From the "House of the Fool" to the "House of Friendship": what is the famous mansion of Arseny Morozov. Morozov's mansion: what the strangest house in this city looks like from the inside Handicraft Museum - the former Morozov's mansion

One of the most unusual houses in Moscow stands on Vozdvizhenka - an intricate mansion of the noble Moscow merchant Arseny Morozov. Now the house is considered an architectural monument of federal significance. Contemporaries unanimously dubbed the mansion "the fool's house."

The ornate "house with shells" is the only thing that the hereditary honorary citizen Arseniy Abramovich Morozov (1873-1908/1909) became famous for. The representative of a noble family and a millionaire did not take part in the family textile production (although he was a shareholder of the Tver Manufactory Partnership), did not share the brothers' interest in art, was neither noted in the service, nor seen in charity.

According to rumor, the youngest son of the entrepreneur and philanthropist Varvara Morozova Arseniy, having visited his brother, said that he would instruct to create for himself the most unusual house in Moscow. “Here you are, Misha, collecting your collections, with which it is still unknown what will happen later ... My house will stand forever.” With these words, the life of the house on Vozdvizhenka began.

Morozov's passion was traveling. In 1894, at the World Exhibition, which was held in Antwerp, the merchant became friends with the architect Viktor Mazyrin (1859 - 1919), who was fond of esotericism. Mazyrin was present at the event as an architect and designer of the Russian pavilion. Mazyrin immediately accepted Morozov's order for the construction of a mansion, but the future customer did not have any specific wishes. Mazyrin prepared a project for a Russian-style house, which was strongly rejected by Arseny.

To search for inspiration, Morozov and Mazyrin went on a joint trip to Europe - Paris, Madrid, Lisbon .... A suitable house was found in the Portuguese city of Sintra (places sung by Byron): the young industrialist liked the Palacio Nacional da Pena castle, built on a rock in the second half of the 19th century in the Manueline style by the German architect Ludwig von Eschwege for the local prince - Fernando II. Twisted columns, bizarre ornaments... Mystical, like an enchanted place that can stop time. The construction of the original castle, which was much larger than the Moscow prototype, dragged on for several decades, until the death of the prince in 1885.

Coincidentally, in the same 1885, the land on Vozdvizhenka, which previously belonged to the princes Dolgoruky, became the property of the Morozov family. Arseniy's mother Varvara Morozova buys the property to build a house for herself. The project of the first mansion with an outbuilding and a gatehouse for an entrepreneur was implemented by the architect Roman Klein. The main two-story building had 23 rooms, 19 more were located in the basement, and the reception hall could accommodate up to 300 people. The classic estate has survived to this day - Morozova's property was located in the neighborhood (modern No. 14 on Vozdvizhenka).

Ten years later, in 1895, Morozova bought the land from her neighbor, the Bavarian entrepreneur Karl Markus Ginne. Since 1868, his equestrian circus has been located here. Until 1892, the owner of such a successful enterprise, Karl Ginne, had, perhaps, one concern, and even that, in his opinion, was trifling. The circus at the top of the gallery, where the cheapest places were located, was terribly crowded, which caused the visitors to faint. But the fire in the mentioned year was much worse. The wooden building of the circus burned down under unclear circumstances, virtually without a trace, and the impresario did not have the funds to recreate the circus.

Two years after the deal, in 1897, the land was transferred to Arseny Morozov himself - the site became a gift from his mother for his next birthday. Construction begins. It is generally accepted that the first stone in the house was laid by seven-year-old Lida Mazyrina, the eldest daughter of the architect, a ballerina in the future. It was possible to complete the construction in record time - by the end of 1899 the building was ready.

During the construction of the castle of the Sintra Palace, the German Eschwege was not limited to a single style - the building shows features of Manueline, Gothic, Renaissance, Moorish and Oriental styles. Mazyrin went the same way. Architects call the style of the house on Vozdvizhenka pseudo-Moorish. The house is decorated with characteristic columns and towers, but the exterior and interior decoration is borrowed from other areas. For Mazyrin there were no obstacles. Castle in Sintra twined with bunches of grapes? In Moscow, instead of live grapes, a stone ornament appeared.

Mazyrin borrowed shells on the facade from the main attraction of the Spanish city of Salamanca - the famous house with shells Casa de las Conchas, belonging to the Gothic style.

And the mosaic of the courtyard looks quite antique. All facades of the house are braided with realistic ropes, sometimes tied into knots.

The symbols were supposed to bring happiness to the owner of the house, but things turned out differently. In 1899, construction was completed, but even before the completion of work, ridicule rained down on the mansion and its owner. Arseny told his friends about his mother's violent reaction, citing her words: "I used to know that you were a fool, but now all of Moscow will know about it." The Morozov brothers, well-known city philanthropists, also responded negatively.

There were plenty of critics outside the family as well. Devastating articles, cruel jokes, cartoons, the house was called a model of bad taste. The well-known explorer of Moscow Vladimir Gilyarovsky recalled an epigram, which, after the appearance of the castle, was composed by a young actor Mikhail Sadovsky:
“This castle makes me think a lot,
And I felt terrible for the past.
Where the free Russian mind used to reign,
There now reigns factory ingenuity.

In the novel "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy, one of Nekhlyudov's dialogues with a cabman is dedicated to the Morozov mansion, which emphasizes the huge size and incongruity of the building under construction.

“On one of the streets a cab driver, a middle-aged man with an intelligent and good-natured face, turned to Nekhlyudov and pointed to a huge house under construction.
“Wow, what a domino they brought in,” he said, as if he was partly the culprit of this building and was proud of it.
Indeed, the house was built huge and in some complex, unusual style. Strong scaffoldings of large pine logs, seized with iron braces, surrounded the building being erected and separated it from the street with a plank fence.
Lime-splattered workers scurried along the scaffolding scaffolding like ants: some laid, others hewed stone, others brought heavy ones up and lowered empty stretchers and tubs down. A fat and well-dressed gentleman, probably an architect, was standing by the scaffolding and pointing upwards, saying something respectfully listening to the Vladimir contractor. Empty carts drove out of the gate past the architect and the rowman, and loaded carts drove in.
“And how sure they all are, and those who work, as well as those who make them work, that this is how it should be, that while at home their belly women work overwork and their children in skufeechki before old people smile with an imminent starvation, kicking their legs, they should build this stupid unnecessary palace for some stupid and unnecessary person, one of the very ones who ruin and rob them, ”Nekhlyudov thought, looking at this house.

Arseny himself did not pay any attention to rumors and criticism, grandiose banquets rolled up in the house, and Morozov, the younger, became interested in mystical and esoteric sciences. It was possible to collect the Moscow beau monde without difficulty - the cousin of the owner of the house, an avid theatergoer Savva Morozov, brought friends to his nephew, in particular, Maxim Gorky.

Arseniy Morozov lived in his house until his death in 1908. The merchant died after a ridiculous accident in Tver, the city where one of the family factories was located: at one party he shot himself in the leg, telling his friends that he would not feel pain thanks to the strength of mind that was developed thanks to Mazyrin's esoteric techniques. Having received a wound, Morozov, however, did not wince and continued to participate in the feast. Meanwhile, the blood accumulated in the boot and provoked an infection, from which the strange younger Morozov died three days later at the age of 35.

After his death, it turned out that, under the terms of the will left, his legal wife Varvara and daughter Irina did not get anything from the acquired property.
The manager of 4 million rubles of capital and a mansion on Vozdvizhenka worth 3 million rubles was Nina Alexandrovna Konshina, Morozov's lover, he lived with her for the past few years. The heiress was sued: referring to the mental disorder of Arseniy Abramovich, and, consequently, his incapacity, the relatives managed to sue part of the money and assets. But most of the capital and the house could not be sued - N.A. Konshina took possession of the house, who sold it to the oilman and reveler Levon Mantashev, the son of oil tycoon Alexander Ivanovich Mantashev.

During the revolution, the building housed the headquarters of the anarchist party. From 1918 to 1928 the house was at the disposal of the first working theater of Proletkult.
During this period, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Eisenstein and Sergei Yesenin constantly visit here. The latter lived here for several months, settling in the attic of an employee of the office - the poet Sergei Klychkov, who adapted the former bathroom for housing. But it turned out to be difficult with the situation: contemporaries recalled that the plays were staged right in the reception hall, where the space was equipped with an amphitheater.
The first Workers' Theater of Proletkult, where Eisenstein and Meyerhold staged their performances, was very original. To understand how peculiar, it is enough to recall "Columbus" from "The Twelve Chairs" with its colorful characters:
“Laughter was heard from the eleventh row, where the concessionaires were sitting. Ostap liked the musical introduction, performed by the orchestra on bottles, Esmarch's mugs, saxophones and large regimental drums. A flute whistled, and the curtain parted with a chill. To the surprise of Vorobyaninov, who was accustomed to the classical interpretation of "Marriage", Podkolesin was not on stage. Looking around, Ippolit Matveyevich saw plywood rectangles hanging from the ceiling, painted in the primary colors of the solar spectrum. There were no doors, no blue muslin windows. Ladies in large hats cut out of black cardboard danced under multicolored rectangles. Bottle groans called Podkolyosin onto the stage, who crashed into the crowd riding Stepan ... "

The undemanding public liked such reckless performances. But talented directors preferred a different audience. In 1932, Proletkult collapsed (and the theater moved from Vozdvizhenka even earlier).

After the theatergoers, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs received the house on Vozdvizhenka. Since 1928, house number 16 was given over to the residence of the Japanese ambassador, during the war years the editorial office of the English newspaper "British Ally" was located here, and from 1952 to 1954 - the embassy of the Indian Republic.

According to rumor, the youngest son of Morozova Arseniy, having visited his brother, said that he would instruct him to create the most unusual house in Moscow for him. “Here you are, Misha, collecting your collections, with which it is still unknown what will happen later ... My house will stand forever.” With these words, the life of the house on Vozdvizhenka began.

Previously, a horse circus was located on the site of house number 16. And until 1892, the owner of such a successful enterprise, Karl Markus Ginne, had, perhaps, one concern, and even that, in his opinion, was trifling. The circus at the top of the gallery, where the cheapest places were located, was terribly crowded, which caused the visitors to faint. But the fire in the aforementioned year was much worse: the wooden building burned down virtually without a trace, and the impresario did not have the funds to recreate the circus. Freed near her house, the plot was bought by Varvara Alekseevna Morozova, deciding to make a gift to her youngest son Arseniy on his birthday. Mazyrin was invited as an architect. He prepared a project for a house in the Russian style, which was strongly rejected by Arseny. Decide what he wants, the future owner could not.

To create "the most unusual house in Moscow", the customer and the architect went on a long journey - Paris, Madrid, Lisbon ... In search of inspiration, travelers came to the Portuguese city of Sintra - places glorified by Byron. Fantastically marvelous nature and... Palacio Nacional da Pena castle on a rock, built in the Manueline style. Twisted columns, bizarre ornaments... Mystical, like an enchanted place that can stop time. Do I need to specify that this search was over. In 1897, Mazyrin's seven-year-old daughter Lida laid the foundation stone for the future home, and the work began to boil.

It seemed that there were no obstacles for Mazyrin. Castle in Sintra twined with bunches of grapes? In Moscow, instead of live grapes, a stone ornament appeared. In 1899 the construction was completed. A house appeared on Vozdvizhenka, which is impossible to pass by. Tolstoy in the novel "Resurrection" writes:

“On one of the streets a cab driver, a middle-aged man with an intelligent and good-natured face, turned to Nekhlyudov and pointed to a huge house under construction.

Look what a domina they brought in, - he said, as if he was partly the culprit of this building and was proud of it.

Indeed, the house was built huge and in some complex, unusual style. Strong scaffoldings of large pine logs, seized with iron braces, surrounded the building being erected and separated it from the street with a plank fence.

Lime-splattered workers scurried along the scaffolding scaffolding like ants: some laid, others hewed stone, others brought heavy ones up and lowered empty stretchers and tubs down. A fat and well-dressed gentleman, probably an architect, was standing by the scaffolding and pointing upwards, saying something respectfully listening to the Vladimir contractor. Empty carts drove out of the gate past the architect and the rowman, and loaded carts drove in.

“And how sure they all are, and those who work, as well as those who make them work, that this is how it should be, that while at home their belly women work overwork and their children in skufeechki before old people smile with an imminent starvation, kicking their legs, they should build this stupid unnecessary palace for some stupid and unnecessary person, one of the very ones who ruin and rob them, ”Nekhlyudov thought, looking at this house.

The house was received with hostility by the Moscow public. Devastating articles, cruel jokes, cartoons, the house was called a model of bad taste. They say that Varvara Alekseevna didn’t like the house either, allegedly she told her son: “Before, I alone knew that you were a fool, and now all of Moscow will know about it.” However, Arseny himself did not pay any attention to the rumors, grandiose drinking parties rolled up in the house, and Morozov Jr. became interested in mystical and esoteric sciences. A knot of ropes was carved on the house - a talisman of well-being and longevity. But it didn't work out with longevity. Once, in a drunken company, Arseniy bet that he would shoot himself in the leg and not scream in pain, and thereby prove that human willpower is limitless. He fired, did not scream, won the argument and continued to drink. Meanwhile, the blood accumulated in the boot, an infection occurred, and soon the eccentric Arseny died.

A little later it turned out that Morozov Jr. bequeathed all his property (four million plus a mansion) not to his ex-wife and daughter, but to his mistress. The widow went to court, the newspapers carefully described what was happening: “in commercial circles they talk about a lawsuit of several million rubles brought by the wife of the deceased, Ms. Fedorova, against a certain Ms. Konshina, who was the unexpected heiress of a magnificent Moorish-style palace on Vozdvizhenka and 4 million state of the deceased." As a result, the mistress won ...

... After the revolution, anarchists settled in the Morozov mansion. Then they settled Proletkult. The first Workers' Theater of Proletkult, where Eisenstein and Meyerhold staged their performances, was very original. To understand how original it is, it is enough to recall “Columbus” from “The Twelve Chairs” with its colorful characters: “Laughter was heard from the eleventh row, where the concessionaires were sitting. Ostap liked the musical introduction, performed by the orchestra on bottles, Esmarch's mugs, saxophones and large regimental drums. A flute whistled, and the curtain parted with a chill. To the surprise of Vorobyaninov, who was accustomed to the classical interpretation of "Marriage", Podkolesin was not on stage. Looking around, Ippolit Matveyevich saw plywood rectangles hanging from the ceiling, painted in the primary colors of the solar spectrum. There were no doors, no blue muslin windows. Ladies in large hats cut out of black cardboard danced under multicolored rectangles. Bottle groans called Podkolyosin onto the stage, who crashed into the crowd riding Stepan ... "

The undemanding public liked such reckless performances. But talented directors preferred a different audience. In 1932, Proletkult collapsed (and the theater moved from Vozdvizhenka even earlier).

Since 1928, house number 16 was given over to the residence of the Japanese ambassador, during the war years, the editorial office of the English newspaper "British Ally" was located here, and from 1952 to 1954 - the embassy of the Indian Republic. In 1959, the House of Friendship with the Peoples of Foreign Countries occupied the mansion for almost half a century. In 2003, it was decided to place the Reception House of the Government of the Russian Federation in the former possession of Morozov, which happened after the restoration was completed in 2006.

Thanks to the light hand of Viktor Mazyrin, Moscow at the end of the nineteenth century was decorated with another chic mansion built in the neo-Moorish style. The house, located at the address: Vozdvizhenka Street, 16, fraction three, once belonged to the merchant Arseny Morozov, who was the nephew of the well-known Savva Morozov.

For those who live today, this palace seems to be the most architectural masterpiece, moreover, it is an architectural monument of federal significance. Today in this house is the so-called Reception House. The doors of the mansion cordially open to government delegations from different countries. Diplomatic receptions and various scientific (and not only) conferences are held in chic halls.

Our predecessors, who lived about a hundred years ago, had a slightly different opinion about this mansion, calling it "the fool's house." Let's be honest, the mansion got such an eccentric name thanks to the owner. Alas, Mr. Morozov (we are talking about Arseny) was not famous for anything other than travel. He did not burn with the desire to take place in any field. Family affairs (textile production, charity, etc.) bored him to death, and only travel gave his life some meaning. It seems that Providence itself wanted the name of Arseny to remain for centuries, thanks to the house ...

On one of his many trips, Arseny met the architect Viktor Mazyrin. Acquaintance quickly turned into friendship. Not even a couple of weeks had passed since their first meeting, as the newly-made friends went on a joint tour of Europe. Having visited Portugal, Arseny was shocked by the beauty of the Pene Palace in Sintra. He liked the building so much that Morozov decided to build something similar in his homeland, in Moscow. Acquaintance with Mazyrin helped to realize the plan in the shortest possible time.

By chance, it turned out that Morozov was able to acquire a plot of land next to his mother's estate, it was here, in the neighborhood, that the mansion was soon erected. In the eccentric outlines of the building, the lines and philosophy of the Pene Palace are guessed. The house is richly decorated with stucco, reminiscent of lace. Columns are another element of decor, completely uncharacteristic of the construction of those years. To the miracle building, as well as to the owner himself, the inhabitants of Moscow were ambiguous. Someone liked them both, and someone with their pretentiousness and even exaltation, almost infuriated.

In general, the owner of the house was a match for the house itself, he was ambiguous and eccentric. His fate turned out to be short and ended very tragically, moreover, stupidly. Arseniy, once arguing with someone, shot himself in the leg. Being engaged in esoteric practices, in which the architect Mazyrin initiated him, Arseny argued that a bullet wound in the leg could not cause him great pain, that he had learned to control pain and even manage it. Indeed, when the shot was fired, our hero did not even frown, however, he did not take off his blood-stained boot from his leg. This thoughtless act led Morozov soon to his deathbed. The young heir died of banal gangrene, which led to blood poisoning.

Speaking about the mansion itself, it is worth saying that it has a neighbor brother, located at Vozdvizhenka, house fourteen. It was this house that once belonged to Arseny's mother. The "fourteenth" was of considerable size, only in its ground part there were twenty-three rooms, a little less (nineteen) were in the basement.

Once upon a time, life was in full swing here. Balls were held in the reception hall, which simultaneously accommodated about three hundred people. The sixteenth house, located next door, still contrasts with its "relative" today.

According to a legend that has been preserved miraculously, the first stone in the foundation of the future house of Morozov was laid by the daughter of the architect Mazyrin. Lyudmila was not just a ballerina, but also a girl of unprecedented beauty. Either with her light hand, or for some other reason, but the construction was arguing, and two years later everything was brought to its logical conclusion.

In the features of Pene, different styles are guessed: Gothic and Renaissance, and also, the Moorish style and the style called Oriental. Mazyrin decided to go the unbeaten path and in the mansion he was able to combine what, it would seem, does not fit at all. Columns and towers, shells and "lace", decorated with intertwining "ropes", coexist so harmoniously in a single solution that sometimes you even wonder, how is this possible?

There are quite a few symbols hidden in the building. All of them were designed to ensure the happiness of their master, but, alas, it did not work out. Almost from the moment construction began, Morozov was subjected not only to harsh criticism, but also to outright insults, primarily from his mother. She openly declared to her son that he was a fool, but if earlier only the family knew about this, then after the construction of the house, this fact will be known to the whole city. Yes, it's so tough.

Arseniy's brothers were also on the mother's side and did not understand at all why all this unusualness and pretentiousness, which was already visible in the unfinished mansion. Morozov did not criticize unless dead, but lazy.

The mansion of Arseny Morozov became the reason for writing epigrams by Mikhail Sadovsky. Even Leo Tolstoy did not bypass this house. In his "Sunday" it is openly said about how big and awkward the house is.

And yet, the house was completed! And moreover, he opened his doors to many famous people of that time. These walls have seen a lot and many. Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Gilyarovsky, and, of course, Savva Morozov, Arseny's second cousin, have been here.

The fate of the house after the death of Arseny is interesting. As mentioned above, Morozov was a very ambiguous person. According to the logic of things, the house should have gone to his family: his wife and daughter, but this did not happen. After all, the last name of his mistress was indicated in the will, which names have a rather muddy reputation. Of course, the relatives tried to appeal this state of affairs in court, and even managed to return some assets to the family, but, despite all efforts, the mistress still got the house. It was in this house that a certain Nina Konshina lived until the very revolution of the seventeenth year.

In the eighteenth year, the anarchists occupied the house. And for the next ten years, the Proletkult theater was located in the house of Arseny Morozov. Who was not there, starting with Sergei Yesenin and Vladimir Mayakovsky, and ending with Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Meyerhold. Let's say more: Yesenin lived in this house, in the attic. Lived for about a month. He was sheltered by the poet S. Klychkov, placing the guest in the bathroom.

When the theater vacated the mansion, it was immediately occupied by the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, then the Japanese, and soon the Indian embassy and even the editorial office of a newspaper called "British Ally", owned by the British, were located in the house of Arseniy Morozov.

Around the fifties, a certain Union of Friendship of Peoples was located in the mansion. And by the end of the 2000s, after restoration, the House of Receptions was opened in the house, which is located here to this day.

This is such a strange and long history of this unusual mansion, which has seen many owners in its lifetime, but it seems to us that no one has ever loved this house as much as its first owner loved - Arseniy Morozov, who left early and never managed to to fully enjoy your stay in this wonderful mansion.

You walk aimlessly, looking around. Something catches the eye, something you don't notice at all. And sometimes you stand in your tracks and look, look... So I came across the mansion of Arseny Morozov (Vozdvizhenka St., 16) - one of the most unusual buildings in Moscow. Then I read his story, quite interesting.

The mansion was built with money and on the idea of ​​the merchant Arseniy Morozov, a fan of the Moorish style. The construction of the mansion was completed in 1899.

From Wikipedia: Even at the construction stage, it became the object of derisive Muscovites, gossip, rumors and critical newspaper publications. Public opinion took the exotic mansion disapprovingly, as an expression of extreme eccentricity. Conversations around the construction were reflected in the novel by L. N. Tolstoy "Resurrection" (published in 1899): Prince Nekhlyudov, driving along the Volkhonka, reflects on the construction of "a stupid unnecessary palace for some stupid and unnecessary person", referring to Morozov's undertaking . There is a legend that Arseny's mother, an angry and sharp-tongued woman, visiting her son's newly built house in December 1899, said in her hearts: Previously, I alone knew that you were a fool, but now all of Moscow will know! 

Continuation of the story from Wikipedia: Arseny Morozov, who was known as a spendthrift and reveler, was not destined to live in the luxury of an exotic house for long. Once, in 1908, he shot himself in the leg on a dare, trying to prove that he would not feel pain thanks to the strength of mind that was developed with the help of Mazyrin's esoteric techniques. Blood poisoning began, from which he died three days later at the age of 35.

According to Morozov's will, his beloved, Nina Aleksandrovna Konshina, became the heiress of the house on Vozdvizhenka. Morozov's legal wife, Vera Sergeevna, with whom he had not lived since 1902, tried to challenge this will, referring to the mental disorder of Arseny Abramovich, and, consequently, his incapacity. The court recognized the arguments of V. S. Morozova as untenable and N. A. Konshina took possession of the house, who immediately sold it to the oilman Leon Mantashev, the son of A. I. Mantashev.

After the October Revolution, the house became the headquarters of the anarchists, but not for long. In May 1918, the First working mobile troupe of the Proletkult Theater moved here. At the theater, the poets Sergei Yesenin and Sergei Klychkov lived in the house. In the early 1920s, Sergei Eisenstein collaborated with her, making several avant-garde performances within the walls of the Morozov mansion. The theater occupied the building until 1928.

In the late 1920s, the building was handed over to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. From 1928 to 1940, the Japanese embassy was located here; in 1941-1945 - the services of the British Embassy and the editorial office of the English newspaper "British Ally"; since 1952 for two years - the Embassy of India. In 1959, the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (SSOD) became the owner of the building; the mansion was called the House of Friendship with the Peoples of Foreign Countries or, in everyday life, the House of Friendship of Peoples. Conferences, meetings with foreign cultural figures, film screenings were held in the house.

Currently, the mansion is used for various government and diplomatic events.

Unfortunately, the mansion is not accessible for visiting mere mortals.

Previously, this place housed a horse circus. And until 1892, the owner of such a successful enterprise, Karl Markus Ginne, had, perhaps, one concern, and even that, in his opinion, was trifling. The circus at the top of the gallery, where the cheapest places were located, was terribly crowded, which caused the visitors to faint. But the fire in the aforementioned year was much worse: the wooden building burned down virtually without a trace, and the impresario did not have the funds to recreate the circus. Freed near her house, the plot was bought by Varvara Alekseevna Morozova, deciding to make a gift to her youngest son Arseniy on his birthday. V. A. Mazyrin was invited as an architect. He prepared a project for a house in the Russian style, which was strongly rejected by Arseny. Decide what he wants, the future owner could not.

In order to create “the most unusual house in Moscow”, the customer and the architect went on a long journey – Paris, Madrid, Lisbon… In search of inspiration, the travelers came to the Portuguese city of Sintra – places glorified by Byron. Fantastically marvelous nature and... Palacio Nacional da Pena castle on a rock, built in the Manueline style. Twisted columns, bizarre ornaments... Mystical, like an enchanted place that can stop time. Do I need to specify that this search was over. In 1897, the seven-year-old daughter of Mazyrin Lida laid the first stone in the foundation of the future house - and the work began to boil. In 1899 the construction was completed.

The house was received with hostility by the Moscow public. Devastating articles, cruel jokes, cartoons, the house was called a model of bad taste. They say that Varvara Alekseevna didn’t like the house either, allegedly she told her son: “Before, I alone knew that you were a fool, and now all of Moscow will know about it.” However, Arseny himself did not pay any attention to the rumors, grandiose drinking parties rolled up in the house, and Morozov Jr. became interested in mystical and esoteric sciences. A knot of ropes was carved on the house - a talisman of well-being and longevity. But it didn't work out with longevity. Once, in a drunken company, Arseniy bet that he would shoot himself in the leg and not scream in pain, and thereby prove that human willpower is limitless. He fired, did not scream, won the argument and continued to drink. Meanwhile, the blood accumulated in the boot, an infection occurred, and soon the eccentric Arseny died.

A little later, it turned out that Morozov Jr. bequeathed all his property (four million plus a mansion) not to his ex-wife and daughter, but to his mistress. The widow went to court, the newspapers carefully described what was happening: “in commercial circles they talk about a lawsuit of several million rubles brought by the wife of the deceased, Ms. Fedorova, against a certain Ms. Konshina, who was the unexpected heiress of a magnificent Moorish-style palace on Vozdvizhenka and 4 million state of the deceased." The court was won by the mistress.

For the lace carving of the attic and the balcony lattice, the powerful portal with an arch and two round towers imitating fortress gates, and the walls covered with exotic sea shells, the house was called the "Spanish Compound".

After the revolution, anarchists settled in the Morozov mansion. Then they settled Proletkult. The first Workers' Theater of Proletkult, where Eisenstein and Meyerhold staged their performances, was very original. To understand how original it is, it is enough to recall “Columbus” from “The Twelve Chairs” with its colorful characters: “Laughter was heard from the eleventh row, where the concessionaires were sitting. Ostap liked the musical introduction, performed by the orchestra on bottles, Esmarch's mugs, saxophones and large regimental drums. A flute whistled, and the curtain parted with a chill. To the surprise of Vorobyaninov, who was accustomed to the classical interpretation of "Marriage", Podkolesin was not on stage. Looking around, Ippolit Matveyevich saw plywood rectangles hanging from the ceiling, painted in the primary colors of the solar spectrum. There were no doors, no blue muslin windows. Ladies in large hats cut out of black cardboard danced under multicolored rectangles. Bottle groans called Podkolyosin onto the stage, who crashed into the crowd riding Stepan ... "

The undemanding public liked such reckless performances. But talented directors preferred a different audience. In 1932, Proletkult collapsed (and the theater moved from Vozdvizhenka even earlier).

Since 1928, house number 16 was given over to the residence of the Japanese ambassador, during the war years, the editorial office of the English newspaper "British Ally" was located here, and from 1952 to 1954 - the embassy of the Indian Republic. In 1959, the mansion was occupied by the House of Friendship with the Peoples of Foreign Countries for almost half a century. In 2003, it was decided to place the House of Receptions of the Government of the Russian Federation in the former possession of Morozov, which happened after the restoration was completed in 2006.

An object of cultural heritage of federal significance.