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Interesting Facts about Moscow, the capital of Russia
1. Moscow has been the administrative capital of Russia (and previously, of The Soviet Union) since 1918. Prior to that, Moscow was the capital of the Russian state from 1480 until 1712. St. Petersburg was the capital from 1712 until 1918.
2. The first mention of Moscow was in a chronicle in 1147. However, the first settlements on the territory of modern Moscow appeared in the second millennium BC.
3. Moscow currently occupies a territory of 1,081 square kilometres. Its historic centre (within the Garden Ring) occupies about 20 sq. km, less than 2% of the city’s total metropolitan area. There is also a so-called ‘New Moscow’ — the conglomerate of suburbs located in the southwest, which was formally made part of Moscow in 2012.
4. The Kremlin Fortress is the largest fortress in Europe. The Kremlin wall is 2235 meters (or 7332 ft) long and has 20 towers, the highest being the Trinity Tower at 80 meters (or 262 ft) high.
5. The coordinates of the city centre are: 55° 45′ 6″ N,37° 37′ 4″ E. Time zone: GMT+3. Elevation is: 100–250 metres above sea level. The average elevation: 156 metres.
6. The permanent Moscow population is 12.2 million people. It is the biggest city in Europe, with London coming in second at 8,5 million). Another 2 to 2.5 million people temporarily live in Moscow. This population comprises mostly migrant workers.
7. The millionth citizen of Moscow was born in 1897. Therefore, at the end of 19th century Moscow had not grown nearly so vast. In contrast, London celebrated its millionth citizen in 1800 and today London’s population is 8.5 million people.
8. Moscow has a city information portal available in English. Click the link to see more Moscow facts: http://www.mos.ru/en/index.php.
9. The oldest building in Moscow is the Spassky Cathedral of Andronicus Monastery of the Savior, which was built to its present form in 1420-1425.
10. Moscow’s patron saint is St. George. He is depicted on the coat of arms of the city. Moscow has been the capital of the Russian Orthodox Church continuously since the 15th century.
11. What to see in Moscow ? There are about 500 museums and galleries , 700 theatres , 700 clubs and concert venues , 400 hotels and 1,000 churches of various religious denominations in Moscow. Half of the hotels and most of the museums and clubs are located in the Central District of Moscow.
12. The average net salary in Moscow (2016): about 1000 euros/month. Moscow is home to the largest number of billionaires (calculated in USD) – 66 (as of 2016).
13. An interesting fact about Moscow Metro is that it is the fastest and busiest metro in Europe. During rush hour the interval between trains is only 90 seconds and it is visited by a whopping 9 million people per day. That is more metro visitors than the New York and London metro together! During World War II the Moscow Metro was used as a bomb shelter and as a result 217 children were born there!
14. The Ostankino television and radio tower is the tallest free-standing structure in Europe at its 540 meters (1,772 ft). The Moscow State University is the tallest educational building in the world.
15. The Moscow Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences is the largest Botanical Garden in Europe.
TOURIST MAP OF MOSCOW