Izmaylovsky Kremlin

The Izmaylovsky Kremlin (Измайловский кремль) is a cultural and entertainment complex in Moscow's Izmaylovo district, next to the Partizanskaya metro station. It is not a historic landmark but a late 20th- and early 21st-century building built near the site of the former royal Izmaylovo estate, styled after Russian wooden and white-stone architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. The complex covers about 24 hectares and stands next to one of Moscow's largest flea and craft markets, the Vernisage.

History

From the 17th to the 19th century this spot held a boyar, and later a royal Romanov estate, with a flax manufactory and glass and brick works. In 1668, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Russia's first state glass factory was built here. According to tradition, it was in one of the estate's barns that the 16-year-old Peter I found an old English boat, which later marked the beginning of the Russian navy's history.

After the revolution the estate was abandoned and partly destroyed: in the 1930s the baroque Church of Joasaph was demolished, and a church in the ornamental "uzorochye" style was damaged. The site stood empty until the late 1980s. In 1974 it hosted an exhibition of nonconformist artists that the authorities tried to break up with bulldozers, an event remembered as the "Bulldozer Exhibition". A flea market, the Vernisage, later grew up on the site, and the "Our Izmaylovo" movement persuaded the city authorities not to demolish it.

The Kremlin was built between 1998 and 2007 on the initiative of businessman Alexander Ushakov, on the Vernisage grounds. Following old Russian custom, a church was raised first: the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was founded on 5 September 1997 and opened to parishioners in 2000. During construction the complex burned down twice: a 2005 fire destroyed almost all the wooden buildings (only the church survived), and in 2007 the Kremlin was rebuilt again.

The Vernisage market and crafts

Inside the walls lies the "Russian Court" — a central square for festivities, a pond with a fountain, and the Palace of Russian Feasts, built as a copy of the royal chambers at Kolomenskoye; its dining halls and taverns together cover 6,500 square metres. The palace roof bears the Romanov family coat of arms with a griffin, and its largest hall, the Tsar's Hall, seats up to 500 people.

Next to the Kremlin is the Vernisage in Izmaylovo fair, one of Moscow's largest venues for folk crafts: visitors can buy Khokhloma and Gzhel painted ware, Palekh lacquer miniatures, Dymkovo clay toys, items of wood, leather, fur and birch bark, matryoshka dolls and Pavlovo Posad shawls. On weekends a flea market opens on the grounds, selling antiques, badges, crockery and other items from the Soviet era.

Museums and sights

The complex houses about nine small museums and craft workshops: a museum of the history of vodka, a bread museum, a museum of Russian toys, a museum of unusual bicycles, a weapons museum, a museum of artist-made dolls called "Fairy Tales for All Time", the interactive "Grandfather's Attic" museum, and the "Once Upon a Time" fairy-tale house with programmes for children.

The 46-metre wooden Church of St. Nicholas is considered one of the tallest wooden churches in Russia; its bell tower is a metochion of the Holy Trinity St. Daniel Monastery. A 55-metre Ferris wheel on the grounds offers a panoramic view of Izmaylovo.

Getting there

The nearest metro station is Partizanskaya on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line: from there it is a 5-10 minute walk across a bridge, past the Izmaylovo hotel complex, to the Kremlin's entrance. It can also be reached from Izmaylovskaya and Cherkizovskaya metro stations, or from the Izmaylovo MCC station, about a 15-minute walk. Buses and trams also serve the complex, and there is parking nearby for cars.

Good to know

The Kremlin grounds are open daily from 9:00 to 21:00, and entry is free; admission is charged only for the museums, the Ferris wheel and workshops. The Vernisage market is open daily from 9:00 to 18:00. There is no cash machine on the grounds, and not every museum accepts cards, so it is worth bringing cash; the restroom on site charges a fee.