Granatniy Dvor, Federal cultural heritage site in Presnensky District, Russia.
Granatniy Dvor is a building complex in Presnensky District featuring classical architectural elements from different periods of Moscow's history. The structure combines historic stone construction with modern uses including retail spaces and exhibition areas.
Founded in the 16th century at the Nikitsky Gates, the Granatniy Dvor made artillery grenades — cannonballs filled with gunpowder. In the 17th century it was moved to the Simonov Monastery, and Tsar Fyodor Alexeyevich ordered a hospital on its old site. The 1712 fire destroyed it; it was relocated to Vasilyevsky Meadow and later back to Simonov. Buildings from the 16th–17th centuries survive at Spiridonovka 3/5.
The name comes from the artillery grenades made here, not from pomegranates; Granatny Pereulok is named after the yard. A cultural and exhibition centre occupied the building briefly in 2018, but it closed in 2019, one of the shortest-lived projects of its kind.
The restored 16th–17th-century chambers stand at Spiridonovka Street 3/5, near the Nikitsky Gate end of Granatny Lane, which takes its name from the yard. The exhibition centre that briefly opened in the building in 2018 closed in 2019, so do not count on regular opening hours; check access before going. The archaeological layer of the yard is a federally protected monument.
The name comes from the Russian word for a filled artillery shell, not from the fruit: the yard cast powder-filled cannonballs called granaty. The lane beside it, Granatny Pereulok, still carries that name. The 16th-17th century occupation layer here is a federally protected archaeological monument.
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