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Video: Stalin's skyscrapers in Europe: where you can see them and how their fate developed
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In the middle of the last century, Moscow was decorated with the so-called Stalinist skyscrapers. Each of them has its own history, and each building is unique in its own way. However, these "seven sisters" have other "relatives". Similar buildings were erected in the 1950s in several cities of the USSR, and even outside the Soviet Union. Three "skyscrapers-Stalin" appeared in the capitals of the three socialist countries of Eastern Europe. They were built as a tribute to Stalin, but now the inhabitants of European capitals are trying not to remember this.
Stalinist skyscraper in Warsaw
The Palace of Culture and Science, built in the Polish capital in the early 50s of the last century, is still considered the tallest building in the city. The appearance of this skyscraper was announced as a gift from the Soviet people to their Polish brothers.
The building was erected by several thousand workers from the USSR, designed by the Soviet architect Lev Rudnev. They lived in a separate area, which was specially erected for them near the construction site. It had its own cinema, swimming pool, club.
Before drawing up the project, the architect Rudnev visited the most famous Polish cities (Krakow, Kazimierz, Chelmno, Yaroslavl, Sandomierz, Zamosc) to get acquainted with the national architecture. Therefore, the building in Warsaw, despite the general stylistics of Stalin's skyscrapers (the building of the Moscow State University and the project of the never-built Zaryadye), has some Polish "features". For example, at the end of the tower of the Palace of Culture and Science, the Krakow Town Hall tower is clearly guessed. The result is a mixture of Polish historicism and neoampirism.
After consulting with Polish citizens, the government chose this project from several options proposed by Rudenw.
The building was erected from 40 million bricks, its height is 188 meters (it was originally planned to build it lower, but in the process the idea changed slightly).
It is interesting that the huge clock that can be seen on the building nowadays was installed only in 2001. The diameter of each of the four dials is six meters.
Initially, the name of the skyscraper sounded longer: "Stalin's Palace of Culture and Science", but with the change in the political situation in the country, the ending reminiscent of the socialist past was removed. Stalin's name was also engraved on the book, which is held in the hands of one of the stone figures installed on the facade. After the cooling of relations between the two states, the inscription was removed - as well as the sculpture of a man with a Soviet flag in his hand, which used to stand in the main hall of the building.
In recent years, there have been talks in Poland that this building needs to be demolished. The ambitious skyscraper irritates some citizens not only as a memory of the controversial past for the Polish people, but also as a building of ill fame. The fact is that there is an observation deck on the 30th floor of the skyscraper, and already in the second year after the building was put into operation, suicides started jumping from the terrace. In the 1970s, it was decided to put fencing gratings on the observation deck, suicides stopped, but the townspeople still had an unpleasant aftertaste.
By the way, tragic accidents happened here at the construction stage: 16 workers died from accidents at different times. All of them were buried in the Orthodox cemetery in Warsaw's Wola district.
House of Free Press in Bucharest
The pompous House of Free Press, designed in the style of Stalin's skyscrapers, was erected in 1956. It took four years to build it. The author of the project was the Romanian architect Horia Maiku, who tried to make the building as close as possible to other similar skyscrapers.
Until 2007, the House of Free Press, which can be seen at the entrance to the city, remained the tallest building not only in Bucharest, but throughout Romania. Its height is 92 meters. Plus - a 12-meter spire.
Initially, the building was called the "Skynteya House" Printing House named after Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. "Skynteya" - in Romanian "Iskra", and this was the name of the newspaper, the editorial office of which was located in a high-rise building. Other editorial offices and printing houses of the city were also located here.
Four years after the construction of the building, a huge monument to Lenin was erected in front of it.
After the socialist system in Romania fell, the figure of Ilyich was removed. But before it was completely dismantled, in 1990, this monument received scandalous fame thanks to a satirical project - instead of a head, roses wriggling with snakes were attached to the sculpture, and all this was called "Lenin-Hydra". The idea was invented by Costin Ionita, allegorically expressing the attitude of the new generation of Romanians to political idols.
Now the House of Free Press houses publishing houses, as well as various firms. There are no plans to demolish the building.
Stalinka in Prague
Hotel International, located in Prague, was originally called "Druzhba". This "Stalinka" is included in the list of cultural monuments of the Czech Republic.
The building was built from 1952 to 1954. Frantisek Erzhabek acted as the architect, and the progress of the work was personally supervised by the Minister of Defense of Czechoslovakia Aleksey Chepichka. By constructing a building in the spirit of Stalin's skyscrapers, he planned to strengthen Soviet-Czechoslovak relations. They say that Chepichka dreamed of receiving Joseph Stalin in this building. However, the plans were not destined to come true - in 1953, the Soviet leader, as you know, died.
Initially, the authorities were going to settle Czechoslovak officers in a high-rise building and make the building almost a secret facility, but later the idea was revised, and they decided to open a hotel here.
The building, built in the style of Stalinist skyscrapers, has 16 floors. There is also a huge bomb shelter for 600 people, which is currently used as a warehouse for clothing and other household items of staff.
The height of the hotel is 88 meters, and it is practically the tallest building in Prague.
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the hotel became part of the Holiday Inn chain. The red star that crowns the spire of the building was repainted - it was made green, like the logo of the owner company. In 2007, the star was repainted gold, and even later the hotel became part of another hotel chain - Crowne Plaza. Several years ago, the hotel was renamed International again.
No less interesting rumors and facts about the legendary Stalinist skyscraper - a house on Kotelnicheskaya.
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