The National Hotel is perfectly situated, overlooking the golden onion domes and crenellated towers of the Kremlin, the historical and spiritual heart of Moscow. Not only is it th center of the Russian state, but with its four grand medieval cathedrals and the treasures of the Armory Museum, the Kremlin is also Moscow's most popular visitor attraction.
Manezhnaya Ploshchad, the landscaped public space in front of the National Hotel, takes its name from the Moscow Manege, the large neoclassical building at the southern end of the square that was originally a riding school for horse-guards' officers, and now hosts major art and cultural exhibitions. Beyond the square, the Alexander Garden runs along the walls of the Kremlin. Laid out as part of commemorations for the victory over Napoleon in 1812, it is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with an eternal flame burning above it.
Across Ulitsa Tverskaya from the National Hotel stands the imposing granite building of the State Duma. One of the last major works of constructivism to be built in Moscow, it was designed by Arkadiy Langman to house the Council of Labor and Defense, and erected 1932-1935. On the other side of the hotel, an architectural counterpoint is provided by the Zholtovskiy House, previously the first US Embassy in the Soviet Union. Bearing the name of its architect, Ivan Zholtovskiy, it was the first building in Moscow in the "Stalinist Empire" style, marking the end of constructivism as the USSR's state-approved architectural style.
Next to the Zholtovskiy House begins the old campus of Moscow State University, founded here in 1755. The elegant late 18th-century building set back from the street is now home to the University's Institute of the Countries of Asia and Africa. The unusual building next to it with the curved facade was once the university theatre and is now the Church of St. Tatiana, whose name day on 23 January (12 January in the Georgian Calendar) was the founding date of the university as is now celebrated throughout Russia as Students' Day.
