Now housing the Russian State University for the Humanities, this elaborately decorated edifice is where Ivan Fyodorov reputedly produced Russia’s first printed book, The Apostle, in 1563. (You can see the man himself near Tretyakovsky proezd.) Spiraling Solomonic columns and Gothic windows frame the lion and unicorn, who are facing off in the centre of the facade.
Up until the early 19th century, Kitay Gorod was something of a printing centre, home to 26 of Moscow’s 31 bookshops.
