Location and Origin

In the early 15th century, on one of the hills of Moscow, later named "Ivanovskaya Gorka" due to the Ioanno-Predtechensky Monastery, gardens were laid out by the order of Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich of Moscow. A country residence for the grand duke was also built here. At the end of the same century, in 1493, Moscow suffered greatly from a fire. After this, Grand Duke Ivan III prohibited construction near the Kremlin walls, including on the opposite bank of the Moscow River. New State Gardens were established there, and the gardens on Ivanovskaya Gorka became known as the Old Gardens. Their memory is preserved in the name of the ancient Moscow church of St. Vladimir "in the Old Gardens."

Morozovsky Garden, the last green corner that reminds of the ancient history of this place, got its name from the last pre-revolutionary owners, the Morozov merchants. However, the garden was arranged long before them. In 1772, the property between Khokhlovsky and Bolshoy Trёkhsvyatitel'sky Lanes belonged to the son of the Moldavian prince Dmitry Cantemir, Sherban (Sergey) Dmitrievich Cantemir. By this time, a stone house already stood here, which has survived to this day with renovations.

In the 19th century, the house housed a school founded by D. N. Lopukhina. Here studied the poet Anton Delvig's cousin, Andrey Ivanovich Delvig, the future builder of the Mytishchi water supply.

In the mid-19th century, the new owner of the estate became entrepreneur Vasily Alexandrovich Kokorev, one of the first in the oil industry in Russia and the founder of the first public art gallery in Moscow. Under him, the main house received facades in the Russian style, which have survived to this day. However, financial difficulties forced Kokorev to sell the property, and the new owners became Timofey Savvich and Maria Fyodorovna Morozov.

Although Morozovsky Garden was privately owned, it was open to all who wished, both for guests of the estate and for residents of neighboring houses. Employees of the Foreign Affairs College, located on Khokhlovsky Lane, walked here, as well as notable figures such as the Venivitenkov brothers, the Turgenevs, V. F. Odoyevsky, A. K. Tolstoy, and S. A. Sobolevsky. Pushkin himself also visited the garden to work with archives. The garden remembers A. N. Ostrovsky, S. T. Aksakov, L. N. Tolstoy, who collaborated with the magazine "Russian Herald," whose editorial office was nearby. F. M. Dostoevsky often visited, coming not only to "Russian Herald" but also to visit his aunt A. F. Kumanina on Starosadsky Lane.

The garden witnessed the childhood years of future polar explorer E. Krenkel, pianist L. Oborin, and film director E. Dzigan.

20th and 21st Centuries

During the Soviet era, the garden became a city park and remained a popular walking spot for children from neighboring streets. After the war, a kindergarten No. 304 moved into the main house. The film "The Mustached Nanny" was shot here, and Morozovsky Garden became a filming location for several episodes of this film.

In 2001, the kindergarten was evicted, and the house was renovated, leading to the destruction of historical interiors and the replacement of the white stone facade with a gypsum copy. The garden was closed to visitors, an underground parking lot was arranged beneath it, part of the chestnuts was cut down, and the fence was changed.

In March 2011, after a long struggle by the public and deputies, the garden reopened. Now it is a public area, but it is only open during the daytime.