Arbat Street - Moscow

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Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

Every great city in the world has one or a few more famous streets where most tourists will visit on their travel; Moscow isn’t different from the others, there are a few significant streets in Moscow, which each of them are unique in their way; one of them is Arbat Street inside the historical part of the city. Arbat is a one-kilometer pedestrian street, where you can find anything you want, from unique souvenir shops to luxurious and elegant stores. It is also where lots of famous figures in Russia lived since it was considered to be one of the noblest living areas of Moscow in the 18th century. Above all, Arbat is one of the oldest survived streets of Moscow, even while it almost destroyed entirely by the Grand Army of Napoleon in 1812.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

The Arbat street begins from the Arbatskaya Square, which locates at the 800 meters west of Red Square, and it ends at the Slomenskaya Square, which locates at about one kilometers southwest of the Arbatskaya Square. This street is in the historical section of the city and classified as one of the major tourist attractions of Moscow.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

As we mentioned, Arbat is one of the oldest survived streets of Moscow, the exact history of this street is unknown, but its name was mentioned in one of the records of 1493, which was about the fire of recent years, which destroyed half of the wooden-structure city of Moscow. The city was restored several times throughout history because of the fires and other incidents, but Arbat Street had always renewed to its original plans, and that’s why it identifies as one of the oldest persevered streets of the capital city.

Since its birth, Arbat Street had always been the business and trade route in Moscow, and with each passing year, it had become more and more significant to the city. Arbat Street was located at the edge of the city until the 18th century, but as Moscow was growing, its location considered to be at the center of the city rather than be on the edge of it.

Following the fire and the restoration of the late 18th century, Arbat Street became the central place for nobilities and wealthy families of Moscow, among noble families that had houses in this street, we can name the Tolstoys, the Galitzines, and the Kroptokins. After the fire of 1812, which was started by the retreating Grand Army of Napoleon, the street was once again restored, but this time, it became the favorite living area for artists, and lower class nobilities of Moscow, such as Alexander Pushkin and Andrey Bely.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

From the beginning of the 20th century, Arbat Street became one of the busiest market streets of Moscow. Several shopping centers, local markets, restaurants, and cafes opened up in this street, where several new comfortable buildings were constructed, and many old boutiques were renowned.

Following the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized the private properties on Arbat Street and made them state property. Though many artists still lived on the Arbat street, the street slowly became the living-area for high-ranking officials and the Soviet Union’s communist party members. The churches and religious places of the street demolished during the Soviet era, including the St. Nicholas church, which was one of the most excellent examples of its architectural style in Moscow.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

Arbat street is the first-ever pedestrian-only street of the Soviet Union era when in the 1980s the new building of the Ministry of Defense constructed on the Arbataskaya Square; because of that, a large restoration began on the street which completed in 1986, several buildings and shopping centers renewed during this restoration. Arbat Street was also turned to the central meeting place of informal youth movements and street artists after it became a pedestrian-only street; the Tsoi’s wall, which was a wall full of graffiti and the songs of the band with the same name, is one of the remaining monuments of those days of Moscow.

Currently, Arbat street is occupied by restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, souvenir shops, and street artists, and that is the main reason why it’s a favorite place for tourists in Moscow as well.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

The Arbat Street is one of the great places for tourists to explore for unique souvenirs and other antique items of Moscow, where most shops and stores have reasonable prices since the street mostly belongs to the middle class of Moscow. There are also numerous cafes and restaurants on this street, which makes it one of the favorite places for young Muscovites and foreign visitors.

Besides the shops, restaurants, cafes, and street markets, Abrat street is the prime place for those who want to see the street culture and street art of Moscow, where several street artists perform for the visitors and enthusiasts on the street. There are also a few monuments and old buildings, which were belonged to famous people of Russia on this street that are now considered to be the attractions of Moscow.

 

Arbat Street - The Arbat - Moscow

There are numerous attractions inside Moscow, which we at the Star Travel Group have gathered the information about them in our weblog, so our clients and other tourists who have plans to visit Moscow would read and learn about the place before they began their trip to Russia. There are also several articles about other attractions of Russia, tips, and advice on a trip to Russia, and exciting parts of the journey into Russia, such as Visit Moscow, which you can read free on our website.