Kuznetsky bridge and other underground surprises of the capital

Walk along Neglinka at the intersection with the Kuznetsk bridge... Some thirty centimeters down - and under you the same Kuznetsk bridge of 1754. It was big, 12 meters wide and 120 meters long! Three-handed... Considered his classic architecture D.V. Ukhtomsky.

When at the end of the XVIII century it was decided to send Neglinka underground into a pipe, then the idea arose to arrange a pond over it, with a statue of Catherine II. But the war slightly postponed this project and only in 1817 the river was enclosed in a pipe, and the bridge was buried.

The bridge was suddenly discovered during the laying of the main manifold for Neglinka in 1986, and since then it has been the subject of controversy for and against its further existence. The bridge was archaeologically cleared, its fixation and architectural conservation were carried out. According to experts, the technical condition of the bridge allows its restoration. And this is where the most interesting thing begins!

To dig or not to dig? Do you need a bridge of classic architecture of the XVIII century? That's not commercially viable. Not only will it block the center of Moscow, but it will also interfere with travel on the busiest sections of the city. By the way, you could raise only one arch and make a museum. Even that would be a great reward...

In 2003, teachers and students of the Higher School of Landscape Architecture and Design of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARCHI) organized the action “Give Kuznetsky Bridge!” and developed projects for its partial and complete restoration. The idea of recreating the bridge was warmly supported by prominent Russian architects, historians and cultural figures. The main defender of the bridge is Alexander Grigorievich Veksler, a former chief archaeologist of Moscow (retired in 2009).

By the way, the building of TSUM is going to be reconstructed and enlarged. Surprise to the main investor of reconstruction: at excavations in the METRE from the old building, the masonry of the ancient Temple of the Resurrection of the Glorious was found. In principle, there is such a world practice when the ensemble of an ancient building is included in modern masonry (Sofia department store in Sofia, for example). By the way, together with this masonry, they found the gravestone of Peter 1, Evdokia Lopukhina. That's it. Moscow is full of surprises :

Maxim Shvedov