Category:Povarskaya
From Moscowiki
Guide to Moscow Streets
In the 16th century the area of Povarskaya ulitsa was mostly inhabited by the royal cooks; no wonder that the word "povar" (cook) became an origin of the street’s name. The names of many neighbouring lanes are also connected with the kitchen: Stolovy (Table), Khlebny (Bread), Nozhovy (Knife) and others.
In the 18th century Povarskaya was densely populated by Moscow nobles; till the revolution it was considered to be the most aristocratic street in the city. After the revolution luxury mansions of the nobles were either occupied by the State institutions or put at the disposal of foreign embassies.
The church of St. Simeon Stolpnik (No. 4) is situated right in the beginning of the street, at the corner of Novy Arbat and Povarskaya. Former parish church of Nikolay Gogol, it’s the only 17th-century building on Novy Arbat not touched by the Soviet reconstruction.
Mindovsky’s house (No.44) on the corner of Povarskaya and Skaryatinsky Pereulok is by right considered to be one of the best examples of Russian Art Nouveau. Now this architectural masterpiece is occupied by the embassy of the New Zealand. A picturesque mansion with a colonnade on the façade in the end of the street (No.52) formerly belonged to Sollogub family. But it’s much more widely known to Muscovites as the “Rostov House”, as Lev Tolstoy "settled" here the heroes of his world-famous novel “War and Peace”. The imaginary story of the great writer somehow affected the real destiny of this building: since 1932 it houses the Union of Writers organization.
[edit] Povarskaya Photos
This category currently contains no pages or media.
