Museum of Alexander Ostrovsky in Zamoskvorechye 9/12 b.6 Malaya Ordynka Street
This is perhaps the oldest wooden house in present-day Moscow, located in the charming neighbourhood of Zamoskvorechye, the former merchant's land. Zamoskvorechye literally means "beyond the Moskva River" – it is the district on the opposite bank of the Moskva River, right behind the Bolotny Island and Kremlin.
The house was constructed for the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in the late 17th century, since then it has been rebuilt many times.
In this house in 1823 Alexander Ostrovsky was born, one of the most famous Russian playwrights, his plays are staged by Russian theatres as often as Chekhov's. His father rented an apartment on the ground floor of the house, and Ostrovsky was baptized in the church that I have just mentioned.
Sadly, the church was demolished by the Bolsheviks in 1931 for no apparent reason. The wooden house has surprisingly outlived the stone church, for which it was once built. Some icons from this church can now be seen inside this house. Now a small monument to Ostrovsky stands on the site of the church.
In Soviet times, the house was divided into several communal apartments. The Museum of Ostrovsky was opened here in 1984. Its collection includes antique lamps, candlesticks, samovars and shawls generously presented to the museum by the locals of Zamoskovrechye. There are also original items that belonged to Ostrovsky and his relatives.
Before the revolution Zamoskvorechye was inhabited by merchants, known for their patriarchal traditions and philanthropy. It is here that the famous collection of the Tretyakov Gallery is located, created by merchant Tretyakov.
See our Zamoskvorechye and the Tretyakov Gallery Tour Zamoskvorechye had its own fashion and the style of life and it was strikingly different from the other districts of Moscow. Ostrovsky, who was deeply fond of Russian merchants and this neighbourhood, called it no less than Zamoskvorechye Country, and the plot of his comedy play, The Marriage of Balsaminov, takes place here.
Here is what Ostrovsky wrote about Zamoskvorechye and its inhabitants:
"When we have a holiday beyond the Moskva River, one can feel it straight away ... Firstly, because you will hear a thick and continuous bell ringing in all Zamoskvorechye. Secondly, you will smell pies in all Zamoskvorechye. It should be noted that nowhere else you will find such large and loud bells as ours beyond the Moskva River, and nowhere else they bake such pies with the aroma that spreads throughout the whole district."