History of appearance and description

The ancient palaces in Shubin, known as the "Aragvi" restaurant, represent a remarkable heritage of Moscow's history. The enormous Stalin-era building, part of the General Plan of 1935, conceals a luxurious palace from the time of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov.

Experts knew that the eastern wing of house No. 6 on Tverskaya Street was built using the walls of the "Dresden" hotel, which preserved an ancient vestibule with atlantes. The hotel, in turn, was constructed on the basis of an 18th-century residential building. This was known until 2004.

In 2004, the "Aragvi" restaurant closed for renovations. The architect involved in the refurbishment noticed ancient white-stone vaults in the basement. The entrance to the building is from Tverskaya Square, to the right of Yuri Dolgoruky. The almost square palaces are located inside the modern building, a few meters from the facade facing the square. They can be seen from Tverskaya Street by peering into the first alley of house No. 6. A smooth plastered wall with three windows is the first floor of the palaces in Shubin. Below ground lies a powerful basement. Thick walls and white-stone vaults impress even those distant from architecture.

Reference information indicates that the palaces, forming the basis of house No. 6, were built in the parish of the Church of Cosmas and Damian in Shubin, the estate of boyar Iakinf Shuba, a commander of Prince Dmitry Donskoy. In the 17th century, the plot belonged to a man who built a palace here. Research has helped clarify the structure and history of the building. At the core of the complex lies a "complex triplet," a hall with three rooms on either side, transforming into a long corridor. The most famous buildings of this type, the palaces of Simon Ushakov and Averky Kirillov, have two rooms on each side. Part of the walls of the basement level is made of white stone. Soon after construction, the premises were deepened to create ice cellars and a wide stone staircase was arranged, which has not survived.

The upper floor is made of brick with stamps of eagles and unicorns, dating the monument to the mid-17th century. Half of the rooms have preserved high vaults, and remnants of brick window and portal frames have been discovered. In the walls of the "throne room" there are numerous niches for stoves, including one horizontal, richly decorated. Along the window slopes, brick frames stretch, and in the center of the vault is a rosette of concentric circles. On the eastern and northern walls of the palace, two rich portals have been found. One of them is adorned with carved inserts, crosses, and a star. Above it, arched niches with picturesque daisies. Around the arch of the opening, a floral ornament. Similar decorative fragments are found in the Toy Palace, and this is the first such find in Moscow.

Reconstruction and restoration

Since 2005, the palaces have been under restoration, but clients and contractors have changed. In recent years, new representatives of the client have trusted the restorers, agreeing to clear the facade and preserve the antiquity. Architect Nadezhda Ivanovna Danilenko noted: "We aimed to preserve everything that survived. The monument was in a neglected state, and the main efforts went into solving technological problems, such as dampness and biological damage to the masonry. We corrected previous mistakes and uncovered interesting details from the 17th century, without adding anything new. Everything valuable has been conserved for better times." As a result, the monument was saved and received three awards at the "Moscow Restoration 2016" competition: for the best restoration project, organization of work, and scientific-methodological guidance.