Reconstruction of Detail of Old Kitaigorod Wall in Moscow Launched

The reconstruction of a remaining detail of the Kitaigorod wall running alone the passage of the same name nearby is being launched in Moscow. A pedestrian bridge will be built between the two remaining details of the wall.

On Saturday, March 15th, the first stone was laid to the foundation of the future bridge. The ceremony was attended by Russian presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Central federal district Georgy Poltavchenko and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov.

This part of the Kitaigorod wall was breached over 40 years ago when the construction of a road approaching the Rossiya Hotel was started. Now the two remaining details of the wall will be linked again. The pedestrian bridge to link them will be 25-metre long, 5.5-metre wide and some 8-metre high. There are plans to open the bridge by Moscow City Day usually celebrated at the first September weekend. The bridge will host kiosks selling Russian souvenirs and folk craft items.

Long-term plans include continuation of the reconstruction of this sector of the Kitaigorod wall. A centre of culture and business and a trading centre, Slavyanskaya Sloboda, to be stretched on a total of some 30,000 square metres will be established here. The Moscow mayor expressed hope that the construction of the centres would attract more foreign tourists who will be provided with all the necessary services on the spot.

The Kitaigorod wall is one of the oldest historical monuments of Moscow. It was built in 1535-1538 on the instructions of Princess Yelena Glinskaya, the mother of tsar Ivan the Terrible.