GUM — Attraction in Tverskoy District

The history of GUM in Moscow began in the 19th century, when the Upper Trading Rows were located on the site of the current building. The first shops appeared here in the 17th century, but they were wooden, then a stone building appeared, but in about 70 years it also became outdated. In 1889-1893, the old rows were demolished, and in their place a new passage was built with imitation of forms of ancient Russian architecture and folk art, but at the same time modern materials and technologies were used. . The building received elements of Art Nouveau and a unique glass roof, which became one of its calling cards. At the end of the 19th century, it became fashionable to use elements reminiscent of towers, boyar chambers and church architecture of the 17th century: keeled arches, hipped roofs, patterned platbands, pipe columns, figured pediments, kokoshniks and striped masonry. However, unlike real Old Russian architecture, where the decor was an organic part of the structure, in the 19th and 20th centuries these elements were often imposed on modern buildings as decorative ones. Striking examples are the Historical Museum in Moscow and, of course, GUM, where these details are combined with huge glass arches and metal ceilings from the era of the Industrial Revolution. The shopping arcade quickly turned into a center of luxury - hundreds of shops, salons and restaurants operated here. After the revolution of 1917, trade was closed, and the building was used for warehouses and even for housing for officials.

In 1921, by decree of Lenin, the State Department Store, or GUM, was opened here. In the 1930s, trade was temporarily stopped, and ministries were placed there.

In 1953, the store reopened and became a symbol of Soviet trade - scarce goods, a grocery store and a cafe appeared here. In the 1990s, GUM was privatized and gradually turned into a premium shopping center with boutiques of world brands. Today, GUM is not only a store, but also a cultural space, and in the cafeteria No. 57 you can try dishes from the Soviet era, although in my personal opinion, they don’t really know how to cook them here. The building has become a super symbol of Moscow, combining history, trade and modernity. Its glass roofs, archaic-retro facades and three levels of passages make it a unique...

GUM is the large scale shopping mall that can be found in the historic Upper Trading Roms building at the Red Square opposite the Kremlin. Opening hours are 10am to 10pm daily.

This building was constructed in the late 19th century and maintains much of its original Neoclassical architecture found in the building exterior and interior. During summer months, there are lovely flowerbeds lining the building entrances while the interior is decorated in a festive spring flower like manner during our July 2017 visit.

We enjoyed visiting GUM a couple times during our recent visit to Moscow. We had a nice breakfast at the Coffee Mania and quite enjoyed the impressive old school food market on the ground floor with lots of fresh food counters, packaged foods and imports.

During our July visit there were numerous kiosks selling ice-cream which visitors were queuing for much of the day. Muscovites must love their ice-cream. We didn't try but were intrigued by how many people where queueing for simple ice-cream scoops from GUM. Must have been good.

In the end, given the excellent location of the GUM department store and shopping mall, this is an easy attraction to stop by during visits to...

GUM(ГУМ). This is a modern shopping mall located in the Red Square area, Moscow. The Gum word is an abbrev. of Glávnyj Universáľnyj Magazín, or "Main Universal Store" used to be State-owned Department Store until 1991. Now become a modern shopping mall with most of the products are branded from all over the world. This is what makes this place so special a modern store in the old and antique building.

The security procedure to the entrance is quite tight, before entering the store, you have to pass the security gate and have to show the inside of your bag.

There're rows of branded boutiques on all the floors, restaurants, cafes, book stores, jewelry, fashion, etc Then a lot of restaurants, bars, and cafes. My favorite thing in this place is a Supermarket on the Ground Floor, so nice, good decorated and fresh nuance. One suggestion for you: Make sure to try a traditional ice cream which sale in the entrance door. Toilet available on the 3rd floor and...