Danilovsky
An ancient monastery and a new city on factory land
Moscow’s oldest monastery, the Constructivist ZIL Palace of Culture and a new quarter on the site of a former car plant: Danilovsky shows the industrial south turning into a place to live and walk.
Photo: A.Savin · FAL
About the district
According to tradition, the Danilov Monastery was founded in the late 13th century by Prince Daniel of Moscow, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. In 1983 it became the first Moscow monastery returned to the Church, and today it is the official residence of the Patriarch.
In 1916 the AMO car plant, later ZIS and ZIL, was founded in a bend of the Moskva River. For most of the 20th century the area was one of the country’s main industrial sites.
In the 2010s construction began on the ZILART quarter on the factory site, with residential buildings by different architects, Tyufeleva Roshcha park and an embankment.
- Okrug
- Southern Administrative Okrug
- Status
- District
- Population
- 104,718 (as of 2025)
- Area
- 12.5 km²
- Stations within the district
- 7
Population is from Wikidata as of the date shown; the area is calculated from the OpenStreetMap boundary; stations are listed by their position inside the boundary.
What to see
Danilov Monastery
Moscow’s oldest monastery and the Patriarch’s residence.
ZIL Palace of Culture
A 1930s work by the Vesnin brothers, one of the key monuments of Constructivism.
Danilovsky Market
A market under a round dome that has become a food destination.
ZILART
A new quarter on the factory site with architect-designed housing and public spaces.
Where to walk
- 01
Tyufeleva Roshcha park
A new park in ZILART with ponds, hills and viewpoints.
- 02
ZIL embankment
A walk along the bend of the Moskva River.
- 03
Around the Danilov Monastery
A short route along the walls from Tulskaya to Danilovskaya Square.
Architecture
Here you can see the city changing: next to monastery walls and brick workshops come new quarters, parks and access to the river.
ZIL Palace of Culture
Ribbon windows, a free plan and a winter garden — the Vesnins’ Constructivism.
Danilov Monastery
Walls, towers and churches of different eras around one courtyard.
ZILART quarters
Buildings by different studios — an experiment in façade diversity.
Transport
Tulskaya on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line leads to the monastery and market. In the east of the district are Avtozavodskaya and the MCC stations ZIL and Avtozavodskaya.
On the transport mapStations within the district
Suburban trains
Did you know
- 01
The Danilov Monastery was the first in Moscow to be returned to the Church, in 1983.
- 02
The car plant known as ZIL was founded in 1916 under the name AMO.
- 03
The ZIL Palace of Culture was designed by the Vesnin brothers.
Photo gallery
Danilovsky, Moscow: photograph from Wikimedia Commons
On the map
Boundaries: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Boundary from OpenStreetMap, November 2026.