old drawn-out song “Vorobyovy Mountains”, which bears the name of the Vorobyovy Mountains. This song was used in the form of separate chants by A.P. Borodin when composing his opera “Prince Igor”, as well as in the Andante of the First Quartet.

Almost all works where the story is about Moscow mention the Sparrow Hills. Woland Bulgakova observed the ancient city from this wonderful observation point. You can see this place in films, but it’s better to see it yourself. Vorobyovy Gory is filled with history and the spirit of ancient times. They changed the name several times. In fact, these are not mountains, even on old maps these are Vorobyovy Kruchi, in Soviet times they became Lenin Kruchi, and now they are the Vorobyovy Gory Park.

Not a single excursion around Moscow is complete without visiting them; there is an observation deck here, and from it you can enjoy an excellent view of the capital.

Historical reference

There is no doubt that the Sparrow Hills have been inhabited since ancient times. Since about the 2nd millennium, these lands have been developed by humans. Numerous people talk about this archaeological finds For example, stone tools were found under the building of Moscow State University. also in different time arrowheads, various decorations, and traces of settlements were found.

The name Vorobyovy Gory was given by one of the first owners of local villages, Kirill Voroby. Sparrow is a nickname that may have come from a tool, a board, walking around on a nail. The villages changed owners many times; at one time there were royal estates here, and kings of different eras rested here, hid and made their plans.

Vorobyovy Gory in the 20th century and in our time

The village of Vorobyovo survived for quite a long time. Summer residents lived here, raised and kept tea houses for tourists. In 1924, the village had 180 households and more than a thousand inhabitants.

Since 1917, local festivities with rides, carousels, fairs, ice cream and waffle stalls have been held on Sparrow Hills. After his death, they began to call them Leninsky, and even the nearest metro station was named that way. It is located on the lower tier of the bridge. The station, like the bridge itself, was rebuilt and remodeled and was closed for use for many years. Now the park on Vorobyovy Gory bears its usual name.

The birth of a green zone

For several centuries, the capital's university asked for the territory of the Sparrow Hills for its buildings and was invariably refused. Only under the rule of the Soviets in 1948 was permission obtained and construction of the Moscow State University building began. The summer residents' houses were demolished and built near the university. Botanical Garden, strengthened the slopes, straightened the rugged bank of the Moscow River, and, in general, improved the territory. This is how the park appeared.

Why you should visit the park

If you find yourself in Moscow, be sure to add Sparrow Hills Park to your list of places worth visiting. How to get there? This is a question with multiple correct answers. You can do this by metro; there is a station with the same name, not far from Frunzenskaya. If you prefer to drive, there are plenty of parking spaces opposite the Moscow State University building on Kosygina Street.

The Sparrow Hills Park is a protected area as a green area. There are no cars driving here, only cyclists and pedestrians walking. The green zone has total length 10 km and stretches along the embankment. There is a forest area and shady ponds, good weather You can see local animals, especially squirrels. Here you can disconnect from the non-stop traffic of the capital, relax, breathe fresh air, listen to birdsong, and enjoy the aroma of lilacs, the bushes of which are planted along the embankment.

Near the observation deck there is a cafe where you can eat delicious food, and for lovers active rest During the warm season, bicycle rentals are available.

In addition to the observation deck and nature, there is a chairlift or funicular that you can take down to the pier. A 72-meter long ski jump is open all year round. Near the observation deck there is the Trinity Church, famous for the fact that it was here that Kutuzov prayed before the Battle of Borodino. After enjoying the Sparrow Hills, you can board a pleasure boat at the pier and explore Moscow from the river. And at the next opportunity, be sure to visit Vorobyovy Gory again.

Gorky Park

The famous natural reserve in Moscow is a desirable place for any developer, local residents How can they counteract this? But not so long ago the rights to it were transferred to the Park of Culture. M. Gorky. This greatly worried everyone, since the first actions on the part of the park management were the construction of a fence around the perimeter of the natural reserve, and they also limited access for park regulars, athletes, coaches and others. They built a buffet, closed one of the jumps and destroyed the informal parking lot that they had been using for a long time and were used to. And after rumors about increasing the height of the building and the construction of an underground parking lot under the observation deck, residents began to write letters and complaints to the city administration.

People don't want changes because they are not often for the better. Many are in favor of preserving a piece of nature, and not covering everything with artificial turf, installing communications, and making large-scale lighting. How this story will end and whether the Vorobyovy Gory park will become another shopping and entertainment complex is still unknown. Let us hope for the best.

How to get to Vorobyovy Gory: st. University metro station.

Sparrow Hills (from 1924 to 1991 - Lenin Hills) is the name of the area located in the southwestern part of Moscow, opposite the Luzhniki Stadium. Like all the mountains of Moscow, Vorobyovy Gory does not correspond to this status - it is simply a high bank of the Moscow River, part of the Teplostanskaya Upland, washed away by the river current. Vorobyovy Gory is considered one of the seven hills on which Moscow was built. The mountains stretch from the mouth of the Setun River to the St. Andrew's Bridge. Their southern border adjoins Neskuchny Garden. We can say that Vorobyovy Gory is located in the center of Moscow, 5.5 km from the Kremlin and 13 km from the Moscow Ring Road.

The name of the area comes from the village of Vorobyovo, which existed here in ancient times. It is known that at the end of the 15th century, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I, Princess Sophia acquired his village, which was called Vorobyovo, from an Orthodox priest nicknamed Vorobey. It is impossible to say for sure, but there is a possibility that this is one of the oldest settlements on the territory of present-day Moscow. This village turned into summer residence the Grand Duke, and then the Tsar.

For many years, the Vorobyov years served as a viewing platform for the conquerors - from here the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey and the Polish hetman Khotkevich looked at Moscow. From the mid-17th to the 18th century, St. Andrew's Monastery existed at the northern foot of the Sparrow Hills, and in the second half of the 19th century, this corner of Moscow gained popularity as a summer cottage area.

When the Sparrow Hills were renamed the Lenin Hills, oddly enough, it is impossible to answer for sure, despite the fact that this happened relatively recently. Three dates are named: 1924, 1935 and 1936, as the time of the probable renaming of the Sparrow Hills. According to some historians, they were renamed in the year of V.I.’s death. Lenin in his memory, according to others, the renaming was the result of the implementation of a project to create a large physical culture center named after. Lenin. Until the 90s of the 20th century, the mountains remained Leninsky, and only in 1999 their historical name was officially returned, and at the same time the metro station was renamed.

In 1949-1953, a complex of buildings of Moscow State University was built on Vorobyovy Gory. The famous university skyscraper was built on the initiative of I.V. Stalin and with the participation of architects B.M. Iofana, L.V. Rudneva, S. E. Chernysheva, P. V. Abrosimova, A. F. Khryakov and V. N. Nasonova. In 1953, when the building was completed, it was the tallest in Moscow - its height together with the spire reaches 240 meters.

The university observation deck, located opposite the main high-rise building of Moscow State University, has long been popular place recreation for both Muscovites and guests of the capital. The site is located about 80 meters above the level of the Moscow River, and from here a breathtaking panorama of Moscow opens.

Next to the observation deck is the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills, which miraculously survived the years of anti-religious struggle. This church is mentioned by L.N. Tolstoy in the novel "War and Peace". It is unknown when the first church was built on Vorodievy Gory. We only know about the Trinity Church built in 1644, and the current church was built in 1811 in a classicist manner. It is known that M.I. prayed here. Kutuzov before the council in Fili. This ancient church is still active.

In 1953, a ski jump was built on Vorobyovy Gory, as well as a ski slope with lighting and a chair lift. Motorsports or mountain biking competitions are often held in this park. The Luzhnetsky metro bridge, on which the Vorobyovy Gory (Lenin Hills) station is located, was built in 1958. It connected Komsomolsky Prospekt with the buildings of Moscow State University, and an escalator was installed near the metro exit with access to Kosygina Street, from where one could go up to the observation deck.

In 1987, the then Lenin Mountains were declared a natural monument, and in 1988 the Vorobyovy Gory State Nature Reserve was created. These days, the reserve is engaged in projects whose goal is to protect the natural and historical heritage of Moscow. As part of the projects, environmental tourism routes have been developed, excursions are conducted along them, work is also underway on environmental education among schoolchildren, and scientific research is being conducted.

The green spaces of the Sparrow Hills stretch in the form of a narrow curved strip (0.5 - 3.5 km wide) along the right bank of the Moscow River. In the southwest, the forest park borders Vorobyovskoye Highway, and above it there is a highway laid between Vernadsky Avenue and Komsomolsky Avenue. The river bed is enclosed in concrete banks, various sports facilities have been built along the embankments, asphalt roads and pedestrian paths have been laid. Part of the park is occupied by a natural forest with very old trees and small swamps, and in some areas there are flower beds and alleys along which shrubs and trees have been planted.

No construction was ever carried out on Vorobyovy Gory, and the land was not used for needs Agriculture, because In this place there is a large difference in the relief level, and in addition, intense landslide processes take place here.

Vorobyovy Gory is located on one of the seven hills of the city of Moscow.

They rise at an altitude of 80 meters above the Moscow River and are the most distant place from the Kremlin, where crowds of tourists flock. After all, it is beautiful here both in winter and in summer, there is somewhere to walk, something to see, and getting here is easy - you can get there by metro (nearby is the station of the same name) or by bus. In order not to get lost, advanced youth navigate using a navigator, and those who are accustomed to using paper media will be helped by a map or diagram found and downloaded on the Internet: using the map it is easy to find, for example, the address of the observation deck, from where in the evening you can see simply fantastic panoramas of Moscow, shining colorful lights.

In contact with

History woven into the area

Why exactly the Vorobyovy Mountains? It turns out that a priest named Sparrow lived here. The village of Vorobyovo attracted the attention of Princess Sophia, the wife of Prince Vasily I, who bought the village from the priest.

And a wooden palace in this place was already built by Vasily III. The building was useful to many kings, for example, Grozny himself took refuge there from the great fire of Moscow, and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich brought his entire family and the young Tsarevich Peter to the palace for the summer.

After a while, under the leadership of Peter’s daughter, wooden churches were rebuilt here, a garden and park were placed and improved, and alleys were laid out. The reconstruction of the royal chambers belonged to Catherine the Great.

Interesting fact: Alexander I dreamed of building the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on the Sparrow Hills, but abandoned this idea due to the high cost of the project.

The observation deck remembers many of the conquerors who encroached on Moscow. From here Khan Girey, Hetman Khotkevich and others looked at the capital, which was revealed before their eyes in all its glory, and from here they turned back, slurping unsaltedly.

The decline of the described area occurred in the 19th century, when a fort was organized here, as mentioned by A.I. Herzen. From here the Bolsheviks fired guns at the Kremlin during the October Revolution. But after their victory they became seriously interested in this wonderful place.

The height of Moscow State University is 182 meters (with the spire - 240 m)

The complex of mansions for senior party workers and the entire nomenklatura called “Ilyich’s Village” fully met the requirements of party bosses and the ideals of communism. Cleanest air, space, beautiful view, what else is required for the well-being of management employees. Today there is a Kremlin hospital there.

In the difficult post-war times, a beautiful high-rise building was erected here as another response to bourgeois countries. In total, 8 high-rise buildings were built in the capital. The largest building in Moscow at that time was the building of Moscow State University.

Attractions

Despite all the efforts of Kaganovich, no other name stuck to the Sparrow Hills. They were stubbornly called Leninist, but the people, following M.A. Bulgakov, called the mountains Vorobyov.

View of the Sparrow Hills from the observation deck

The love of Muscovites and city guests for the area can well be called great. It’s good to take a walk here, wander around on your own or with a tour, and admire the stunning beauty of the capital as seen from the observation deck.

There are many attractions worth seeing here:

Moscow State University building.
Observation deck.
Stone embankment.
Armchairman.
The Tramplin restaurant is located right on the famous springboard built for the 1980 Olympics.
Springs.
Pier.
Ecological trail.
Borodino Alley.
Monuments.
Churches.

Here is the famous Mamontov Dacha, where Kapitsa worked in Soviet times, Landau are other outstanding figures of Soviet science.

One of the most beautiful places is waiting for you to visit

When in the capital city, you should definitely visit the Sparrow Hills. Bright impressions await you here, interesting views, the opportunity to take wonderful photographs and videos.

You can keep sparrow pictures of extraordinary beauty as a souvenir, as well as give them to friends and acquaintances.

If you are by car, then go to Kosygina Street, leave your car in the parking lot and go up on a chairlift.

When walking along Zlatoglavaya, guests will benefit from a map that will tell you directions and interesting routes.

The map will allow tourists to see all the sights of the Mother See and take an exciting journey along the high bank of the Moscow Coast, which will remain in their memory forever.

Watch the video describing Interesting Facts associated with Sparrow Hills:

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