Chernoprudsky Square is a public space in the center of Nizhny Novgorod, located on the site of the former Black Pond. The square occupies a historic area beside the passage of the same name, near Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street. In 2019, a large-scale renovation of the square was completed, with design references to the history of the body of water that once existed on this spot.[1]

History of the site

The square takes its name from the Black Pond, which formed on the Chernaya River, a tributary of the Kovalikha: a dam was built on it, and the name came from that. The water acquired its dark color from the natural properties of the river itself. The local historian Nikolay Khramtsovsky, in his book "A Brief Outline of the History and Description of Nizhny Novgorod," linked the pond's name to the discharge of city sewage, but the tour guide Anna Sorokina considers this version mistaken: the pond was named after the river, not after pollution.[1]

The pond was impressive in size: 125 meters wide and 237 meters long. It was popular year-round. In the first half of the 19th century, the merchant Medovikov leased it and set up a promenade area: he planted linden trees along the banks and placed a floating platform in the center with a gazebo shaped like a temple. Every year on May 1 he held a large festival here, with floral decorations and soda stalls. In winter an ice rink was flooded on the pond, operating from November; admission cost a dvugrivenny (twenty kopecks). The Imaginist poet Anatoly Mariengof, who lived nearby from 1897 to 1913, recalled that boys without money climbed over the snowdrifts to get onto the rink. In summer people went boating and fishing here — the pond was home to carp.[1]

In the mid-19th century, Medovikov's descendants gave up the lease, and the pond gradually became overgrown. In 1926 it was filled in. Archival photographs from the 1930s–1940s show that by then the pond had already been filled in, and a front garden and footpaths had appeared in its place; the square at the Black Pond continued to draw Nizhny Novgorod residents for strolls during the Soviet decades as well.[4] The lindens planted by Medovikov have not survived, but trees more than a hundred years old remain on the grounds of the square.[1]

The 2019 reconstruction

The renovation work was completed in November 2019; minor finishing touches — relaying the paving stones — were planned for the following year. The renovation was carried out under the federal program "Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment" of the national project "Housing and Urban Environment"; the scope of work included repairing the fountain, restoring its basin and installing lighting.[3] The project was developed by the Institute of Urbanism; the architect Marina Rodionycheva explained the concept: all the key elements of the square bring visitors back to the image of the vanished pond.[1]

The centerpiece of the playground is a wooden sculpture in the shape of a fish, which locals have nicknamed the "carp skeleton." The sand around it symbolizes water. The illuminated canopy over part of the square is designed as circles on water — the structure suggests movement, while its nighttime shimmer evokes the iridescence of the pond's surface. A new graffiti mural has appeared on a wall: a bright patch of color flecked with black, a reference to the history of the place. The fountain that existed earlier was installed before the reconstruction as a reminder of the filled-in pond.[1]

The square is open around the clock and is accessible to visitors in wheelchairs. Its proximity to Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street ensures heavy foot traffic, though, according to residents, in the evening and at night the area is often taken over by noisy groups.[2]

References

During the fountain's operation, defects were found in the waterproofing of the basin, the filtration system, and the electrical equipment; the facility was shut down, and the contractor began warranty repairs, which were planned to be completed by August of that year.[3]

Sources

  1. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — The 2019 improvement of the Chernoprudsky Square was carried out under the federal program "Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment" of the national project "Housing (archive)
  2. V gorode N — Archival photographs from the 1930s–1940s show that by then the pond had already been filled in, and a front garden and footpaths had appeared in its place; the square at Black Pond (archive)
  1. V gorode N — Secrets of Black Pond (archive)
  2. yandex.ru — Chernoprudsky Square, square, Nizhny Novgorod, Chernoprudsky Square — Yandex Maps