Information about the building

Even if Vladimir Vysotsky's lines about "Kanatchikova Dacha" did not exist, the psychiatric hospital on Zagorodnoye Highway, which during Soviet times was named after doctor Pyotr Kashchenko, would be known to every Muscovite.

Few know about the "pre-psychiatric" history of this place. In the late 18th century, there was a country estate owned by the patron, writer, and publisher P.P. Beketov, known as "Beketov Dacha." The "Beket" pond still reminds us of this.

In the mid-19th century, the estate was acquired by merchant Kanatchikov, and it became known as "Kanatchikova Dacha." In the 1860s, when the estate fell into disrepair, it began to be sold off in parts. In 1868, the city bought most of it from Kanatchikov's heirs.

In 1889, the city mayor N.A. Alexeev proposed to the City Duma to build a new modern psychiatric hospital in Moscow with 300 beds. Kanatchikova Dacha was chosen for construction: the area beyond the Serpukhov Gate was considered healthy, and the size of the estate allowed for the expansion of the hospital with private donations.

Architect L.O. Vasilyev was tasked with developing a building plan with the possibility of expansion in mind. Pavilions for patients were to be located separately from other buildings.

The project for the hospital was ready by the summer of 1890. Construction of the first phase began in 1890 and was completed in 1894. N.A. Alexeev personally monitored the quality of construction, checking the bricks for strength. On May 12, 1894, the hospital was consecrated and opened, named in honor of Alexeev. The hospital buildings, symmetrically arranged around the central building with a church, formed the male and female halves. Each had wards for new patients, with shared dormitories and single rooms.

The ensemble of the Psychiatric Hospital from the late 19th and early 20th centuries has remained almost unchanged and is a cultural heritage site.

The women's ward for new patients is located at Zagorodnoye Highway, 2, building 1A. Built by May 1894, it is symmetrical to the men's ward. This elongated P-shaped two-story building is located to the left of the central building. Its unplastered facades are adorned with cornices characteristic of the "brick style."