Main building of the Golitsyin Hospital (Moscow)

 building, Classicism, interesting place, 1800s construction, medical ward / department, object of cultural heritage of federal importance (Russia)

The Golitsyn family ordered the construction of the hospital ensemble. In his will Prince Dmitri Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1721-1793) had left a bequest of 900,000 rubles to build Moscow's first free public hospital for the poor. Golitsyn was the Russian ambassador in Vienna during the reign of Catherine the Great during which time he befriended Mozart. Well-regarded Russian architect Matvei Kazakov (1732-1812) completed the first wing in 1796-1802.

After the fires of 1812, architect Osip Ivanovich Bove (1784-1834) added a second wing that complements the original. Later Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), wife of Tsar Aleksandr III supported the hospital. Hospital construction continued on Kaluga Road throughout the next century. Today, these hospitals belong to Yakimanka district. The one constructed by Kazakov is known as Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov First City Hospital. Pirogov (1810-1881), a prominent Russian scientist, doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), is considered to be the founder of field surgery. Pirogov was one of the first surgeons in Europe to use ether as an anesthetic.