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 View of theState Historical Museum from the Manezhnaya Square | |
| Native name | Манежная площадь (Russian) |
|---|---|
| Location | Moscow Central Administrative Okrug Tverskoy District |
| Postal code | 125009 |
| Nearest metro station |  Okhotny Ryad Teatralnaya Ploshchad Revolyutsii |
| Coordinates | 55°45′21″N37°36′53″E / 55.75583°N 37.61472°E /55.75583; 37.61472 |
Manezhnaya (Russian:Манежная площадь,IPA:[mɐˈnʲeʐnəjəˈploɕːɪtʲ],lit. 'Manege Square') is a pedestrianopen space in theTverskoy District, at the heart ofMoscow. It is bound by theHotel Moskva to the east, theState Historical Museum and theAlexander Garden to the south, theMoscow Manege to the west, and the 18th-century headquarters of theMoscow State University to the north.
The square forms a vital part of downtown Moscow, connectingRed Square (which sprawls behind theIberian Gate immediately to the south) with the major traffic arteryTverskaya Street, which starts here and runs northwestward in the direction ofSaint Petersburg. It is served by threeMoscow Metro stations:Okhotny Ryad,Ploshchad Revolyutsii, andTeatralnaya.
The Manezhka (as it is familiarly known) had its origins inMoiseyevskaya Square, which was formed in 1798 in consequence of the demolition of the medieval Moiseyevsky Monastery which had stood on the banks of the muddyNeglinnaya River since the times ofIvan the Terrible. Although the river was later culverted, the neighbourhood remained crammed with public houses and taverns, which gave the area its infamous nickname of "Moscow's belly".
A decision was reached in 1932 to pull down these "ugly relics of the bourgeois lifestyle" in order to make room for Communist meetings and demonstrations. As a result, the 19th-centuryGrand Hotel and several Neoclassical mansions byOsip Bove were dismantled, whereupon the Moiseyevskaya Square was expanded to its present size and renamed Manezhnaya after theMoscow Manege it now abutted upon.
Notwithstanding its new name, the eastern side of the square came to be dominated by another building, the newly builtHotel Moskva, a hybrid of several styles, most notable for its huge proportions and uptight look.
In 1967, the square was renamed after the 50th Anniversary of theOctober Revolution. Furthermore, in order to commemorate that event, the Communist authorities laid a foundation stone for a grandiose sculptural monument, which failed to materialize.
In August 1991, Manezhnaya Square (its name by then restored) became a venue for great demonstrations celebrating the fall of Communism after the abortiveSoviet coup attempt of 1991. More recently, it made the news in connection with riots following theRussia national football team's defeat at the2002 FIFA World Cup. The place became a stage of rioting again in December 2010, when thousands of youth representingfootball fans and/or those who supportnationalist slogans held arally at Manezhnaya which turned violent. It made the square's name common in media when it comes to growth of nationalist sentiments in modern Russia.[1]
During the 1990s Moscow mayorYury Luzhkov had the square closed to traffic and substantially renovated. The centrepiece of the refurbished square is a four-story underground shopping mall and parking lot, surmounted by a rotating glass cupola, which forms aworld clock of theNorthern hemisphere with major cities marked and a scheme of lights below each panel to show the progression of the hour. On the top of the cupola is an equestrian statue ofSaint George and the Dragon, the symbol of Moscow.
Another innovation is the former river-bed of theNeglinnaya River, which has become a popular attraction for Muscovites and tourists alike, especially on sultry summer days. The course of the river (which now really flows underground) is imitated by a rivulet dotted with fountains and statues of Russian fairy-tale characters, as sculpted byZurab Tsereteli. In 1995,Vyacheslav Klykov'sequestrian statue ofMarshal Zhukov was unveiled in front of theState Historical Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of theMoscow Victory Parade of 1945, when the Soviet commander had spectacularly ridden awhite stallion through Red Square and Manege Square.
Media related toManezhnaya Square (Moscow) at Wikimedia Commons