Moscow is the focus of the most unusual and amazing fantasies and creative projects of sculptors and architects of our time. One of such beautiful corners can rightfully be considered the Cosmic Alley.
Cosmonaut Alley Ensemble
Where is this truly pretty corner located? Not far from one of the most popular metropolitan attractions - the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, better known as ENEA. The place for the monument was chosen for a long time. At first it was supposed to be put on the Sparrow Hills, where it will be as open for viewing as possible, but because of the gigantic size, the structure was decided to be transferred to VDNH.
Many well-known and little-known Soviet architects and engineers took part in the work on the main monument of the ensemble. More than three hundred and fifty projects were submitted to the commission.
You can get to the space ensemble by metro, having reached the VDNH station of the same name. Whatever exit you take, you will not pass by - you’ll either be closer to the end of the alley or closer to its beginning.
central part
The center of the Cosmonauts Alley in Moscow can conditionally be called a round platform on which cast-iron models of the planets of the solar system are located. Each layout is a separate object of study. Indeed, on their axes, in addition to the names, the most important scientific information about each planet is knocked out. Unfortunately, in October 2017, the orbits of the planets were hit by vandals. Most of them were stolen, apparently handed over to precious metals.
All planets revolve, as expected, around the Sun. Here we can see Pluto, which was excluded from the planetary list. It should be noted that the location of the planets on this site corresponds to the moment when the first Earth satellite was launched.
Part up
The beginning of the Cosmonauts Alley is flanked by two giant mock globes. One of them is a model of the globe with continents, islands, countries and their capitals, seas and oceans applied to the surface. There are also our megacities - Moscow and St. Petersburg. Another model is the celestial sphere, on which all the constellations are depicted.
Along the wide cobbled alley, benches for visitors to this museum in the open air are comfortably located on both sides, and in the center, at equal distance from each other, marble steles are placed, crowned with an image of stars on top. In the stars - information texts that briefly convey the essence of the events that took place in the country in the field of space exploration and exploration. On many of them, the names of famous astronauts are embossed. And the latter still do not have any text at all - as a symbol of the further development of astronautics, the events of which will one day take a place in these voids.
Part after
At a site closer to VDNH, a rocket soars up from the Cosmonauts alley, taking off from a giant pedestal, where the Cosmonautics Museum is located underground. This is a monument to space explorers. Its facades are decorated with bas-reliefs on the theme of space research. Among the relief characters you can see representatives of all professions, thanks to which it became possible to conquer space. Just because so many people participated in this work, the monument was named by the authors A.N. Kolchin and M.O. Borschem "Creator People". The monument was unveiled in 1964. Interestingly, the cable from the soaring rocket is lined with titanium panels.
In front of the museum building, a monument to the cosmic genius of the Soviet era Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is installed on a high pedestal closer to the central site. The image of Tsiolkovsky by Faydysh-Krandievsky is embodied in stone. His figure is made in a sitting position, his hands are folded on his knees, and his eyes are fixed on the sky.
To the left of Tsiolkovsky on a small site are monuments to scientists who made a huge contribution to the development of Cosmonautics: S.P. Korolev, M.V. Keldysh, V.N. Chelomeu and V.P. Glushko.
Like Tsiolkovsky, Korolev, in his sculptural embodiment of the work of the sculptors Shcherbakovs and architects Voskresensky and Kuzmin, peers up at the sky, as if watching the rocket flying away. The high pedestal of the monument is decorated with reliefs on the theme of astronautics: the first steps in space exploration, the launch of the first satellite and the launch of the first rocket piloted by the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first spacewalk by Alexei Leonov.
On the right along the facade of the Cosmonautics Museum there are busts of Soviet cosmonauts, among which you can see: Yu.A. Gagarina, V.N. Tereshkov, P.I. Belyaev and A.A. Leonova, V.M. Komarova. And in 2016, several more busts appeared there: S. Savitskaya, V. Solovyov, A. Alexandrov and V. Lebedev.
