The Novospassky Monastery was founded by the Grand Duke Ivan III, who transferred one of the oldest Moscow monasteries - the monastery of Transfiguration of the Lord in Bor, outside the medieval city. The cathedral of this monastery, located in the Kremlin, in the immediate vicinity of the grand-ducal court, served not only as the tomb of some great princesses and their children, but was also the burial place of St. Stephen of Perm. The fire of the monastery in 1487/88, as well as the construction of the stone grand palace which began in 1492, during which the territory of the sovereign's court was regulated, led to the withdrawal of the monastery outside the Kremlin. The history of the Spassky monastery “on the New” begins in 1491, when the Spassky Monastery's archimandrite Athanasius the Generous, by order of the Grand Duke, based a stone church in it, which was consecrated in 1496 by metropolitan Simon.

   In the sixteenth century, the Novospassky Monastery became the patrimonial burial vault of the boyars of the Zakharyin-Yuriev-Romanovs, who were related by the family ties to the reigning house of the descendants of Ivan Kalita from the middle of the century. This determined the position of the monastery after the accession of the Romanov dynasty. In the seventeenth century, representatives of the boyar, “non-royal” branch of this family were buried in the clan tomb. Throughout the seventeenth and early twentieth centuries, the monastery, as the burial place of the Romanov boyars, enjoyed the patronage of the Tsar’s, and then, the Imperial family.

    After the October Revolution, in 1918 the monastery was turned into a concentration camp and became a place of tortures and deaths. However, by the grace of God, by the efforts of restorers and conservation authorities, the architectural ensemble of the monastery was preserved. In 1990, the Novospassky Monastery was returned to the Patriarchate and work began on the reconstruction of the monastery.

   Now in the Novospassky monastery is a monastic life, educational work is underway, much has been done, the main buildings have been restored and restored to life, but much remains to be done. The ensemble of the Novospassky Monastery is included in the register of objects of cultural heritage of federal significance. Research and archaeological work is underway. The territory of the Novospassky Monastery covers the area from the west from Krasnokholmskaya waterfront, from the south to Sarinsky passage, from the east to Novospassky passage, and from the north to Krestyanskaya square. This area around the monastery was a field and gardens until the beginning of the nineteenth century, but since 1812 they began to build up this territory with low-rise, mostly wooden residential buildings. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the layout of this part of the city was formed (the Khotyev plan of 1852), which did not change by the beginning of the twentieth century. The Stalin's plan for the reconstruction of Moscow implied not only a change in the existing historical environment, but also its destruction in significant sections of the city. This period in the history of the capital was reflected in the appearance and layout of the “sub-monastic” block. Two multi-story residential buildings were constructed here.
   One house, with its facade facing the Sarinsky passage, appeared on the southern side of the territory adjacent to the Novospassky Monastery. Another - from the north closes the Krestyanskaya Square. The rebuilding project of Novospassky passage was not completed, but the already built structures, because of their scale, are in dissonance with the ensemble of the Novospassky Monastery. Low-rise buildings near the monastery walls existed until the end of the 1960s, when part of the residential buildings were settled and dismantled. From the side of Novospassky passage from this building there are two buildings. One of them is the recently restored church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia. Another building is a two-story, brick building of the late 19th century. On the site of the demolished historical buildings wasteland formed. From the side of Krasnokholmskaya waterfront, near the pond, a park is laid out. From the Sarinsky passage, on the territory of the protection zone, there are iron hangars of a car service, which are discordant with the ensemble of the monastery.

   The protection zone regime of the cultural heritage object allows for the regeneration of the destroyed historical buildings, the restoration of its altitude characteristics and the tracing of streets that disappeared in the 1960s. Such regeneration would contribute to the restoration of the historical appearance of the entire monastery ensemble, an important part of which was the “monastic” settlement with the church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia. At the same time, the monastery is in dire need of space for a scientific and educational center, a Sunday school, a hotel for pilgrims, and utility rooms for painting and art workshops. The reconstructed buildings will serve to ensure the activities of the Moscow monastery so important for Russian history.

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HISTORICAL BUILDING REGENERATION CONCEPT
IN THE SECURED TERRITORY OF THE NOVOSPASSKY MONASTERY

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RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS "A" and "B"

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   The project for the regeneration of the development of a residential block, bounded by Sorokosvyatskaya Street, 1st and 2nd Sorokosvyatsky lanes, proposes to recreate a two-story building with pitched roofs, with the characteristic features of the environment of Moscow architecture of the 19th century. The urban engineering networks laid on the territory changed the configuration of the houses, but the red lines of the historical buildings were recreated by the project. The project involves the preservation of residential functions of the block (houses "A"). Also, on the territory of the Novospassky Monastery, on the corner of Sarinsky passage and Krasnokholmskaya waterfront, locating iron hangars of car repair shops that dissonant with their appearance from the opening perspective of the monastery from the Novospassky Bridge. In the 19th century there was a residential block. The volume of a residential Stalin's era building, located next to the walls of the monastery with its size and scale, discord with the bell tower and the Assumption Cathedral. The project for the regeneration of buildings proposes to support the architecture of the monastery with two-story buildings where the apartments (houses "B") will be located.

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ORTHODOX SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER AND SUNDAY SCHOOL

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Home "C"

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   The alleged Orthodox scientific and educational center in the building spot is located on the site of a lost residential building. From this house began a small street directly opposite the bell tower of the monastery. This short street on the map of Moscow in 1903 was called the Novospassky Dead End. The other side of the street has the Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia and a preserved two-story building at the address: Krestyanskaya square, 11. The building of the future Sunday school will continue the red line of development of this street.

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HOTEL FOR PILGRIMS

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House "D"

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   In the northwestern part of the territory of the Novospassky Monastery, between the corner tower and the Novospassky pond, locating an empty space. The plan of Moscow in 1903 shows that there was a monastic building, not subordinate to any of the streets. At this place, it is planned to create a two-story building with a pitched roof, a hotel for pilgrims.

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Ilya Utkin