The largest bookstore in the former Soviet Union: Moscow House of Books
Moscow House of Books is a famous large bookstore in Moscow:
🏛️ History: On September 25, 1967, Moscow House of Books officially opened on New Arbat Street, becoming the largest bookstore in the Soviet Union at the time and one of the largest bookstores in Europe. In 1998, Moscow House of Books consolidated scattered bookstores in the city, establishing a joint center and forming a chain bookstore network with multiple branches.
📚 Size and Layout: The bookstore covers a total area of 4,500 square meters, with 13 departments and a conference room. The first floor mainly sells travel guides, children's books, stationery, gifts, and audiovisual products; the second floor offers various novels, scientific and popular literature, history, medicine, marketing management, gardening, and cooking books.
📖 Book Categories: The flagship store on New Arbat Street shelves over 120,000 books covering various fields and languages, and also has departments for coins, stamps, antiques, and second-hand books. In addition, the bookstore has a rich collection of foreign language books, including fiction and scientific publications in English, German, French, and other languages.
✏️ Branches and Network: Currently, the Moscow House of Books chain includes 41 bookstores distributed across various districts of Moscow, from the city center to the suburbs. Among them are 3 specialized bookstores: the House of Educational Books, the House of Technical Books, and the House of Foreign Books, as well as 37 general bookstores and 1 online bookstore.
📜 Cultural Activities: The bookstore hosts events almost daily, such as meetings with authors and book exhibitions. National events like "Library Night" and "Museum Night" are also held here. Additionally, free events such as children's festivals and themed weeks are regularly organized, and there is a "Book Walker" family reading club.
🌞 Social Impact: Moscow House of Books welcomes over 7 million visitors annually and is an important cultural venue and traditional shopping spot in Moscow. The bookstore also actively participates in charity activities, providing support to 23 children's organizations in Moscow.
🚌 Transportation Information:
• Address: ul. Novy Arbat, 8 (8 New Arbat Street).
• Transportation: Take Metro Line 3 or 4 to Arbatskaya Station (Арбатская); you can also take bus routes 6 or 39, or trolleybus routes 2 or 44.
• Opening Hours: Daily from 10:00 to 23:00.