Excursions Around the Durasov House for the Moscovites
The Higher School of Economics in Moscow has a spacious geography and the majority of the campuses are situated in the buildings with a rich history. Thus, one of the important tasks for the HSE is not only the renovation and preservation of these architectural monuments but also the promotion of the cultural and historical heritage objects.
One of the main historical discoveries of the new campus at Pokrovsky Boulevard, 11 is the Durasov House — a former town mansion built at the end of the XVIIIth century in the style of classicism. Today this is a HSE administrative building and it is valuable not only as an architectural monument having lived through many epochs and changed several roles but also as an entity of multidirectional research activities involving the students, employees, graduates and everyone interested.
Since 2021 the Higher School of Economics is taking part in the Days of Historical and Cultural Heritage annually taking place in Moscow on April 18 (International Day For Monuments and Sites) and May 18 (International Museum Day). In the framework of this participation the University organizes free excursions around the Durasov House.
During the tour, visitors have the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of the previous owners and inhabitants of the estate and see the interiors renovated by the restorers, access to which is usually limited.
The effect of additional immersion into the past is created by an interactive guide with augmented reality effects, created as part of the project work of the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics students. With its help the guests of the Durasov House can observe the transformation of the architectural appearance of the building over the time, can hear the crackling fire in the fireplace, can see the busts of Marx, Engels and Lenin, the bas-reliefs of Peter I, Kutuzov and Suvorov that were on display in the building in the XXth century.
In 2021 the Days of Historical and Cultural Heritage in Moscow took place at the end of April when a strict isolation regime due to COVID-19 pandemic was still on. But even then despite all the restrictions the Durasov House excursion hosted 30 persons. And already in 2022 within the framework of the Days of Historical and Cultural Heritage held for 22nd time eight excursions with 25 persons in each group were held. The Durasov House became one of 108 objects of cultural heritage closed for public on a daily basis that could be visited within the program.
