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Sunday, 22.07.2007
Sparrow Hills: Newly-weds’ photo opportunity and Temple of Learning
Of all Stalin’s pompous palaces, Moscow’s Lomonossov University (MGU) in the southwest of the capital is the most massive. The university can even be seen from Sheremtevo airport. The 250m-high main corpus today houses some faculties, the university administration and accommodation for students and faculty.
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The main corpus is surrounded by what in effect is an entire university city, containing everything that a Russian scientist’s heart could desire: research institutes, an observatory, and sports facilities – some of which, however, have been waiting for years for renovation.
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Vorobyovy Gory.
Nearest metro station: University
Proceed on foot or take the bus two stops to the main entrance.
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The Lomonossov University and its 30,000 students still count as the top university among all the countries of the former Soviet Union. Only students and employees with IDs are admitted. The side entrances are, however, not very strictly watched, and the MGU’s Professors’ Canteen is probably the best canteen in Moscow.
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The viewpoint on the Sparrow Hills (formerly known as Lenin Hills) behind the university is the favourite backdrop for photoshoots of newly-weds: at the weekends, a queue of newly-weds waits to embrace for the camera with the Moskva river, Olympia stadium and city centre in the background.
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If the smog is not too bad, even the towers of the Kremlin appear in the distance. At the slope down to the Moscow river, you will see Moscow’s only ski jump.
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