Patriarchal ponds in the city of Moscow

A person who first decided to find Patriarchal ponds in Moscow will be very puzzled. Arriving at the specified address, he will find only one pond surrounded by a small and fairly clean park. A quiet place, almost in the center of the city, as if created for walks and leisurely conversations in the shade of trees.

Until the XVII century on the site of the ponds was a swamp, and nearby bred goats, whose wool was supplied to the royal court. Today, only the names of the alleys - Small and Big Kozikhinsky - remain from the Kozi swamp. This is a picturesque place and chose Patriarch Hermogenes as his residence. The patriarchal settlement became one of the richest in the city. It grew significantly, three churches were built, the number of residential buildings increased. And in 1683, Patriarch Joachim ordered to drain the swamps and dig three ponds in which it would be possible to breed fish for the patriarchal table. Such ponds can be found all over Moscow. The Patriarchs bred the simplest varieties of fish, and, for example, in Presnensky - expensive varieties, which were served at the table for holidays.

Then the patriarchate fell into decline, the settlement passed into the hands of other owners, and the ponds were abandoned and swamped. At the beginning of the XIX century it was decided to eliminate the newly emerged swamps. The ponds fell asleep, sparing only the largest, which was put in order, cleaned, ennobled and smashed around a small beautiful square, which was originally called “Patriarchal Pond Boulevard”. And “Three Ponds”, on which once there was a lively fishing, did not go into oblivion without a trace. They gave the name to Threeprudny Lane, where Marina Tsvetaeva was born. She lovingly described her childhood spent in this alley in the novel My Pushkin.

Patriarchal ponds are an integral part of the literary life of pre-revolutionary Moscow. On a crowded and very popular with Muscovites skating rink brought his daughters Leo Tolstoy. Here he placed the hero of his novel “Anna Karenina” Levin, who was desperately looking for Kitty here. Walking along the alley, he heard the nightingales of his namesake A. N. Tolstoy. Well, the famous novel by M. A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita” turned the Patriarchal Ponds into a very iconic place. There are still rumors that it was here that Woland first appeared, and Annushka so inappropriately spilled oil. It is said that the unclean force that lived in the swamps continued to plot the plots of the inhabitants of the Patriarchal Sloboda even after Joachim tried unsuccessfully to expel it from there.

In 2003, a large-scale reconstruction of the Patriarchal Ponds and the surrounding park was carried out. The pond was cleaned again, the shores were strengthened and the long-awaited fish were launched into the pond. In addition to fish, ducks and swans live in the pond, which are fed with pleasure by Muscovites in the summer. In the park, trees were replaced, the paths were paved with paving stones and paving slabs, benches and new masts of urban lighting were installed. After that, the pond, pavilion and park became objects of cultural heritage. They are now protected by the state.