Discount Hotels Moscow
Historical interest: Moscow
    
The first written mention of Moscow dates back to 1147, when town chiefs held
a feast by the Moskva River. In 1156, the first wooden stockade was erected.
The town quickly thrived as it was at the centre of a trade route, and its location
in deep woods hindered conquest by Tartar armies.
Three famous rulers oversaw Moscow's emergence as a major urban and political
centre: Ivan Kalita (1325-1340), Dmitry Donskoy (1359-1389) and Ivan III (1462-1505).
Donskoy oversaw the first military victory over the Tartar cavalry armies and
Ivan III initiated the construction of stone buildings in Moscow.
The 16th century saw great instability during the 'Time of the Troubles', when
civil war, natural disasters and foreign invasions took place. However, the
rulers of Moscow rallied to the nation's defence and defeated the invaders.
Moscow's prestige suffered a blow in 1713 when Peter the Great moved the country's
capital to the newly founded St Petersburg. However, Russian Tsars were still
crowned in the Kremlin. This period also saw European style Baroque architecture
take hold in Moscow.
Disaster again struck Moscow in 1812, when Napoleon's army marched into the
city. A raging fire destroyed Moscow and forced the French to embark upon a
catastrophic retreat across Russia's frozen expanses.
The early years of the 20th century saw dramatic upheavals with the Bolshevik
Revolution of October 1917. Following the Communist takeover, the Kremlin once
again became the seat of power and various misconceived building projects were
undertaken. Moscow survived much of the ravages of Hitler's invasion, although
Panzers got within a few kilometres of the centre, to a place now marked by
huge anti-tank obstacles.
Moscow received an unexpected architectural boost by Stalin, who constructed
a subway system for the city. This system, deep in the capital's bowels, featured
stations with chandeliers, murals and classical music. This and other buildings
have managed to survive yet another upheaval, caused in the early 1990s with
the collapse of communism.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Le Meridien Moscow Country Club | | Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel | | Hotel Baltschug Kempinski | | Sheraton Palace | |
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full list of hotels and online booking
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