MOSCOW, formerly the metropolis of the Russian empire, is situated in East Long. 37'' 33', and North Lat. 45' 45". It was founded by George, son of Volodimir Monomaka, who ascended the Russian throne in 1154 but it was Daniel, the son of Alexander Neuski, who, by making it his residence as duke of Muscovy, laid the foundation of its future greatness, and, in 1304, made it the capital of the Russian dominions. In 1382, it Was taken by Tamerlane, after a short siege, but soon came again into the possession of the Russians. It was frequently occupied by the Tartars, during the 14th and 15th centuries ; but they were finally expelled by Joan Vassilievitch I. who rendered Moscow the principal city of the empire. It continued to be the metropolis of Russia till the beginning of the eighteenth century, w hen the seat of empire was transferred to Petersburgh ; but it still continued to be the most populous city in the empire, and the residence of those nobles who (lid not Lelong to the court, and delighted to exhibit their ancient feudal grandeur. It stands in the midst of a fer tile plain, watered by the river Moskva, which flows routtd the greater pat t of the city. It is about twenty six miles in circumference, and covers twelve times the area of Petersburgh. It does not contain, however, above 300,000 inhabitants, of whom about 50,000 are re tainers and domestics of the nobles, who make thcir re sidence in the town only during the winter season. Its appearance, from a little distance, is very singular and splendid, presenting a numerous assemblage of spires glittering with gold, amidst burnished domes, and paint ed palaces.
There is no outer wall around the city, but only a simple parapet of earth. After entering this enclosure, the city seems to have disappeared, and nothing is seen but a wide scattered suburb, composed of " huts, gar dens, pig-sties, brick-walls, churches, dung-hills, pa laces, timber-yards, warehouses," &c. " One might imagine," says Dr. Clarke, " all the states of Europe and Asia had sent a building, by way of representative, to Moscow ; and under this impression, the eye is pre sented with deputies from all countries, holding con gress ; timber-huts from regions beyond the Arctic ; plastered palaces from Sweden and Denmark, not white-washed since their arrival ; painted walls from the Tyrol; Mosques from Constantinople ; Tartar tem ples from Bucharia ; pagodas, pavilions, and virandas from China ; cabarets from Spain ; dungeons, prisons, and public offices from France ; architectural ruins from Rome; terraces and trellises from Naples ; and ware houses from Wapping." The general aspect of the buildings is a mixture of gothic and modern architec ture : or rather that of a city built upon the Asiatic: model, but gradually becoming more European. Many of the palaces, instead of a single structure, are form ed of a vast assemblage of buildings, distributed into several streets, and bearing the appearance of a mo derately-sized town. The streets are very long, and generally broad ; but Frequently narrow and dirty. Some of them arc paved ; but the greater part are merely floored with trunks of trees or plants, and co vered with mud and dust. There is an endless va riety in the style of the different buildings. Some of the wooden-houses are painted ; many of the brick structures have wooden roofs, and others have iron roofs and doors. The churches, which are very nu met ous, have their domes of wood, or copper, or tin, gilded, or painted green. Nor are the different edifices
assorted with any kind of uniformity ; but wretched hovels are blended with spacious palaces ; and cottages of one story stand next to the most superb and lofty mansions. " In a word," says Mr. Coxe, " some parts of this vast city have the look of a sequestered desert, other quarters of a populous town ; some of a con temptible village, others of a great capital." " Or," as the Prince de Ligne has described it, " Moscow looks exactly as if three or four hundred great old cha teaus had come to live together, each bringing along with it its own little attendant village of thatched cot tages." Moscow contains five distinct divisions cr towns, each surrounded by its own wail, viz. the Kremlin, or fortress ; the Kataigorod, or Tartar town ; the Bielgo rod, or White town ; the Semlianogorod, or Circular town ; and the Slabode, or Suburbs. The two first are situated on a central eminence, and are placed side by side ; but around them lies the third town in a cir cle, which is in like manner surrounded by tic fourth; and that again by the fifth, marking, by their several lines of circumvallation, the growth of the place in successive xras. 1. The Kremlin, which is of a trian gular form, and about two miles in circumference, con tains the citadal, with several churches and magnificent houses ; and particularly the palace of the Czars, a build ing in the I I indou style, above 200 years old, and one of the most gorgeous pieces of architecture in the city. This part of the town presents an assemblage' of bright gay colours and gaudy ornaments ; the cupolas and roofs being gilt, or stained with green and red ; the walls and towers covered with glazed tiles of blue, white and yellow, or paintings of the Scripture history ; a mc lenge in short on every side of " peer-shaped domes, Tartar battlements, gothic tracery, Grecian columns, the star, the crescent, and the cross." 2. The Katai gored, larger than the Kremlin, contains the University, the printing-house, several public buildings, the trades men's shops, and the only street in Moscow in which the houses stand close to each other. 3. The Bielgo rod ; and 4, the Semlianogorod, exhibit a strange mix ture of churches, convents, palaces, brick and wooden houses, and even mean hovels like the cottages of the peasantry ; and the 5, Slabode, is a vast irregular cir cle, surrounding all the other parts, and containing all kinds of buildings, besides corn fields, pasture grounds, and some small lakes, which give rise to the river Ne glina. The churches in Moscow are very numerous ; and, including chapels, are not less than 1000. Many of them, built of brick, are stuccoed or white-washed; but the greater part are constructed of wood, which is painted of a red colour. The most ancient of these edifices are generally of a square form, with a cupola and four small domes of copper or iron gilt, or of tin painted green. These cupolas and 'domes are usually ornamented with crosses, entwined with chains or wires. In the body of these churches, there are usually four square pillars supporting the cupola ; and these, as well as the walls, are covered with paintings of enor mous figures, and of rude execution. Over the door of each church is the portrait of the saint to whom it is de dicated, to whom the common people pay respect as they pass by, taking off their hats and crossing them selves, or sometimes by repeatedly touching the ground with their heads.