Historical architectural monument of the 19th century Guma building. Upper trading rows (GUM)

History of GUM

The Upper Trading Rows were opened on December 2, 1893. It was an exceptional project for Moscow and for Russia - at that time it was the largest passage in Europe.

Passages - covered shopping streets - they came up with the idea to build in early XIX centuries in Paris after the Napoleonic Wars, inspired by the covered bazaars of the Arab East (the oldest of them, Passage du Caire, built in 1799). But these were just covered shopping streets; they began to gather in department stores only in the second half of the century. The closest analogue of GUM is the Victor Emmanuel Gallery in Milan (1877), but our Moscow passage is one and a half times larger, and in the Milan passage they do not sell on the upper floors - there are no famous Gum bridges.

The Upper Trading Rows were deliberately made as a symbol of New Moscow. They were built on the traditional place of the Moscow market, there were endless shops, “half shops”, “quarter shops”, and although the rows faced the Red Square with the proud classicist facade of Osip Bove, inside it vividly resembled the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul or Damascus.

After the reforms of Alexander II, Moscow was the place of the proud Russian merchants, who bizarrely combined at that moment devout conservatism in the spirit of “autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality” with openness to technical progress and new ideas of capitalism. New Rows was supposed to become the most fashionable and technically advanced European department store, but in the "Russian style".

In February 1889, a competition was held for the design of the Rows, which was won by Alexander Pomerantsev, Roman Klein, who took second place, then built the Middle Trading Rows. Now it seems fantastic, but 4 years later - after the demolition of the old rows, after archaeological excavations, the finds from which were transferred to the Historical Museum - the Rows were opened. Fully finished, with the glass skies of Vladimir Shukhov, with its own power plant, artesian well, with wholesale trade in the basement, with telegraph offices, banks, restaurants, hairdressers, exhibition halls, ateliers - the only thing that does not have its own doors.

According to the original design of Alexander Pomerantsev, the Upper Trading Rows consisted of 16 large separate buildings with glazed streets between them. It was a whole city, an ideal city of Russian commercial capitalism: silk and brocade fabrics of the Sapozhnikov brothers (6 Grand Prix at the World Exhibitions), Mikhail Kalashnikov watches (Leo Tolstoy and Pyotr Tchaikovsky bought Patek Philippe from him), the Abrikosov confectionery (suppliers of the imperial court with the right to print the state coat of arms on their boxes), Brocard perfumery (also a supplier of the imperial court. Also an official supplier of the Spanish royal court), and so on. At the same time, goods were much cheaper on the upper floors of the lines, and a huge two-story basement was used for wholesale trade(it was illuminated through glass lanterns in the floor).

In 1917, trade was closed, goods were requisitioned, the People's Commissariat for Food of Alexander Dmitrievich Tsyurupa settled down here, who carried out the policy of "food dictatorship" from here. In Ryady there was a warehouse requisitioned by food detachments and a canteen for Soviet employees.

In 1922, Vladimir Lenin decided that the policy of "war communism" would not allow the communists to stay in power, and announced the NEP - the "New Economic Policy". But first he decided to try it in the Upper Trading Rows and on December 1, 1921 he signed the "Regulations on the State Department Store (GUM)". We do not feel a special taste in this word, it has become familiar to us, and meanwhile it is one of the few words that survived in the Russian language of the 20s, something like the Red Army, Rabkrin, Consumer Cooperatives. All of them died as useless - except GUM. GUM advertising, posters by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Alexander Rodchenko, covered all of Moscow - GUM became a symbol of the NEP.

Stalin closed GUM in 1930, ministries and departments moved in here, the first line was completely closed to entry, Beria's office was located here. Some kind of trade continued, Torgsin and a commission shop for the sale of the property of enemies of the people functioned near the fountain, a grocery store opened on Nikolskaya, but in general GUM ceased to exist.

Stalin twice - in 1935 and in 1947 - was going to demolish the GUM, government decrees were issued twice, but his hands did not reach. He died March 5, 1953. Above his coffin, his successor Georgy Malenkov proclaimed that Comrade Stalin bequeathed us to keep peace between peoples, put forward the idea of ​​a long-term coexistence of the two systems and a reduction in international tension. The military budget was halved, intensive development began Agriculture And light industry- everything that later became known as Nikita Khrushchev's New Deal. But first they decided to try at GUM - it was reconstructed and opened to the public on December 24, 1953. On December 23, Lavrenty Beria was shot, the newspapers reported this on the same day. GUM has become a symbol of the thaw.

GUM has a unique destiny - it opened when Russia turned towards people, normal city life, even happiness. Fashion in GUM, a showroom, records in GUM, ice cream in GUM - all this has become Moscow's symbols. And it all disappeared when we turned in the other direction.

GUM today

Today, GUM lives as it was once conceived - an ideal trading city of Moscow, as if having lived 120 years of its life without losses and disasters. Since 2007, the fountain in the center of GUM has again delighted visitors - a legendary building captured both in official chronicles of the 20th century and in millions of private photographs (today the sound of a camera shutter sounds here about once every three seconds).

The legendary cinema hall, which went down in the history of Russian cinema, has been restored. A unique illumination project has been implemented on the outer facade. Since 2006, the GUM Skating Rink has been opened on Red Square, which immediately gained fame as the brightest ice rink in the capital. We revived the traditions of winter festivities on Red Square, which Moscow was famous for in the 19th century, but we also took the bright and happy that was in the 20th.

Gastronome No. 1, which was once created by Anastas Mikoyan as a practical supplement to his “Book of Tasty and healthy food". The design, the clothes of the sellers, and even the presence in the assortment of some classic goods of the Soviet era (for example, Three Elephants tea) Gastronome No. 1 takes us back to the 1950s and 60s, although this, of course, is a game. In essence, this is a store that can satisfy the gastronomic whims of today's most demanding consumer.

Cafe "Festivalnoe" and Canteen No. 57 are made in the same Soviet style. The cafe is named after the Festival of Youth and Students, which took place in Moscow in 1957 and gathered 34,000 people from 131 countries of the world. This event is reminded by drawings, slogans in several languages, placed on the walls.

Dining room No. 57 is a classic self-service line, the idea of ​​which Mikoyan spied on in America in 1936, and was able to implement only in the thaw era. True, the food is different: now there is good Russian and European cuisine, and not a "hamburger", as Mikoyan called it, that is, not a "Mikoyan cutlet", as the Soviet people called it.

GUM is not just a store where you can buy almost everything. This is a whole shopping district, in which there is a pharmacy, a bank branch, and a flower shop ... This is an architectural monument. This is a comfortable recreation area with restaurants and cafes. It is an art gallery and venue for cultural events. It's an integral part Russian history. It is a symbol of Moscow and it is the closest place to the Kremlin where you can feel like you are in Europe.

Text: Grigory Revzin

The State Department Store (GUM) is a shopping arcade that houses dozens of premium stores, cafes and restaurants. This is the most famous shopping center Russia, which has been an integral part of the architectural ensemble for more than a hundred years. main facade GUM forms its border opposite the Kremlin. The interior space of the store is an architectural monument of the Russian Art Nouveau era, and a walk through its galleries will delight not only adherents of luxury shopping, but also art connoisseurs.

The history of shopping malls on Red Square

Historically, the area near Red Square has always been a trading area, it was intended for all kinds of shops, as the surviving names remind of: Vetoshny Lane, Rybny Lane, Okhotny Ryad metro station. In the 17th century, the number of shops here reached 4 thousand, it was one of the largest markets in Europe. The shops were located in parallel rows, and the vast trading area was cut by Nikolskaya, Ilyinka and into three parts, which is why it was divided into upper, middle and lower rows.

At the end of the 18th century, a project arose to build a large trading building on the site of individual shops. In 1815, on the site of the current GUM, the building of the Upper Trading Rows was erected according to the project of the architect O. I. Bove. The territory of this building, which occupied an entire block, was divided among the tenants. True, the building, erected in a short time, very soon fell into disrepair and turned into a labyrinth of dirty and dark passages. And in 1888 it was announced all-Russian competition for the project of a new building for the Upper Trading Rows. The first prize was awarded to A. N. Pomerantsev, the second was awarded to R. I. Klein (the future architect on Volkhonka). Construction lasted three years (1890–1893). The architect was A. V. Pomerantsev, the chief engineer was V. G. Shukhov.

Architecture and interiors of GUM

The building, like most buildings of the late 19th century, was designed in the style of historicism, the main principle of which is the use of architectural elements and details characteristic of a particular historical era. Carved platbands, small keeled arches, the design of the main staircase - all this resembles the architecture of the 17th century, the famous Russian ornamentation. The architect paid special attention to the main facade, as well as the corner of Red Square with Nikolskaya Street. Upper malls architecturally resonate with the building Historical Museum, also built in the style of historicism.

GUM produces a completely different impression if you go inside. This is not a single building, as it may seem from the outside, but a kind of miniature city. It is formed by three "lines" - streets intersecting at right angles, and in the very center of the building there is a fountain, which is located under a glass dome that allows natural sunlight to pass through. The line overlaps are also made transparent, and visitors really get the impression that they are under open sky. The three-story buildings that frame the lines are home to numerous shops. Each floor has bypass galleries and bridges. Inside, as well as outside, three levels of decoration are visible, corresponding to three floors. So the architect retains the ancient feeling of the whole trades quarter, while turning it into small city, protected from bad weather and inconvenience - everything that can prevent visitors from enjoying their time inside.

The construction of the Upper Trading Rows corresponded to the advanced technical requirements of his time. The building was heated, had autonomous electric lighting and running water. The innovation also consisted in the use of metal support structures, which made it possible to use a large number of decorative elements without burdening them with constructive significance. But the most important thing is that arched structures of vaults with inclined puffs designed according to the calculations of V. G. Shukhov were used here. Glass was attached to steel trusses, which made it possible not only to block long and wide lines, solve the problem of lighting, but also significantly reduce costs and construction time.

Many shopping arcades in Europe were built on the same principle, among them the famous gallery of Victor Emmanuel II in Milan and the gallery of Umberto I in Naples.

Today, various exhibitions are held on the lines of GUM, and the space of the store itself, which has long become a monument of architecture and history, is a must-see place for Muscovites and guests of the city.

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The old building of the Upper Trading Rows, the Main Department Store - GUM in Moscow is located. It is the largest department store in the country. It is an architectural monument of federal significance.

GUM in Moscow - history

Few shops in the country and in the world have such an interesting and rich history as the largest one in the capital. The building of the Upper Trading Rows (the former name of the department store) was built in 1893 according to the project of architect A. Pomerantsev and engineer V. Shukhov. At the opening were present Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov and Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The length of the building along the Kremlin wall is about 250 meters. And its form is presented in the form of three longitudinal three-story galleries. Engineer V. Shukhov created a unique openwork glass roof, the construction of which took more than fifty thousand pounds of metal. Its diameter is 14 meters.

The entire area of ​​the opened Upper Trading Rows was divided among merchants into 322 stores, which sold all kinds of food and industrial goods. A bank branch and a post office, a jewelry workshop and a hairdresser's were also opened here. Price tags were used for the first time. Books of complaints and suggestions appeared. And the slogan "The customer is always right" became the rule of trade. The restaurant soon opened. Musical evenings began to be held. Art exhibitions were organized. Now people came to the Upper Trading Rows not only for shopping. Here they rested and had fun. You could use the left-luggage office, information desk, wardrobe.

After the revolution, like other outlets, GUM was nationalized. This led to a decline in trade. Offices were filled with officials. The NEP revived trade. In 1935, a project appeared, fortunately not implemented, according to which it was proposed to demolish the building in order to expand Red Square. On May 9, 1945, Yuri Levitan announced the unconditional surrender of Germany from the department store building. In the post-war years, the department store was again in danger of being demolished. A place was needed to erect a monument in honor of the Victory in the war. But this plan was not implemented either.

1953 was the year of the second birth of the building. It was decided to remove all institutions from it and leave only retail outlets and salons in it. The building has been reconstructed. More than 30 thousand items of goods were presented in 11 large departments.

During the Brezhnev era, they wanted to close the department store again. But chance helped. The wife of a high-ranking figure sewed outfits for herself here - in the atelier. Thanks to her request to keep it, the department store was also saved.

In December 1990, the department store became known as joint stock company « Trading house GUM. That is, the form of activity has become the same as 100 years ago. In 1993, the 100th anniversary of the opening of the department store was celebrated. The entrance was opened from the side of Red Square.

GUM - modernity

Modernity brings its own features to the appearance of GUM. The department store is constantly evolving. The Showroom has been restored. It hosts various cultural events. Illumination was installed on the outer facade. Since 2006, a skating rink has been opened on Red Square in winter. A match between the stars of the USSR and the stars of the World was held here. The skating rink has become a place of rest and meetings. Festive atmosphere, celebrity performances always delight guests of the rink. In 2007, a fountain opened in the center of the department store where customers meet. This fountain is almost the same age as the Upper Trading Rows.

Familiar objects of the capital appeared here, in which the appearance of the 50-60s is preserved. So, Gastronome No. 1 is open, where tea “with elephants” is sold. Dining room No. 57 has a self-service line with dishes of Russian and European cuisine. It also offers soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. The cafe "Festivalnoye" was opened, named after the Festival of Youth held in the capital in 1956. The menu includes dishes from different countries.

GUM is not only an architectural monument. It is a place of relaxation with restaurants and cafes, as well as a venue for cultural events. Like the rest of Red Square, it is an integral part of the history of Russia.

GUM stores

The department store is conditionally divided into 3 lines, along which there are many shops and boutiques, salons on three floors. There are more than 200 of them here. A variety of goods of popular domestic and foreign brands are presented - Adidas and Nike, Levi's and Ecco and many others. There is a pharmacy and a bank branch, photo services and an order desk. Although now the department store is not a state-owned one, the name GUM is still popular. Its main owner is the Russian company Bosco di Ciliegi. Bosco di Ciliegi family card holders in Optika, Hogl, Gabor and some other salons enjoy fixed discounts from 5 to 15%. More than 30 thousand people visit the department store every day.

For visitors to GUM in Moscow, parking is provided in Vetoshny Lane.

23 architectural projects competed in the competition. Of course, there was only one winner. It was Alexander Pomerantsev, professor of architecture at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. It was he who was entrusted with the construction of the main building of that era. After the grand opening of the Main Department Store of the country, the building gained popularity and. About how it all began, how it continued and how things are at GUM now - read in our material.

At the origins

Red Square acquired its sacred gloss only in the Soviet years, when mass graves, mausoleum and classic blue spruces. The original purpose of the country's main square is commercial. In the Middle Ages it was called Torg. Here, every year, a palm bazaar unfolded, which received visitors a week before Easter. People bought culinary and handicraft products. Over time, the bazaars turned into trading rows and shops - merchants preferred to engage in trade despite the changeable weather in the capital. Historically, three quarters were formed on Red Square: the Upper Rows (), the Middle Rows near St. Basil's Cathedral and the Lower Rows, which no longer exist.

Today, raising his head, is still breathtaking from the majesty of the design. The width of each of the three spans is 12-15 meters. The arched glass structures weigh 819 tons each and contain 20,000 sheets of glass.

The current GUM at the end of the 19th century was one of the most technically equipped shopping arcades in Europe. Customers moved along the bridges and enjoyed the benefits of electricity.

How everything was arranged

Only the best sold their goods here: the Abrikosovs, Morozovs, Brocard, Einem, Tsindel, Prokhorovs. There were about 1000-1200 shops at the disposal of visitors. The store of Zhirardovsky manufactories enjoyed particular success, where the rich did not spare money for dowry sets of 15 thousand rubles apiece.

On the first and second levels there were commercial areas, and on the third floor there were offices. It was necessary to arrange a special underground street, which housed its own power plant. It was here that the first Moscow price tags appeared. Until the early 1890s, merchants preferred not to set fixed prices for goods.

After the October Revolution, old Russia hastily packed its bags and took expensive names into exile: the Martyanych restaurant opened in Paris in the Montmartre region, and another clone of the institution appeared in the 1920s in Chinese Harbin.

In the first revolutionary years, the People's Commissariat of Food was located in the malls themselves, which carried out a massive seizure of products from the peasants. The "golden age" of the future GUM returned only in the era of NEP.

Life after the People's Commissariat

In the luxurious premises of the Upper Trading Rows, they no longer traded: employees of the People's Commissariat of Food pumped grain out of the village and saved large proletarian centers from starvation. Gradually, the Bolsheviks realized that war communism would only dump the ruined economy of the country into the abyss. In March 1921, they embarked on a new economic policy, and Moscow began to revive.

The renovated GUM was one of the first to open its doors. First of all, the new store took up rebranding. Mayakovsky and Rodchenko were involved in this case. The former style, which gravitated towards modernity, was replaced by huge posters with loud slogans.

Next ups and downs

By the end of the twenties, the NEP policy, which gave new strength to the Soviet economy, was finally curtailed. Stalin set a course for collectivization, industrialization and building socialism in a single country. The new society, where typical uniformity reigned, did not need the GUM with its bewitching shop windows and avant-garde experiments. In the 1930s, state institutions moved into GUM - first the departments of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee that moved from the Kremlin, then the NKVD.

In the mid-thirties, the monument of the neo-Russian style was generally planned to be wiped off the face of the earth, turning it into the building of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry. No matter how paradoxical this phrase may sound, many of the old buildings of the capital were saved by the war. The Bolsheviks simply did not have enough resources and time to cut through wide avenues with stately houses along the entire perimeter of the Garden Ring. Pomerantsev's creation remained in its place. On May 9, 1945, Yuri Levitan transmitted a message from GUM about the unconditional surrender of Germany.

It is interesting that from the 1920s until 1953 there were living quarters on the third floor of GUM. As part of the solution of the housing problem, 460 square meters under a hostel for 22 families. The modest rooms had no running water and separate kitchens. We had to cook on kerosene stoves, and carry water from public toilets.

new bloom

Moscow finally blossomed only after Stalin's death. Anastas Mikoyan got excited about the idea to once again turn GUM into an exemplary store on the model of European and American ones. In December 1953, the updated GUM appeared before the townspeople the day after the execution of Lavrenty Beria. “This is Moscow's response to Macy's, Gimbels, Sears, Roebuck and Company, Woolworth and A&P put together. The department store was declared by the Soviet press to be the largest and best in the USSR,” wrote Time magazine, presenting a prettier Moscow to American readers. Then GUM housed 11 departments, from ready-made dresses to stationery. True, the entrance to the store from the side of Red Square was still closed.

FROM fashion news Soviet citizens got acquainted in a special showroom for 350 people, the entrance to which cost 50 kopecks of the 1961 model.

In 1959, graceful French women walked along the corridors of GUM, who came to Moscow for the first show of the Dior house. In the era of stagnation, GUM got its own workshop for the production of the legendary ice cream in waffle cups, white and chocolate. A popular grocery store worked on the ground floor.

GUM today

In 1990, the store was corporatized, and in 1992 it was privatized. Despite the fact that GUM ceased to be state-owned, it retained its name. Today, on the site of a model of post-Soviet trade, a modern shopping and entertainment complex has been formed, which has preserved its original appearance and rich history. Now the legendary cinema hall, which has gone down in the history of Russian cinema, is operating. With the advent of night, the architectural elements are highlighted by the radiance of a thousand electric light bulbs. GUM today is not just a mall, but a whole art space. Since 2006, a tradition has been established to open the GUM skating rink every year. This year the ice arena will open its doors on November 29.

An echo of one of the milestones in the history of GUM is Gastronome No. 1. The theme store attracts both residents of the capital and sophisticated tourists. The deli takes us back to the 1950s and 60s. In the same era, GUM visitors are returned to the Festivalnoe cafe and the catering of the Khrushchev thaw era, Canteen No. 57. Since 2007, the fountain in the center of GUM has once again delighted visitors.

Now GUM is leased by Bosco di Ciliegi until 2059. The retail company specializes in the sale of luxury goods. Bosco di Ciliegi owns more than 100 mono-brand stores both in Moscow, including GUM, and in other large Russian cities.

According to the materials of the Moscow historian Pavel Gnilorybov

The Main Department Store (GUM, until 1953 - Upper Trading Rows) is a large shopping complex in the center of Moscow and one of the largest in Europe. It occupies a whole block, the main facade overlooks Red Square. It is an architectural monument of federal significance. In 2008, the GUM building turns 115 years old.

Yet in the 15th century self-made trading shops were set up in disorder on Red Square. At the beginning 19th century Emperor Alexander I ordered to ennoble this motley market. According to the project of the architect Osip Bove, the facade was built in the Empire style, imitating the palaces of the Roman Empire. This is how the first building of the Upper Trading Rows appeared.

However, this building served only as a screen, hiding the cramped labyrinths of the market. Half a century later, it was decided to rebuild it on the initiative of the Moscow merchants. Among the 23 works put up for the architectural competition, the most daring project won. Its authors were architect Alexander Pomerantsev and engineer Vladimir Shukhov, who later created the famous radio tower on Shabolovka Street in Moscow.

Three spacious passages "in European style" made of glass and metal, enclosed in traditional "Old Russian" walls, became an architectural phenomenon for Russia at that time. Massive construction has begun in 1890 and ended three years later. The building was located in the quarter between Red Square and Vetoshny

driving along the radius. According to the documents of that time, the length of the facade facing Red Square was 116 sazhens (sazhen - 2.13 meters), and the length of the façade facing Vetoshny passage was 122 sazhens.

Along three wide passages (passages) Pomerantsev placed shops on two floors, the total number of which reached a thousand. The passages were covered with glass arcuate roofs, which required metal structures weighing 50 thousand pounds (833 tons). In exterior finish granite, marble and Radom sandstone buildings were used to reproduce numerous ancient Russian decorative forms. The grand opening of the Upper Trading Rows with the participation of the Governor-General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna took place December 14 (O.S. 2), 1893.

The new trading rows made the glory of the Russian merchants. The malls even then rightfully claimed the principle of universality and offered customers an exemplary infrastructure: the services of porters, barbers, bankers and postmen.

After the October Revolution, subordinate organizations settled in the historical interiors of the malls. Until the early 1950s, GUM remained a government agency.

The date of the second birth of the trading house is considered 1953 In August of that year, the Soviet government decided to reconstruct the building of the Trade Rows. Production and labor forces from all over the USSR were sent to the shock construction site. In record time, already in November 1953, the first and largest trade center in Soviet Russia was opened here - the State Department Store - GUM. The store has become a collection of the most scarce goods and a symbol of the capital of the USSR along with the Kremlin, Lenin's mausoleum and VDNKh.

In the early 1990s, economic realities changed in the country. Along with them, the trade policy of GUM also changed. The predominant part of the area on a lease basis was occupied by independent shops. Today, shoppers are offered an exhaustive list of products, from personalized designer clothes and jewelry to daily household items. GUM lost its centralization, but retained the principle of universality. GUM (now called the Main Department Store) is an entire shopping district, which has a pharmacy, a bank branch, and a flower shop. This is a comfortable recreation area with restaurants and cafes, an art gallery and a venue for cultural events. The internal space of GUM is being improved. The legendary Demonstration Hall, which went down in the history of Russian cinema, has been restored. It is planned to hold cultural events and social gatherings in its original interiors. The poster of GUM includes art expositions and bright presentations. A unique illumination project has been implemented on the outer facade: the architectural elements of the building are underlined by the lines of electric light bulbs. The project of the updated design involves the reorganization of the passages in the style of the palazzo: a spectacular lighting system, a mosaic floor, living plants.