Kitai-gorod

From Moscowiki

Kitay-gorod is a district of Moscow, situated in the very center of the city.

"Kitay" in modern Russian means "China". But this district got its name not from the modern meaning of the word "Kitai". There are several theories explaining the origin of the name: according to the most popular one the word "kita" in Old Russian meant "a fence" and this area was in fact surrounded by a big wall; another theory claims that Italian builders brought the word "citta"(city) to Moscow.

[edit] History of Kitai-gorod

People started to settle here already in 11th century. By the 14th century it was an area densely populated by craftsmen and merchants. In order to protect people of Kremlin and Kitay-gorod from Tatar and Lithuanian invaders Elena Glinskaya, mother of Ivan the Terrible, decided to dig a moat around the district. Later the moat was replaced by a big stone wall which was constructed in 1538 and destroyed in Soviet time. Inside the walls numerous shops, stores and markets appeared; thus Kitay-gorod turned into a very important business and trading centre.