Travel through historic streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg with Presidential Library

The electronic holdings of the Presidential Library has been enriched with a new publication by Karl Nistrem, Address-calendar of Moscow Residents. 1846. The guide book invites readers to "travel" through the addresses of Moscow in the 19th century and discover many interesting facts.

For example, the residents of Moscow deposited their capital and income at the Voeykov House, located opposite the Zlatoustinsky Monastery in Yegoryevsky Lane. The insurance company explained to customers that if they annually gave a portion of their income to the right people, they could build up their capital.

On Tverskoy Boulevard, in Mosolov's building, there was a hydrotherapy facility run by Dr. Kreuzer. Patients received cold water treatments, as they believed this method was highly beneficial - it stopped blood agitation and was also useful for severe irritability, girlish dumbness, and other nervous system disorders.

On Kuznetsky Most, in the house of Prince Gagarin, there was a store selling Russian products known for its quality. In the same building, on Kuznetsky Most, there was the Gutta merchant's house, which housed a hat factory and the Duloux Brothers' store. These stores always had a wide selection of men's hats available.

Silk fabrics, velvets, scarves, ball gowns, and lace, as well as other goods, could be purchased at reasonable prices on Lubyanka Square, in Alekseev's house. Address calendars are reference books published in the provinces and regions of the Russian Empire, and Karl Nistrem has been publishing them for several years for St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the Moscow region.

For example, in Index of Villages and Residents of the Counties of the Moscow Province, the author has collected statistical, geographical, topographical, and even historical information.

The book provides "addresses of village owners and villages, number of residents, distance of villages from the capital and county town, and which road they are on; information about factories, including their location, ownership, type of production, and when and where fairs take place." From this directory, one can also find out the dates of foundation of each county town and significant events associated with that locality.

The holdings also presents several publications dedicated to the city on the Neva River. In the preface to the publication of The Book of Addresses of St. Petersburg for 1837, Karl Nystrem writes: "Residents of vast St. Petersburg, who have continuous relations with each other, both on commercial and private matters, often find it difficult to locate the residence of the people they need." Nystrem's book greatly facilitated the search for the correct addressee, primarily for "the leaders of various government departments" - the location of ministry departments, offices, commissions, and so on. The individuals of the first five social classes were listed in alphabetical order, along with their given and middle names.

Officials were listed by their rank, and merchants by their guild. Then came street names, house numbers, and the part of the city in which they were located. In the preface, the author warns that his book does not contain information about the most numerous classes of people: burghers, peasants, and laborers. Karl Nystrm writes: "Anyone who takes the time to remember how much time they spent searching for people's addresses will understand the benefits and importance of this book."

Other address books and calendars prepared by Karl Nystr in different years are available on the Presidential Library's portal and in its electronic reading rooms.