Nikolai Bauman Garden (full name – State Autonomous Cultural Institution of the City of Moscow “Garden of Culture and Leisure named after N. E. Bauman”, also known as the May 1 Garden) is a Moscow garden and recreation park complex in the Basmanny district, located between Old Basmannaya and New Basmannaya streets. It was opened in 1920 as a result of the merger of the garden of the Golitsyn estate with the surrounding household plots.
Named after the revolutionary Bolshevik Nikolai Bauman.
Nikolay Ernestovich Bauman (Russian: Николай Эрнестович Бауман) (29 May 1873 – 31 October 1905) was a Russian revolutionary of the Bolshevik Party.
His death in a struggle with a royalist upon his release from Taganka Prison in 1905 made him one of the first martyrs of the Revolution, and later of the Soviet Union.
Since 1979, the garden has been given the status of an object of cultural heritage of Russia.
In 2012, the territory of the garden was restored according to the projects of the architectural bureau “Wowhaus” under the leadership of the director of the park, Ignat Zholobov. During the work, the Belvedere grotto was repaired and new engineering communications were laid, the garden was equipped with free Wi-Fi access points and a video surveillance system.
They also equipped sports zones, a children’s playground (a play ramp is equipped on the site, which can also be used by disabled children), a fence with a souvenir shop and a summer cafe with a film projector. New lawns and flower beds appeared in the park, the old wooden covering of the Soviet concert stage was renovated. Linden, poplar and maple alleys were landscaped.
In addition, the territory of the complex was provided with new benches, urns and small architectural installations. In honor of the renewal of city parks and pedestrian streets, a sign “I love Moscow” was installed in the garden. In the fall of 2012, a fountain in the form of a basilisk was installed in the park, donated to Moscow by the government of the Swiss city of Basel.
In 2013, LED lamps were installed on the territory of the park, which could be controlled by garden employees remotely from mobile devices. Simultaneously with the replacement of lighting, navigation through the main park areas was improved, the new system connected two entrances to the park, and allocated a volleyball court. On the territory of the concert stage and near the monument to Bauman, evening patterned lighting was installed.
According to the results of the summer rating of the capital’s parks, compiled in 2013, the restored garden and park complex took fifth place in popularity, along with the parks Krasnaya Presnya, Filevsky and Lianozovsky.
The main visitors of the Bauman Garden are young people aged 25-35 and family groups.
In 2022, the historic Belvedere stone grotto was opened, which has been in disrepair since 2009. In the process of restoration work, the masonry was cleared and sealed, the foundation was strengthened, arches were recreated on the sides of the main entrance and stairs. A lost cascade was found under a layer of soil, a sculpture in the form of a dancing girl was installed on its top.
Open daily, 06:00–00:00.
Address: Staraya Basmannaya st., 15A, building 4. Nearest metro: Kurskaya, Komsomolskaya (ring), Komsomolskaya (radial), Krasnye vorota.
See also all parks in Moscow
