Sadovnicheskaya Street
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Novokuznetskaya Paveletskaya View to Sadovnicheskaya street from Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge | |
| Native name | Садовническая улица (Russian) |
|---|---|
| Length | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
| Location | Moscow Central Administrative Okrug Zamoskvorechye District |
| Nearest metro station | Novokuznetskaya Paveletskaya |
Sadovnicheskaya street (Russian: Садо́вническая у́лица, lit. Gardener's Street) is a street in the historical Zamoskvorechye District of Moscow, Russia, on a narrow island between Moskva River and the parallel old river bed (Vodootvodny Canal). The street runs from Balchug Street (across the Kremlin) south-east to the Garden Ring.
Historical neighborhood of Sadovniki (lit. Gardener's) goes back to the 14th-century gardens of prince Vasili I of Russia. The garden itself was placed directly opposite the Kremlin and doubled as a fire barrier within a wooden city. Adjacent garden workers' settlement eventually gave name to Sadovniki and Sadovnicheskaya street. Other streets with the same name also existed in Moscow, but were eventually renamed. The remote district of Nagatino-Sadovniki was named in a similar manner, centuries later. Downtown Sadovniki remained a quiet, rural community. Annual floods and migrations of river bed through the floodlands discouraged capital construction. As if it wasn't enough, the southern suburbs were the first to be looted and burnt down during the enemy raids.
The neighborhood became an important construction site in late 18th century. By 1786, the old river bed was rebuilt into a permanent Canal; in 1778–1781, Niсholas Legrand builds the castle of New Kriegskomissariat (a military office and depot), now headquarters of Moscow Military District. Dams intended to control floods (1836) also raised river level, improving commercial shipping. They were imperfect and couldn't help in case of draught or flood: in 1908, Moskva River completely flooded the island (water level exceeded 7 meters above present-day summer average).
By the end of 19th century, Sadovniki became a working-class community. In 1880s, the street saw heavy industrial construction (first electrical powerplant, 1887, textile mills). Former warehouses and farms were built out to five-story residential houses and hotels.
