The image of Moscow as we know it today, with its wide central streets and circular boulevards, began to take shape in the second half of the 18th century. A significant role in this was played by the French architect Nicolas Legrand, the author of the first large-scale plan for the reconstruction of Moscow.
Exit from the Middle Ages
In the 18th century, Moscow was transformed from a chaotically built up medieval city into an orderly city of the European type. Wooden buildings are gradually giving way to stone buildings. The ban on building wooden houses in the central part of the city was introduced by Peter I in 1700. Under Catherine II, a larger-scale reconstruction of the two main cities of the empire began. In 1762, the Commission on the stone structure of St. Petersburg and Moscow was created. At the same time, in connection with the publication of the manifesto on the liberty of the nobility, which canceled compulsory military service, the active construction of city estates began. To streamline this process, it was necessary to develop a plan for the city structure. In 1775, the Projected Plan of Moscow was drawn up, along with which the empress was presented with a regulation on the organization of such an institution,as a Stone Order, responsible for implementing the plan. The Frenchman Nicolas Legrand played an important role in the development of this document. He was appointed the chief architect of the Stone Prikaz.
Eurodevelopment of Moscow
It is believed that it was Nicolas Legrand, a representative of French classicism, who introduced the principles of the structure of European cities into Moscow city planning. The 1775 plan envisaged, in particular, the elimination of the walls of the White City and the creation of extensive boulevards in their place, which was done in the 19th century. This is how the famous Boulevard Ring appeared, which became a favorite walking place for Muscovites and remains so to this day. The Legrand project of urban renewal also involved the expansion of the central streets, and at their intersection with the Boulevard Ring, the formation of squares, the names of which still remind us that once there were fortifications (Nikitsky Gate, Arbat Gate, Myasnitsky Gate, Petrovsky Gate and etc.).
The influence of French classicism on the layout of Moscow is noticeable when comparing the drawings of the city's reorganization with the "New Plan of Paris", developed in the same year. Both plans reflect the evolution of the concept of space characteristic of classicism: spaciousness and openness replace the cramped medieval buildings. Another similarity is surprising. The Moscow plan of 1775 provided for the creation of the bypass channel of the Moskva River, due to which Fr. Baltschug, similar to natural islands in the center of Paris.
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Classicism in architecture
Nicolas Legrand designed a number of Moscow buildings in the classicism style that became popular in Russia during the Catherine's era. These buildings include the large-scale building of the Kriegskommissariat (department for material content of the army), located on the Kosmodamianskaya embankment and possessing the traditional signs of classicism. The facade of the building overlooking the Moskva River is decorated with columns and an attic, and its rounded corners are designed in the form of towers.
The French architect is also the author of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Mogiltsy, the construction of which was completed after the death of Legrand. The first wooden church was built on this site in the 14th century, and in the 17th century the first stone church appeared here. Legrand designed the new building of the church in the classicist style. The composition stands out due to two towers adjacent to the main entrance, which is more typical of Catholic than Orthodox churches.
Disputes about authorship
There are several cultural monuments in Moscow, the authorship of which has not been finally established. The surname of Legrand is also on the list of potential architects, for example, those who created the Pashkov House, considered the creation of Vasily Bazhenov, and the Baryshnikov city estate, attributed to Matvey Kazakov.
Firstly, as pointed out by professor of Moscow Architectural Institute Yu. G. Klimenko, after the war of 1812, many archives, including architectural plans and drawings, were lost, and therefore it is difficult to establish the authorship of many Moscow buildings built before 1812. Secondly, the Patriotic War changed the attitude towards everything French, as a result of which there were attempts to attribute the creations of French architects to their Russian colleagues. Legrand could have been a victim of this bias.
We can say with confidence that Nicolas Legrand's project contributed to a radical change in the appearance of Moscow at the end of the 18th century. Today, it is enough just to look at the map of the Russian capital to appreciate the contribution of the French architect to its improvement.
Maria Tonkova