House of Soviets

Saint Petersburg, Russia

The House of Soviets is the office building built in Stalinist style in the late 1930s. According to Soviet projects, the House of Soviets was planned to host the administration of Soviet Leningrad government. The location was chosen on undeveloped south outskirts of the city away from the downtown area which was prone to frequent floods. The construction was completed just before the Nazi invasion of Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II, and the building was never used for the intended purpose. In 1941, it was fortified and used as a local command post for Soviet Red Army during the Siege of Leningrad. Surviving reminders of that stronghold are small bunkers built from a reinforced concrete which still stand at several corners of the House of Soviets. Later, the building housed the Soviet research institute which focused on the design of electronic components for military objects. Among the notable engineers who worked there are two post-World War II defectors from the US, Alfred Sarant and Joel Barr. Currently, the office space in the building is rented out to various businesses.

A square in front of the House of Soviets is called Moscow Square (Moskovskaya Ploshad). During a construction of the subway station Moskovskaya in 1970, the square was remodelled and upgraded with a massive monument to Vladimir Lenin designed by Mikhail Anikushin. In 2006, several fountain features were added at the square.

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Address

Moskovskiy prospekt 212, Saint Petersburg, Russia
See all sites in Saint Petersburg

Details

Founded: 1936
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Russia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Narva Triumphal Arch (6,2 km)


Winter Palace (9,8 km)
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Saint Isaac's Cathedral (9,2 km)
Peter and Paul Fortress (10,9 km)
Peter and Paul Cathedral (10,9 km)
Peterhof Palace (23,6 km)
Catherine Palace (15,6 km)
Russian Museum (9,6 km)

User Reviews

Юлия Догадкина (15 months ago)
Летом здесь красиво,работают фонтаны,много народу.Само здание- исторический памятник. В правом крыле находится Петербургская недвижимость.
Елена Федорова (15 months ago)
Старое пятиэтажное здание со средним ремонтом .Есть лифт. Внутри здания охрана .Чтобы подняться на лифте на верх необходиио предьявить паспорт или водительские права,и тогда дают электронный пропуск который на выходе сдаешь .В здании много офисов.Есть указатели на этажах с табличками что очень удобно с ориентироваться в каком направлении идти. Соответственно каждый офис пронумерован.
Анастасия Гончарова (2 years ago)
Монументальное здание советских времён. Удобное расположение в 5 минутах ходьбы от метро Московская. Чисто, аккуратно. Уютный зал для йоги :) Строгие ,но вежливые охранники
Nguyen Tri Thanh (2 years ago)
Such a big station
Diego Fabian Pajarito Grajales (3 years ago)
It's amazing to be in front of this huge building, astonishing size and lots of friends from Stalin's era
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Klis Fortress

From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe, Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times. Due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, the fortress served as a major source of defense in Dalmatia, especially against the Ottoman advance, and has been a key crossroad between the Mediterranean belt and the Balkan rear.

Since Duke Mislav of the Duchy of Croatia made Klis Fortress the seat of his throne in the middle of the 9th century, the fortress served as the seat of many Croatia"s rulers. The reign of his successor, Duke Trpimir I, the founder of the Croatian royal House of Trpimirović, is significant for spreading Christianity in the Duchy of Croatia. He largely expanded the Klis Fortress, and in Rižinice, in the valley under the fortress, he built a church and the first Benedictine monastery in Croatia. During the reign of the first Croatian king, Tomislav, Klis and Biograd na Moru were his chief residences.

In March 1242 at Klis Fortress, Tatars who were a constituent segment of the Mongol army under the leadership of Kadan suffered a major defeat while in pursuit of the Hungarian army led by King Béla IV. After their defeat by Croatian forces, the Mongols retreated, and Béla IV rewarded many Croatian towns and nobles with 'substantial riches'. During the Late Middle Ages, the fortress was governed by Croatian nobility, amongst whom Paul I Šubić of Bribir was the most significant. During his reign, the House of Šubić controlled most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. Excluding the brief possession by the forces of Bosnian King, Tvrtko I, the fortress remained in Hungaro-Croatian hands for the next several hundred years, until the 16th century.

Klis Fortress is probably best known for its defense against the Ottoman invasion of Europe in the early 16th century. Croatian captain Petar Kružić led the defense of the fortress against a Turkish invasion and siege that lasted for more than two and a half decades. During this defense, as Kružić and his soldiers fought without allies against the Turks, the military faction of Uskoks was formed, which later became famous as an elite Croatian militant sect. Ultimately, the defenders were defeated and the fortress was occupied by the Ottomans in 1537. After more than a century under Ottoman rule, in 1669, Klis Fortress was besieged and seized by the Republic of Venice, thus moving the border between Christian and Muslim Europe further east and helping to contribute to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Venetians restored and enlarged the fortress, but it was taken by the Austrians after Napoleon extinguished the republic itself in 1797. Today, Klis Fortress contains a museum where visitors to this historic military structure can see an array of arms, armor, and traditional uniforms.

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