FYODOROVSKY (FEODOROVSKY) TOWN IN TSARSKOYE SELO

Scheme of the Feodorovsky town in Pushkin

At the beginning of the 20th century (1913-1917), a unique complex of buildings in the neo-Russian style was built near the northern borders of Alexander Park. The complex was a separate town, surrounded by a brick Kremlin wall with watchtowers, loopholes and richly carved stone gates. Five main buildings were planned in the town, bearing conventional names: a house for priests (White Stone Chamber), a house for clerics (Yellow Chamber), a refectory, a house of deacons, and an office building.

Г.Горелов. Дети на фоне Фёдоровского городка. 1916 год
The Empress and Grand Duchesses leave the Officers' Infirmary. 1916

On September 25, 1913, the foundation of the town took place, and by November the first house, intended for the lower employees of the Fedorov Cathedral, was already under the roof. In February 1913, Colonel D.N. Loman, the ktitor (managing position in the churches of the military department) of the Fedorov Cathedral, was appointed chairman of the construction committee in February 1913.

Sergei Yesenin in the Fedorovsky town (sitting third from the right). Photo. 1916

The infirmary was maintained by the Petrograd rich man Stepan Eliseev, and then by the sugar factory Karl Yaroshinsky. Much more money was spent on food than, for example, in Red Cross hospitals. In the house for the lower ranks, barracks were set up for the soldiers serving the infirmary and the military ambulance train.

View of the buildings of Fedorovsky town in 2017

In 1994, the dilapidated Fedorovsky town was transferred to the church and received the status of the Patriarchal Metochion of the Moscow Patriarchate. Until 2017, no noticeable restoration work was carried out, and access to the territory of the town behind the “Kremlin” wall was closed to mere mortals.

Fence around Fedorovsky town in Pushkin

The summer of 2021 was an unpleasant surprise for the residents of Pushkin. As part of the reconstruction of the part of Fermsky Park, adjacent to the Fedorovsky town and certainly timed to coincide with the work on its reconstruction, a radical redevelopment of the territory was carried out, bringing it to a pseudo-historical appearance. Along the way, a huge number of trees (self-seeding vegetation) were barbarically cut down, the football field near the walls of the Fedorovsky town was destroyed, and to top it all off, the park was surrounded by a high fence with sparse gates. At the same time, the park’s fencing is not found in any historical photographs of the early 20th century, nor is it mentioned in the “Act of State Historical and Cultural Expertise” and the rendering (visualization) of the project.

Забор у Фёдоровского городка. 2021 г.

PHOTOS OF FEDOROVSKY TOWN