Moscow Manege

The Moscow Manege (Central Exhibition Hall Manege, Russian: Maнеж)) is a historic building located at Manezhnaya Square, 1, between Manezhnaya and Sapozhkova Squares, Aleksandrovsky Garden and Mokhovaya Street in Moscow.

The main exhibition area of the State Budgetary Cultural Institution of the City of Moscow “Museum and Exhibition Association”Manege””.

The building was designed in 1817 according to the project of Augustine Betancourt in honor of the fifth anniversary of victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.

In 1824-1825, Osip Bove designed the facades of the Manege in the Empire style.

Initially, the Manege was called Exertsirgauz and was intended for the training of troops. Since 1831, exhibitions and festivities began to be held in the building, and even later – concerts and balls. After the revolution, the Bolsheviks set up the military barracks in its premises, then a garage for government cars.

In 1957, the institution was given the status of the Central Exhibition Hall, exhibitions and other public events began to be held regularly in it.

Rectangular in plan, the one-storey building of the Moscow Manege is an example of classicism architecture. The structure, 166 m long, 44 m wide and about 15 m high, was very large for its time. The original area of the building was 7424.67 m². The end facades of the building are decorated with an arcade of seven arched openings with semi-columns and topped with smooth pediments without decor.

Semi-columns of the Tuscan order adjoin the side walls. Under the pediments of the end facades, as well as in the middle part of the side walls, there are triple wooden gates. The main façade was supposed to be the South, overlooking the Kutafya Tower, one of the four entrances to the Kremlin. The inner space of the Manege is well lit by daylight due to the windows that form about a third of the area of the walls. Enlarged proportions of the Manege, columns, pylons and restrained colors emphasize the monumentality of the building.

Working hours: Tue-Sun 12:00–22:00.

Nearest metro: Arbatskaya (Filyovskaya Line)Arbatskaya (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line)Biblioteka imeni Lenina, Okhotny Ryad.

Nearest attractions: Arbat streetNew Arbat AvenueChurch of Simeon Stolpnik on PovarskayaKhudozhestvenny cinemaArseny Morozov’s mansionShakhovsky – Krause – Osipovsky’s mansionShchusev State Museum of ArchitectureRazumovsky-Sheremetev HouseRussian State Library, Vozdvizhenka Street, Bolshoi TheatreMaly TheatreManezhnaya SquarePloschad Revolyutsii (square)State Duma buildingHouse of the UnionsTeatralnaya PloschadTSUMMonument to Alexander OstrovskyTretyakovskiy proezdCentral Children’s StoreLubyanka BuildingMetropol Hotel, Moskva hotel, Red Square, Tverskaya street, Kremlin.

See also Architecture of MoscowPalaces and most historic buildings of Moscow.

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