Have you ever wondered how old Moscow is? But really, when our capital was founded, were there really times when Moscow simply did not exist?
It turns out that yes…
How old is Moscow? The name of our capital
Scientists believe that the name of the city originated long before it appeared. However, from the point of view of history, this is not surprising, because the settlements were very often called the names of geographical objects located in the area.
It is known that Moscow got its name in honor of the river of the same name. However, who came up with it, what it originally meant, it was not possible to finally find out.
Today, three main versions are considered: Finno-Ugric, Slavic and B altic.
If we arm ourselves with the last two and delve into the etymology of the word, taking into account the ancient languages, we can literally immediately conclude that the name of the current capital is quite consonant with the words "swamp" or "bog".
According to linguists, the root "mosk" was once used as the basis for the words "viscous", "sticky" and "slushy", andthe derivative noun, although it had several meanings, mainly denoted “liquid”, “dampness”, “moisture”, “swamp”. Such a name for the area, as historians believe, could have been given either by representatives of the golyad tribe, or by the Vyatichi inhabiting these territories.
According to the Finno-Ugric version, the word "Moscow" could well have come from some Volga-Finnish language. There was a similar word in it, which can be translated into modern language as “Medveditsa River” or “Cow River”.
Of course, there are other versions, but they look less convincing.
How old is Moscow? Why was it built in this place?
Moscow… How old is the great city? Strange as it may seem, but a definite answer to this question is unlikely to be found. The fact is that the exact age of the capital is still unknown.
Some legends say that it was founded in ancient times. For example, the chief Moscow archaeologist Alexander Veksler believes that it may well be more than a thousand years old, because. coins and personal belongings of local residents found during archaeological excavations testify to this.
Today, the generally accepted story is that the capital of the Russian Federation was originally founded just above the Yauza, at the place where two rivers merge - Moscow and Neglinnaya.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the first settlements in this area were noted as early as the second millennium BC. And this areawas not chosen by chance: it is very favorable for life in terms of hunting and fishing, and therefore it was here that both hunters and fishermen settled since ancient times.
How old is the city of Moscow, you can roughly calculate, based on the annals. Some historians insist that the capital was founded in the time of Prince Oleg, which means in the 9th century.
However, if we believe the surviving physical documents, the first mention of the city is found in chronicles only in the 12th century, i.e. when the period of Kievan Rus was already coming to an end, and the whole state was on the verge of disintegration into small specific principalities.
How old is Moscow? The oldest buildings in the city
While enjoying walks around my beloved capital for the umpteenth time, I suddenly caught myself thinking that, for example, I still don’t know which building is considered to be the oldest in the city.
- Turning to historians, I learned that the Spassky Cathedral of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery can be safely considered the oldest. Its five-year construction was completed in 1425. Now this temple is a fortification fortress founded in 1357 and almost completely restored after a fire in 1368. However, the building acquires its usual white stone appearance closer to the middle of the 15th century.
- The Faceted Chamber, located on the territory of the Kremlin, takes over the palm. It took the craftsmen four years, starting in 1487, to build a building that still attractshuge crowds of tourists from all over the world.
- And in third place is the English Court in Zaryadye. This important historical monument was miraculously preserved. The thing is that, constantly passing from one hand to another, the building gradually changed beyond recognition. It can be said that approximately by the middle of the 20th century, all the chambers of the Old English Court, located on Varvarka, had already completely lost their original appearance. In the 1960s, Zaryadye was demolished. And so they would have forgotten about its existence, if not for the restorer Pyotr Baranovsky. Behind the late layers, he managed to find majestic chambers, and he insisted on preserving the monument, although a decision had already been made to build an automobile ramp in this place.
