Devichye Pole

Devichye Pole (Russian: Девичье Поле, Maidens' Field) is a historical medical campus, built in 1887-1897 in Khamovniki District of Moscow, Russia, to the master plan of Konstantin Bykovski. It is located between the Garden Ring and Novodevichy Convent. Originally the medical department of Moscow State University, it is now split between Moscow Medical Academy, Russian State Medical University and various state and private clinics. The territory also includes Russian State Archives and Devichye Pole park.

This section is based on "Church of Archangel Michael, Devichye Pole" by Yelena Lebedeva

Devichye Pole acquired its name from Novodevichy Convent (established 1524). In the 17th century, it housed a court garden for medicinal herbs, and later the court of Eudoxia Lopukhina, estranged first wife of Peter I. Thus, the main street (now Bolshaya Pirogovskaya) was called Tsarytsinskaya. In the late 18th century, Trubetskoy, Apraksin and other families set their country estates in Devichye Pole; the place remained a quiet country until the 1880s.

One notable building was the wooden Pogodinskaya Cottage (1856, architect Nikolay Nikitin), owned by historian Mikhail Pogodin, once the center of Moscow literary elite. Extant building is actually a side wing of a larger wooden estate. In 1882-1886, Tsaritsynskaya street acquired a two-story Archive Building, now the exhibition hall of Central Archive of Ancient Acts.

This section is based on "History of the Clinical Town on Devichye Pole"

Need for new hospitals for the public and training facilitied for Moscow State University was imminent since the 1870s. Proposals by professor Novatsky (1873) and Varvara Morozova (1882) were left unfulfilled, but in 1884 the initiative of professor Nikolay Sklifosovskiy was approved by the City Hall. City issued free land in Devichye Pole (originally, 18 hectares), national government set aside 2 million roubles, the rest came from private sponsors (notably, Morozov, Khludov and Shelaputin families). University board picked Konstantin Bykovsky by internal vote, instead of a public contest, saving time and ensuring architect's dependence. Professors Alexander Makeyev, Fyodor Erismann, Vladimir Snegirev and Nikolay Sklifosovskiy and Bykovsky formed the project management board. In 1884-1885, Bykovsky, Erismann and Snegirev travelled Europe, inspecting the best institutions of their time. Master plan was ready by the end of 1885, but the national government released its share 2.15 million roubles only in July 1887. Thus, state-funded construction lagged behind private-funded clinics.

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