Lately, I don't often write about Moscow, and in general I rarely write, and meanwhile, from time to time, it turns out that it is not a bad idea to walk around it.
This review is about a complex of apartment buildings at st. Solyanka d. 1/2, as well as about the legendary system of historical dungeons located below them. The history of the quarter goes back to the origin of the street name. Around the 17th century, at the corner of today's street. Solyanka and st. Zabelin built a huge, by those standards, a stone commercial building with trade pavilions and a large courtyard. In a short time, the place gained popularity among residents and received the name "Salt Fish Yard" among the "people". The shopping malls have been repeatedly rebuilt and expanded, but due to the lack of comprehensive repairs, they have become dilapidated over time. The merchant society completely bought out the salt yard, which was falling apart by the beginning of the 20th century,since each room was owned by a specific entrepreneur and the local government could not collect funds from each for the repair of the entire building (a typical situation for the shopping malls of that time, the same situation was with the Upper Shopping Rows).
In 1913, the courtyard was completely dismantled to the foundations, and on the site of the former Salt Rows, multi-storey apartment buildings were erected for the Moscow merchant society in the neoclassical style. Spacious basements with high vaults were built under the houses. An interesting fact - colossal funds were required to strengthen the old foundations, so the layout of the basements in some places did not change. The main difference between the old basements and the current ones is the absence of sectional division. In the salt yard, each shop had its own fenced-off cellar.
Initially, the spacious premises were used for utility and food warehouses, but later it housed underground garages and workshops for the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, due to increased dampness, the dungeons were eventually abandoned. Empty basements have become a habitat for marauders and car robbers. Cars and motorcycles stolen from the streets of the city were dismantled in the former underground garages. After the arrival of perestroika, the system was again abandoned and gradually littered with garbage brought here from the street, and was flooded due to the negligence of public utilities - communications were not repaired for a long time.
In the early 2000s, the cellars were suddenly remembered and even a number of TV reports were shown. Since that time, a new sheet of history began - the dungeons caused a stir among the newly minted "explorers", with a light hand received the laconic name "Solyanka". Groups of young people gathered here more than once, and even illegal squats were arranged. The garbage that has accumulated over the decades has been set on fire by drunken teenagers more than once, thereby causing outrage among the residents of nearby houses. By about 2008, the disgrace reached its peak - the last straw was the arson of a smoke bomb. The governing bodies have taken radical measures. The system was literally mothballed, filling up numerous descents from the lower floors of houses and holes from the street.
For many years, the cellars remain difficult to access for illegal visits. Recently I was able to visit the renovated Solyanka. What I saw is very different from the state in 2008, when the system was smelly and damp, and the garbage in some places almost reached the arches. The main galleries were radically cleaned, the vaults were strengthened and the communications were shifted. Some of the spaces are now used for special storage. technology, and lighting works in all the main galleries.
Recently, the entire complex of tenement houses has been completely occupied. Work was carried out to measure all the premises, and then, on their basis, the exact model of the complex was recreated. The next step was the strengthening of existing structures and the re-laying of outdated communications. Now the main work is taking place on the surface - restoration of the facades of buildings is underway.
Promotional video:
Crossing of Podkolokolnaya lane. and st. Solyanka.
Any passer-by can see the building from the outside, so let's hurry down to the underground galleries.
This is what the main entrance to the basement system looks like.
Just outside the gate. Once upon a time there were no gratings or thick sheets of iron here. The descent was accessible to all from the courtyard.
The first thing that we meet on our way is a small Belarus tractor with a trailer.
The tractor was in working order, but with an empty tank:) Nearby there are locked gates leading to a lighted room - there are various specials inside. machinery and equipment.
The basements are 5 m high, two-level, and in some places three-level structure. In the underground part of the building there are roads where oncoming cars can freely pass.
For 5 years, the passages in the system have become noticeably cleaner. Previously, the level in some galleries reached almost vaults.
However, in the distant parts of the subzmeli, the former "atmosphere" is still preserved.
Almost all the doors and gates were dismantled and now the basements look much larger.
Brand new water pipes stretch under the arches.
Remains of the body of a car stolen back in Soviet times.
Fortified vaults.
In one corner of the system, several rooms were fenced off with a grid.
A pump runs periodically in the basements.
The kingdom of the web.
In the current state, basements are available about one and a half times less than after the house was built. Many premises are occupied by shops and offices from above, some of the passages are walled up or closed.
White "hall". This part of the room got its name due to the presence of finishing. Previously, these rooms housed office archives.
Staircase leading to another level.
Of course, I didn't manage to penetrate the system and get around everything at once, so I decided to repeat the walk with my friends. Those, in turn, decided to make a sudden surprise. The quiet hum of ventilation and a leaking pipe was suddenly replaced by a loud mechanical noise!
Has there been something like this in the last 10 years?:)
That's all.