Sokolniki

Sokolniki is one of the largest parks in Moscow with an area of 516 hectares. In the old days, hunting for game using falcons was lost here.

In the 14-16 centuries there were dense forests. In the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible himself hunted with the help of falcons in Skolniki. Special people trained birds - falconers, hence the name of the park. Centuries later, Alekseevskaya, Olenya and Sokolnye groves appeared. In the more often that is closer to Moscow, Peter I ordered a clearing to be cut, where he arranged grand festivities. Swedish captives lived nearby, who taught Peter I different wisdom and every year on May 1 they had magnificent festivities. These festivities adopted the locals and called them "tables" and "German countries".

During the Patriotic War of 1812, in order to quickly get from Moscow to the Elk Island, another clearing was cut through, called the 4th Ray. And in the Sokolnichesky Grove itself, local residents from the French troops hid. To restore the city after the fire of 1812, most of the grove was cut down, but it grew quite quickly. In the 1840s, they planned the Falcon Grove - they cut through additional clearing, leaving the center with a fan, and “labyrinth” was planted from the bushes from the Putyaevsky ponds, but it has not reached our days. In 1883, a rotunda was built in the park, in which concerts were held on holidays and even operas were staged.

During the years of the civil war, the park was desolate, everything changed only in the 1930s, when Sokolniki declared the park of culture and recreation. After that, they cleared the territory from garbage, restored green spaces, attractions for children, a restaurant, pavilions, and a fountain was built at each entrance. In 1957, the Grand Rosary was opened, and in 1973 they built the Sokolniki Sports Palace". In the 1990s, the park again started, only after 10 years they restored part of the facilities. In 2011, they adopted a plan according to which 4.5 billion rubles were allocated for the reconstruction of the park. During the reconstruction, places for picnic were made, lawns were updated, ponds were cleaned, the asphalt sidewalk was replaced with tiles, bicycle paths, sports grounds, ice rink, the outdoor pool and the rose garden were restored.

Nowadays, Sokolniki Park is one of the best places for a quiet family vacation.