If you turn from Tverskaya to Nastasinsky Lane, which is opposite the English Club, then very soon you can see an elegant building with many decorative details on the facade. It is simply impossible not to include it in my collection of the most beautiful houses in Moscow. Moreover, we managed to shoot it entirely, although the lane is quite narrow. This house looks absolutely fabulous, there is nothing similar in the very center of Moscow. Formally, the design of the building uses the motifs of Russian architecture, the so-called neo-Russian style, but there are also elements of other styles. The left and right wings of the building resemble a tower with azure walls. The corners of the building are lined with relief masonry called diamond rust. A beautiful example of eclectic style...

1. The inscription on the pediment of the building "Russian Loan Treasury" indicates its purpose, and the years of construction are indicated. The building was designed by architects V.A. Pokrovsky and B.M. Nilus in 1913-1916, who had previously designed the building of the State Bank in Nizhny Novgorod. The building became a kind of monument to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, and the project was personally approved by the emperor.

2. The building is symmetrical, the axis of symmetry passes through a high hipped tower crowning the roof of the building, and a figured gilded spire above the entrance porch. Initially, a double-headed eagle flaunted on the spire, but all the double-headed eagles on the facade were knocked down after the revolution and restored only after 1991, except for the eagle on the spire.

3. Loan treasury in pre-revolutionary times was called a credit institution. The treasury gave loans up to a thousand rubles for a period of 12 months with 6% per year. It was possible to give gold, silver or valuable things as a pledge.

4. Now consider in detail the picturesque details of the building.

5. The top of the building is decorated with carved ornaments, reliefs of the coats of arms of Russia and St. George the Victorious.

6. Diamond rustication and semi-circular windows are reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance.

7. Along the edge of the figured roof of the roof - two-headed eagles with crowns.

9. On the facade, under the year of construction and the inscription, there are original octagonal windows - a reference to the Baroque.

11. Capitals of the hipped porch columns.

12. Windows of the first floor.

13. Windows of the second floor with a "weight" - Russian style.

14. Attic windows.

17. After the revolution, the loan office was closed, and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs occupied the building. At the end of the civil war, the Gokhran (Narkomfin State Repository) was located in the house, where not only jewelry and precious metals, but also other valuables of that time were brought from the nationalized estates and mansions. Since 1941, the State Bank has been located in the house, in the 21st century - the Central Bank. But projects are already being considered to create a kind of museum of the history of money here.

If you turn from Tverskaya to Nastasinsky Lane, which is opposite the English Club, then very soon you can see an elegant building with many decorative details on the facade. It is simply impossible not to include it in my collection. Moreover, we managed to shoot it entirely, although the lane is quite narrow. This house looks absolutely fabulous, there is nothing similar in the very center of Moscow. Formally, the design of the building uses the motifs of Russian architecture, the so-called neo-Russian style, but there are also elements of other styles. The left and right wings of the building resemble a tower with azure walls. The corners of the building are lined with relief masonry called diamond rust. A beautiful example of eclectic style...

1. The inscription on the pediment of the building "Russian Loan Treasury" indicates its purpose, and the years of construction are indicated. The building was designed by architects V.A. Pokrovsky and B.M. Nilus in 1913-1916, who had previously designed the building of the State Bank in Nizhny Novgorod. The building became a kind of monument to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, and the project was personally approved by the emperor.

2. The building is symmetrical, the axis of symmetry passes through a high hipped tower crowning the roof of the building, and a figured gilded spire above the entrance porch. Initially, a double-headed eagle flaunted on the spire, but all the double-headed eagles on the facade were knocked down after the revolution and restored only after 1991, except for the eagle on the spire.

3. Loan treasury in pre-revolutionary times was called a credit institution. The treasury gave loans up to a thousand rubles for a period of 12 months with 6% per year. It was possible to give gold, silver or valuable things as a pledge.

4. Now consider in detail the picturesque details of the building.

5. The top of the building is decorated with carved ornaments, reliefs of the coats of arms of Russia and St. George the Victorious.

6. Diamond rustication and semi-circular windows are reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance.

7. Along the edge of the figured roof of the roof - two-headed eagles with crowns.

9. On the facade, under the year of construction and the inscription, there are original octagonal windows - a reference to the Baroque.

11. Capitals of the hipped porch columns.

12. Windows of the first floor.

13. Windows of the second floor with a "weight" - Russian style.

14. Attic windows.

17. After the revolution, the loan office was closed, and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs occupied the building. At the end of the civil war, the Gokhran (Narkomfin State Repository) was located in the house, where not only jewelry and precious metals, but also other valuables of that time were brought from the nationalized estates and mansions. Since 1941, the State Bank has been located in the house, in the 21st century - the Central Bank. But projects are already being considered to create a kind of museum of the history of money here.

Interior painting was carried out by the artist I.Ya. Bilibin, one of the largest masters of the national romantic direction in the Russian version of the Art Nouveau style. Further

The Russian loan treasury was created in 1772 at the suggestion of Ivan Ivanovich Betsky, the personal secretary of Catherine II, president of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Betskoy sought to protect the needy from "multi-interested usurers who oppress poor fellow citizens under the false cover of virtues."

Such credit institutions were opened at orphanages in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The Moscow Loan Treasury issued loans in the amount of up to 1,000 rubles for a period of 12 months at 6% per annum secured by gold, silver or valuables.

The loan treasury did not have its own budget, and its functioning was ensured by the established interest rate at 5% per annum.

The construction of a new building of the loan treasury in Nastasinsky Lane in Moscow was timed to coincide with the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty (1913). The project was personally approved by Emperor Nicholas II. The authors of the project were architects Vladimir Pokrovsky and Bogdan Nilus. Construction was completed in 1916. In the production of bricks for the loan treasury, not water was used, but egg white. The interiors were made according to the sketches of the artist Ivan Bilibin. The two-headed eagle with crowns drawn by him later became the symbol of the State Bank and is printed on banknotes.

However, the loan treasury did not last long. The Bolsheviks who came to power immediately nationalized the institution. First of all, double-headed eagles were knocked down from its facade and roof (they were restored in the 1990s), and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs settled in the building.

In 1920, on the basis of the loan treasury, the State Depository of Valuables (Gokhran) was created. The confiscated valuables of wealthy citizens, church property, as well as masterpieces of the Moscow Kremlin were brought into the building.

The situation that reigned inside the building is described in his memoirs about Lenin by Georgy Solomon (Deputy People's Commissar of Trade and Industry of the RSFSR), who was involved in the implementation of national values: cellars ... I wandered through huge rooms littered with chests, baskets, boxes, just bundles in old torn sheets, tablecloths ... All this was full of jewelry, somehow dumped in these rooms ... In some places, jewelry lay in heaps on the floor, on the windowsills. Antique silverware was scattered along with artistically crafted tiaras, necklaces, cigarette cases, earrings, silver and gold snuffboxes... Everything was somehow knocked together... There were baskets filled entirely with precious stones without a rim... There were also royal jewels ... Purely museum items were lying around ... and all this without any consideration. True, there were guards both outside and inside. There was also a manager who had not the slightest idea either about the quantity or the value of the jewelry that was in his charge ... "

In 1941, the building came under the jurisdiction of the State Bank, and then the Central Bank.

Printed Russian banknotes were brought here and placed in the vault located here. Then, as needed, they were counted and distributed throughout the country.

In 2002, this scheme ceased to operate, the building was closed to visitors, and now it houses one of the largest fireproof vaults of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

The interior decoration of the premises for all the time practically did not suffer, only portraits of the rulers of the Russian Empire were removed from the interiors created by Bilibin.

Perhaps someday the building will be opened for tours, it is planned to create a museum of the history of money here.

The building was erected between 1913 and 1916. The project, personally approved by Emperor Nicholas II, was completed by the architects and Vladimir Alexandrovich Pokrovsky.

The house-terem, luxurious in execution, was built in the spirit of the best traditions of elegant ancient Russian architecture. The works were timed to coincide with the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the royal House of Romanov.

The outer contours of the building of the Loan Treasury visually resemble a luxuriously executed old box. Graceful stucco molding and ornate decor, which Russian architects used when designing the first royal chambers in Russia, attract the eye of passers-by.

It is worth noting that the creation is more reminiscent of the style not of the majestic Empire or classicism, but of the "Naryshkin" baroque.

The loan treasury in Moscow continued the established traditions that were inherent in the first such institutions created after the middle of the eighteenth century in the city of St. Petersburg.

The main purpose of these institutions was to issue Money on credit, secured material assets: gold, silver or original jewelry. It was the loan offices that laid the foundation for banking in Russia.

The state loan treasury did not have its own budget, and its functioning was ensured by the established interest rate, which at that time was 5% per annum.

Initially, the institution began to open in order to oust impudent moneylenders and thus help those in need.

The history of the Loan Treasury in Nastasinsky lane, 3 in the city of Moscow is short. The Bolsheviks, who came to rule the country in 1917, immediately nationalized the establishment. So that nothing would remind of the former purpose of the building, the emblem of the imperial court was dismantled from its spire, which, however, has already been restored by now.

It is worth noting that the interior decoration of the premises practically did not suffer during the years of Soviet power: only portrait images of the former rulers of the Russian Empire were removed from the interiors, which were designed by the artist Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin.

In the first years of the reign of the new owners of the country, the Gokhran (state repository) was located in the building of the Loan Treasury. It was to these premises that the confiscated property from the religious institutions of the city and the mansions of wealthy citizens was brought. In addition, the masterpieces of the Moscow Kremlin were kept here.

Over time, the building came under the jurisdiction of the State Bank, and then the Central Bank.

Interestingly, until 2002, all newly printed Russian banknotes were brought here and placed in a local vault. Then, if necessary, they were counted in the premises of the upper floor and then sent throughout the country.

The memorable building in Nastasinsky Lane was built in 1913-1916 for the Loan Treasury according to the project of the outstanding architect V.A. Pokrovsky, one of the founders of the neo-Russian style. Its architectural solution is close to the solution of the building State Bank in Nizhny Novgorod, built by Pokrovsky shortly before (also together with B. Nilus, who built a lot for banks).

The Moscow loan treasury was an institution that actually performed the functions of a pawnshop: it issued short-term loans in the amount of up to 1 thousand rubles. for a period of 12 months from 6% per annum secured by gold, silver or valuables.

The style of the building was determined by the widely celebrated 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913. The architect created a recognizable image by stylizing (and sometimes almost directly quoting) images of Naryshkin style architecture with characteristic white stone details - they are referred to by the second floor architraves with hanging weights, “recumbent” windows and white stone ridges that complete the attic, decorated with double-headed eagles, alternating with Moscow emblem. The diamond rust on the façade probably cites the famous Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy, however, the overall symmetry of the façade creates an image of a representative public building. The spectacular silhouette of the building is also formed by the small tower with a spire that crowns it and the hip canopy above the entrance, which are especially interesting from the angles that open from Tverskaya Street. Under the windows on the central part of the facade there is a stylized inscription "Russian loan treasury" and the date of construction - 1913-1916.

The interiors of the building are painted according to sketches by Ivan Bilibin. The double-headed eagle with crowns painted by him, repeated many times both in the interior paintings and in the white stone decoration of the facade, became one of the symbols of the State Bank and was printed on banknotes.

In 1920, on the basis of the Moscow Loan Treasury, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the State Depository of Values ​​(Gokhran) was created in order to create a single apparatus for accounting and storing property values ​​seized from liquidated trading enterprises (which traded in them), from banks (where the values ​​were located in the form of deposits in storage or in safes), from private city and state pawnshops.

The double-headed eagles decorating the building were knocked down (they were restored only in the post-Soviet period).

About the life of the building at that time, a colorful testimony of G.A. Solomon, who was involved in the implementation of national values, has been preserved: “We stopped at a large five-story building. I entered it, and... reality immediately disappeared somewhere, and a fairy tale took its place. I was suddenly transported back to childhood, to that happy time when my nurse told me, in her measured, calm voice, tales about robbers who kept the treasures they had stolen in deep cellars ... And then a fairy tale arose before me ... I wandered through the huge rooms chests, baskets, boxes, just bundles in old torn sheets, tablecloths... All this was full of jewels, somehow dumped in these rooms... In some places the jewels lay in heaps on the floor, on the windowsills. Antique silverware was scattered along with artistically crafted tiaras, necklaces, cigarette cases, earrings, silver and gold snuffboxes... Everything was somehow knocked together... There were baskets filled entirely with precious stones without a rim... There were also royal jewels ... Purely museum items were lying around ... and all this without any consideration. True, there were guards both outside and inside. There was also a manager who had not the slightest idea either about the quantity or the value of the jewelry that was in his charge ... "

Since 1941 the building has occupied State bank, now Central Bank.