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GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
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MOSCOW, RUSSIA. |
Moscow, the ancient
metropolis of the Russian empire,
is on the banks of the Moskva
River, which contributes its
waters by the channel of the Oka
to the great stream of the Volga.
1147 was the date of its
foundation. Although circular in
shape, in arrangement it is one
of the most irregular cities in
the world. The design was still
more irregular prior to the great
conflagration of 1812, which so
seriously effected the destiny of
Napoleon I. At that time it
presented extreme contrasts of
palaces alternating with huts. |
In the
heart of the city stands the
celebrated Kremlin or citadel,
two miles in circuit. The
enclosure is crowded with
palaces, churches, monasteries,
arsenals, museums, and a great
variety of buildings in which the
Tartar style of architecture,
with gilded domes and cupolas,
predominates. The best point of
view is from the Moskva Rekoi
bridge, which crosses the river
south of the Kremlin. The
foundation of the citadel was
laid in stone by Demetrius of the
Don, in 1367. Within this
enclosure, whose walls (capped by
18 towers) form a vast triangle,
are nearly all the interesting
sights of Moscow. It is entered
by five gates, the two most
important being the Spiasski
Vorata or "Redeemer's
Gate," and the Nikolsky or
"St. Nicholas Gate," to
each of which a tradition is
attached. From earliest times, a
picture of the Saviour has hung
over the former--an object of the
greatest reverence to every
Russian, from the Emperor to the
lowest peasant, no one daring to
pass under it without removing
his hat. Through this gate all
Russia's returning heroes have
passed in triumph. The French
tried to remove the picture,
thinking the frame to be of solid
gold, but, as the story goes,
every ladder placed against the
wall broke in two. |
The
cathedral Church of St. Basil the
Beatified--Vassili-Blagennoy or
Church of the Protection of
Mary--was built by Ivan the
Terrible, in 1554. It stands in a
very conspicuous place, and has
no less than 20 domes and towers,
each of which is of different
design and gilded and painted in
a marvelous variety of style and
color. |
Population 1884, 753,469. |
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