Sparrow Hills
Encyclopedia
Sparrow Hills, Vorobyovy Gory ' onMouseout='HidePop("69349")' href="/topics/Vladimir_Lenin">Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
Hills) is a hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
on the right bank of the Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
and one of highest points in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
with an altitude up to 220 m (60–70 m above the river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
level).
The observation platform, which gives a good panoramic view of the city, is situated on a steep bank 85 m above the river (200 m above the sea level). The Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...
(formerly, the Lenin Stadium), where the opening and closing ceremony for the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
took place, is right below across the Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
. Next to it is the Novodevichy Convent
Novodevichy Convent
Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery is probably the best-known cloister of Moscow. Its name, sometimes translated as the New Maidens' Monastery, was devised to differ from an ancient maidens' convent within the Moscow Kremlin. Unlike other Moscow cloisters, it has...
, with its Naryshkin Baroque
Naryshkin Baroque
Naryshkin Baroque, also called Moscow Baroque, or Muscovite Baroque, is the name given to a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration which was fashionable in Moscow from the turn of the 17th into the early 18th centuries.-Style:...
towers.
Not far from the observation platform is the famous Luzhniki Metro Bridge
Luzhniki Metro Bridge
Luzhniki Metro Bridge , also known as Metromost , is a concrete two-level arch bridge carrying road and subway over the Moskva River in Moscow, Russia, connecting the city center with Sparrow Hills. The bridge houses Vorobyovy Gory, the only station of Moscow Metro located above water. Originally...
(known to Muscovites as Metromost). The two-level Metro-Bridge traverses the river to link Komsomolsky Prospekt with Vernadsky Prospekt. It serves two urban transport systems: motor vehicles and the Moscow Metro
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
(subway). The glass-walled subway station Vorobyovy Gory (translates as Sparrows' Hills) is located at the lower level of the bridge.
The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Russia, the largest foreign diplomatic compound in the world, is situated not too far from Sparrow Hills.
The hills, immortalized by many Russian poets and writers, are thought to have been named after the village Vorobyovo which was acquired by Grand Duchess Sophia Vitovtovna (Vitovt's only daughter) from the priest Vorobey ("Sparrow") in 1451. Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
wished to build the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour there; his successor had construction works suspended and the cathedral was eventually erected in the proximity of the Kremlin. Nowadays the main landmarks of the hills are the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(formerly the tallest building in Europe) and the Trinity Church
Trinity Church
-Albania:*Holy Trinity Church, Berat*Holy Trinity Church, Lavdar i Oparit*Holy Trinity Monastery Church, Pepel-Australia:*Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide*Trinity Church, Perth, Perth-Hong Kong:...
(1811).