Mytny Market — a trading square in the Upper Town of Nizhny Novgorod, located near Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street. It operated at least throughout the 19th century. According to available sources, Mytny Market is the oldest market in Nizhny Novgorod: the name "Mytny" derives from the archaic word "myto" — a toll levied on trade or the transit of goods; the adjacent territory — today's Minin and Pozharsky Square — served as one of the city's main commercial centers, known as Verkhneposasdskaya, or Verkhnebazarnaya, Square.[1] Its history dates back to approximately the 16th century. For 27 years the market was owned by businessman Vagan Bagdasaryan; in 2024 he sold the building to Pyotr Golovanov, who initially considered converting it into offices.
In late 2021 the market was put up for sale at 500 million rubles; by December 2022 the price had changed for the fifth time and stood at 450 million rubles, yet the property attracted no interest from Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs. According to local observers, the market's owner had planned to build a shopping center on the site ever since taking ownership in 1998, rather than renovating the existing building as was publicly stated.[2] The legal entity that owns the market is Mytny Dvor LLC; in 2024 a 100% stake in it passed from Vagan Bagdasaryan to Pyotr Golovanov.[3]
The most recent Mytny Market building was constructed during the Soviet era; it sold food, clothing, and household goods, and for many Nizhny Novgorod residents the market was a familiar fixture of the city center.[1] In late August 2026 the Mytny Market building was demolished; the new owner announced his intention to create a parking lot on the site. In spring 2026, the new owner proposed demolishing the structure and erecting a new multifunctional building in its place while preserving retail functions; the new building would have to blend with the Historic Buildings and comply with the height parameters of the unified development regulation zone.[4] The pavilion itself held no cultural heritage status, but prior to demolition the investor was required to carry out a scholarly documentation of the building and submit measured drawings and photographs to the state authority for the protection of cultural heritage sites.
A construction project for a new building on the market site had been developed back in 2011; in 2020 it was recommended for revision in light of changes to urban planning regulations, but no action was taken.[4][1] After the building was demolished, archaeological excavations were observed on the site of the former market: the area was staked out with pegs, and the natural soil layer was cleared at various levels of the excavation pit; as of September 2026, who exactly was conducting the work and what they were looking for remained unknown. The excavations were carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the investigation of a plot exceeding 1,000 square meters near building No. 2 on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya was organized in spring 2026. The excavations uncovered evidence of human activity on the site dating to the 13th–14th centuries: traces of estate complexes separated by trenches from palisade fences.
Among the finds are fragments of glass bracelets, knives, cylindrical locks, and personal devotional objects; the 16th–17th-century stratum yielded red-clay framed tiles depicting a "fortress assault" scene, more than 40 coins, jewelry, and buttons. The 18th–19th-century period is represented by the largest collection of finds: tableware, household items, a substantial series of coins, clothing elements, a series of lead trade seals, and smoking pipes. Among the finds from this period are tiles, locks, coins, and a collection of approximately 300 Turkish pipes.[7] In the 18th–19th-century strata, boulder-stone foundations were uncovered, along with a trading stall, a cobblestone pavement, and a well more than 6 meters deep with a wooden timber lining.[7][6] The site lies within the boundaries of the historic territory "Old Nizhny Novgorod" and the archaeological heritage site "Cultural Layer of the City of Nizhny Novgorod"; preliminary assessments suggest that foundations, remnants of pavements, storage pits, ceramics, and coins may be preserved underground.[1][5]
Location and Urban Context
Alekseevskaya Street ran past the Mytny Market and Black Pond, while the market itself stood adjacent to the estate and garden of Prince G. A. Gruzinsky, which occupied nearly two city blocks in the middle of the street from the late 18th century onward. In the 19th century, a building housing the Upper Posad trading arcades was erected on the market grounds; part of this building was later occupied by a branch of the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum.[1]
The Mytny Labor Exchange
In the 19th century, a spontaneous precursor to a labor exchange took shape at the Mytny Market — the so-called "Mytny Bourse": an awning in front of the entrance to one of the market stalls. Every day from eight o'clock in the morning, workers of various trades gathered here in search of employment. A wide variety of jobs were on offer: from dispatching crews to fight locusts in the outlying districts to clearing up after snowfalls, collapses, floods, and spring freshets. Group hiring was conducted only until two in the afternoon. Emergency work was in particular demand — forest fires and natural disasters, which temporarily provided the greatest number of people with earnings.
Sources
- Otkryty Nizhny — Archaeological excavations on the site of the former Mytny Market have been under way since spring 2026, conducted by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and have covered an area of approximately 1,000 square meters
- Zhivyom v Nizhnem — Excavations on the site of the Mytny Market were carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the study of a plot of more than 1,000 square meters in the area of building No. 2 on Bolshaya Pokrovsko
- Otkryty Nizhny — What will replace the Mytny Market and why archaeologists have appeared on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya — The name "Mytny" goes back to the ancient word "myto" (archive)
- Vremya N — The Mytny Market is important to preserve for Nizhny Novgorod and its residents (archive)
- Kommersant (Volga Region) — The Mytny Market is being demolished in the center of Nizhny Novgorod — The legal entity that owns the market, (archive)
- NN.RU — The new owner in spring 2026 proposed demolishing the structure and erecting a new multifunctional building in its place, retaining the commercial function;…
- NN.RU — According to available information, the Mytny Market is the oldest market in Nizhny Novgorod: its history began approximately in the 16th century.