The building of the National Hotel. The unique history of the National Hotel Where is the National Hotel

Of course, I did not stay at the National Hotel, but I happened to visit the National Restaurant, which is attached to the hotel, once, oddly enough, in my student years, in the early seventies. I remember that the hall where we dined together with a young man seemed to me too stiff and the dinner was too official and boring. I felt uncomfortable there. But, at that moment it was just interesting for me to visit the famous restaurant. I didn't want to go there anymore.
I am writing this to explain why my note about the National did not fall into the category of advice related to the topics: "where to live" and "where to eat."
I will write about the National Hotel as a place of artistic and historical value. Information taken from the hotel website.
The National Hotel in Moscow was built in 1903 by architect Alexander Ivanov. The luxurious building of the hotel was created in an eclectic style with modern elements. The hotel is more like a museum. It is decorated with natural stone and stucco, marble and stained glass windows. Mosaic floor. Already at that time the hotel was equipped with elevators and a ventilation system, as well as telephone communication.
The original name of the hotel is "National". As conceived by the creators, the hotel was designed to receive and serve high-ranking foreign guests and representatives of the Russian state and military elite.
In 1903, the National had one hundred and sixty rooms, among which the apartments on the third floor of the hotel were the most expensive and luxuriously decorated: room 101, which until 1917 was called the Louis XVI Drawing Room, and number 115, which bore the name Louis XV Living Room.
In 1903, the cost of staying in a hotel ranged from 1 ruble 50 kopecks to 25 rubles per day. For comparison, at the beginning of the 20th century, zemstvo teachers and doctors received a salary of 10-15 rubles, which was a good income.
Not only ministers, officials and diplomats preferred to stay at the National. Among the guests of the hotel there were many artists - the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the French writer Anatole France, the English writer Herbert Wells. In 1903, one of the most famous guests of the National was the outstanding Russian composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
The October Revolution of 1917 fatally changed the fate of the National. In 1918, the Soviet government moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and while the Government was in a hurry to put in order the premises in the Kremlin, which had suffered from artillery shelling during street battles, the National Hotel became a temporary shelter for Lenin, Krupskaya, Dzerzhinsky, Trotsky , Sverdlov and other representatives of the communist elite. Lenin and Krupskaya lived for 7 days in room 107.
After the Soviet government moved to the Kremlin, the hotel began to be called in the spirit of the revolutionary time, in a new way - "National", the First House of Soviets.
The overhaul of the hotel lasted from July 1, 1931 to December 31, 1932. The equipment of the newly opened hotel rooms of the National was carried out from the reserve fund created after the October Revolution as a result of the "disbandment" of estates and palaces. Among the items of interior decoration in the "National" were furniture and works of art, including those from the Tsarskoye Selo and Anichkov palaces.
A new large-scale canvas with an area of 120 square meters, placed by 1932 on the facade of the newly opened National, depicted an industrial landscape - power towers, factory pipes and tractors - everything that, according to the ideologists of Soviet art of the 1930s, better reflected the spirit of the time than the original antique plot in the spirit of fashion trends of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
From 1991 to 1995, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out at the National. On May 9, 1995, the National Hotel reopened its doors to guests under the Le Meridien brand, one of the largest hotel brands that unites five-star hotels around the world.
On September 1, 2009, the National Hotel became the first and only hotel of The Luxury Collection chain in Russia, leaving the Le Meridien brand, also owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
The Luxury Collection has over 60 hotels worldwide. All of them are exclusive hotels with a unique history and architecture, the highest level of service for the most demanding and respectable guests.
Today, among the guests of the National there are still leaders of states and prominent politicians, public figures and scientists, businessmen and writers, actors and musicians, therefore the National is still at the center of the social, political and cultural life of the country and the world, hosting heads of state G8, guests of the Moscow International Film Festival, etc.

👁 Do we always book a hotel on Booking? Not only Booking exists in the world (🙈 we pay for a horse percentage from hotels!) I have been practicing Rumguru for a long time, it’s really more profitable 💰💰 Booking.

03 In the 19th century, the Varvara Joint-Stock Company of Homeowners bought a corner plot for new development - soon several houses with cheap apartments appeared here, the first floors of which were given over to benches.

04 At the same time, the designers gave the corner ledge of the main building a semicircular shape, typical for Moscow architecture of the late 18th century.

05 In 1901, the new owners began building a luxury hotel designed by architect A.V. Ivanov.

06 The new architectural project envisaged the preservation in general terms of the appearance of the previous building (the profitable house of the architect LN Benois), including the semicircular corner.

07 The building of the National Hotel, opened in 1903, is designed in the eclectic style with modern elements.

08 The National was originally conceived as a world-class luxury hotel. The decoration used expensive materials.

09 The exterior decoration is marked by the use of a large amount of stucco; mosaic floors and stained-glass windows were used in the interiors.

10 The hotel was equipped with advanced technical innovations of that time: elevators were installed, and telephones, water closets and bathtubs appeared in the rooms.

11 In 1918, after the Soviet government moved to Moscow, the hotel building was occupied by government departments of the new government (and occupied for the next 15 years); The hotel was named the First House of Soviets.

12 For several days in March 1918, the head of the Soviet state, V. I. Lenin, with his wife, N. K. Krupskaya, and sister, M. I. Ulyanova, lived in a two-room suite 107-109.

13 In 1932, the building was returned to hotel status.

14 In 1985, the reconstruction and restoration of the "National" began.

15 Restoration continued until 1995, during which time the decoration of the National was restored to the smallest detail.

16 The newly opened hotel was awarded the highest category - 5 stars, and at the same time was classified as a monument of history and culture of federal significance.

17 Since 1995, the second life of the hotel begins: some of the rooms were furnished with antiques, a new service was introduced - accommodation in a room with interiors of the early 20th century.

18 Now the hotel is part of the Le Meridien elite hotel system, which has given the National the status of a royal hotel.

19 At the same time, the hotel still remains a hotel-museum, where even the first persons of states get lost.

21 Over the years H. Wells, W. Churchill, Kofi Annan, Javier Solana, the Swedish Princess Brigitte, Prince Michael of Kent, Placido Domingo, Mireille Mathieu, Pierre Richard and many, many others, whose portraits hang in the gallery on the second floor, lived here hotels.

22 However, not only celebrities and millionaires stay at the National. This hotel is chosen by participants of various festivals, foreign businessmen and tourists, heads of large companies, and other VIPs.

23 A wonderful exposition with historical photographs of the hotel in different years

27 The National Hotel has 11 banquet halls with magnificent decor and a capacity of 6 to 150 people. Here you can not only hold an official meeting at the highest level, but also just relax in the company of old friends. Conference hall equipped with a full set of necessary equipment.

28 Restaurant "Moskovsky" - famous for its excellent Russian cuisine performed by the famous chef Vyacheslav Brylov. The windows offer a unique view of the Kremlin and Manezhnaya Square. In the evenings - live Russian music.

29 National invites you to spend an unforgettable gastronomic journey at the Moskovsky restaurant, which offers an amazing view of the Kremlin.

30 Piano music in the evenings and the enchanting lights of the Kremlin architectural ensemble will set the right mood for both a romantic date and a business meeting.

31 At the Moskovsky Restaurant, guests can enjoy traditional Russian cuisine (Tsarskaya Sterlet, Monastic Sturgeon, Feeding Goose Breast, Streltsy Boar Roast), as well as a rich assortment of European dishes.

32 Reviving the best culinary traditions of the centuries-old history of the National, the chef of the Moskovsky restaurant, Andre Martin, has created a menu of primordially Russian noble cuisine.

33 Ceiling paintings are impressive

40 It was while “resting” in the hotel restaurant on the ground floor that the artist Andrey Ioganson came up with the label for Stolichnaya vodka. It depicts the Moscow Hotel, just from the angle that the artist saw from his place. The label is interesting from the "point of view" of marketing in that since its inception (approximately 1937-1938) it has remained practically unchanged.

42 National has 201 rooms, including 56 suites. In 2009, a comprehensive reconstruction and renovation of the hotel was completed, during which the areas of living rooms and bathrooms were increased, dressing rooms appeared, and the latest technical solutions were introduced.

43 Classic Suite: Spacious two-room suites with living rooms and cozy bedrooms. In the design of the interiors of the "Classic" suites, antiques of museum value are used: furniture, musical instruments, floor lamps and Bohemian glass lamps - all this gives rise to a unique, inimitable style of each room. Marble bathrooms are equipped with spa baths.

44 More than thirty suites have a picturesque view of the Kremlin and Red Square.

45 Presidential Suite: Luxurious three-room suites with a panoramic view of the Kremlin and Tverskaya street, consisting of a living room, a bedroom and an office with a separate shower. Antique furniture and works of art, combined with outstanding interior solutions, give these rooms a special charm. The marble bathrooms of these rooms are equipped with a Jacuzzi. French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin, Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, King of Spain Juan Carlos, Princess of the Kingdom of Sweden Birgitta, Prince Michael of Kent and many others preferred to stay in the Presidential Suites of the National.

50 The views from the windows of the National weren't always so breathtaking. Until the 1930s (before the clearing of Manezhnaya Square), from the restaurant window one could see the house opposite instead of Red Square.

Eclecticism with modern elements. Moscow hotel "National"

The doors of the hotel opened for guests on January 1, 1903. The original name of the hotel is "National". As conceived by the creators, the hotel was designed to receive and serve high-ranking foreign guests and representatives of the Russian state and military elite.

The architecture of the constructed building combined the features of the Renaissance and Classicism with decorative Art Nouveau motifs. The facade of the building was designed in the style of classicism.

The interior of the hotel lobby was distinguished by special splendor, with the main accent in the form of a main staircase, which has a unique design for the beginning of the 20th century. To this day, white marble with stucco gilded decorations, metal railings and a harmonious mosaic of unique stained-glass windows on the main staircase attract many admiring glances from the guests of the National.

In 1905, a metal canopy with griffins, streamers, monograms and a signboard with the opening date of the hotel - 1903 was built over the main entrance to the hotel. For a long time there was a legend that exactly the same canopy, installed in the middle part of the facade of the building on Tverskaya Street, was destroyed by a grenade explosion during the revolutionary events in October 1917. However, photographic images and documentary confirmation of this legend have not yet been found.

In 1903, the "National" had one hundred and sixty rooms, among which the apartments on the third floor of the hotel were the most expensive and luxuriously decorated. Number 101, until 1917 called the "Louis XVI Drawing Room" and number 115, which bore the name "Louis XV Drawing Room". To this day, we can admire the elements of the original interior decoration of the unique rooms: the ceiling art painting in room 115 and the fireplace lined with white marble with a metal grate in room 101. The apartments were intended for high-ranking guests: governors, foreign diplomats and members of the monarchic families of Europe . Currently, these rooms have the telling name of the suites "National" and are the real pride of the hotel.

In 1903, the cost of staying in a hotel ranged from 1 ruble 50 kopecks to 25 rubles per day. For comparison, at the beginning of the 20th century, zemstvo teachers and doctors received a salary of 10-15 rubles, which was a good income.

"National" highly valued its reputation. The service was hired only with a written recommendation of the staff already working in the hotel. Each worker valued his place, as it was very prestigious and profitable to be on the staff of such a hotel.

The main category of hotel guests from 1903 to 1917 were representatives of the Russian government. More than one thousand high-ranking officials stayed at Natsionalnaya. We can say with confidence that the history of the hotel guests is a chronicle of the last decade of the Russian Empire in faces.

In 1913, the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, the uncle of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, lived in the National.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 228 hotels in Moscow, and 10 of them were located on Tverskaya Street, next to the National Hotel. In addition to the latter, the Dresden, Loskutnaya, Paris and Bolshaya Moskovskaya hotels were especially popular with visitors. However, all the listed hotels were built back in the 19th century and could not be compared with the "National" in terms of equipment and variety of services, which could truly be proud of technical innovations unusual for the beginning of the 20th century - elevators, a sophisticated ventilation device, an advanced heating system, telephone communication and taxi service, etc.

From 1903 to 1910, a series of postcards featuring the "National" was issued.

The restaurant has always been a special pride of the hotel owners and the hallmark of the hotel, which pleasantly surprised guests with the variety and intricacy of the menu, especially dishes of Russian national cuisine. The pinnacle of culinary art was, for example, the festive dinner menu of the early 20th century. The enumeration of just snacks is amazing: here are oysters, and broth, and borscht, and royal jelly, and cream pigs, and various kulebyaks, and game pastes with truffles, and Gatchina trout, and Siberian nelma, and Visland salmon, and sturgeon Kuchugurskaya, and roast beef, and ham, and veal, and corned beef, and Nezhin cucumbers, and turkey, as well as capons, Caucasian pheasants, Siberian hazel grouses and various salads!

Not only ministers, officials and diplomats preferred to stay at the National. Among the guests of the hotel there were many artists - the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the French writer Anatole France, the English writer Herbert Wells. In 1903, one of the most eminent guests of the National was the author of the now world-famous Flight of the Bumblebee, the outstanding Russian composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov.

In 1910, the British Club was opened on the second floor of the hotel, to the left of the main staircase in the recreation halls.
On the third floor, in the current room 177, there used to be a reading room. There was a large library, fresh newspapers and magazines at the disposal of the guests in the reading room.

You can find out the further history of the National on the official website of the hotel: http://www.national.ru/ru/ru-hotel-history

In the old days, stone flour shops were located at the corner of Mokhovaya and Tverskaya streets; in the mid-1890s, the Balaklava tavern was located here. A few years later, the ownership passed to the Varvara joint-stock company of homeowners, which in 1900 began the construction of a first-class hotel designed by the architect Alexander Vasilyevich Ivanov, an architect, by that time already well known in Moscow, who built the building of the office of the Association of the Tver Morozov Manufactory on Varvarka and the house of the insurance company "Russia" on Lubyanka Square. The hotel, called "National", received its first guests in 1903.

The facades of the building were made in a mixture of styles, a combination of neo-renaissance with neoclassicism and modern details, which gives them the impression of stylistic uncertainty, but at the same time gives an individual character. In the decoration, the architect used natural stone and ceramic tiles, stucco and smooth plaster. The corner attic was decorated with a majolica panel "Apollo and the Muses", made at the Moscow Butyrka Ceramic Factory of S. I. Mamontov "Abramtsevo" by artists S. V. Chekhonin and A. Ya. Golovin. Soon after the revolution, it was replaced by another panel, on an industrial theme, made according to the sketches of F.I. Rerberg, all at the same Abramtsevo plant.

The interiors amazed with their luxury and splendor: marble stairs, mosaic floors, huge stained-glass windows, figures of Atlanteans near the entrance to the elevators, ceiling paintings. Custom-made fine wood furniture in the rooms. A whole range of modern technical innovations: electric elevators, telephones, a steam heating system made at the San Galli foundry. Many of the rooms were equipped with bathrooms and water closets.

Accommodation in a hotel was not cheap (up to 25 rubles per day ) , but there was no end to the guests - rich industrialists, merchants, foreign diplomats willingly stayed here. In 1913, the uncle of Nicholas II, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, lived in the National. Prominent figures of Russian culture did not shy away from the luxurious hotel - Ivan Bunin, Anna Pavlova, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov lived here at different times.

The fate of the hotel changed a lot after 1917. During the October battles, the building was damaged by shelling. And immediately after the transfer of the capital from Petrograd to Moscow, members of the Soviet government settled here for some time before moving to the Kremlin in a “modest” bourgeois atmosphere: Lenin, Sverdlov, Trotsky, Dzerzhinsky. For many years the hotel became the "1st House of Soviets" - a hostel for functionaries of the new government. The status of the hotel was returned to her only in the early 1930s. At the same time, its name was finally fixed - "National" (before the revolution, both names were used), apparently more in line with the spirit of the times. The building has undergone a major overhaul. At the same time, its appearance was also partially changed: the lower floors were repainted to look like granite, oak window frames were replaced with aluminum ones. The hotel furnishings were replenished with furniture from Anichkov and Tsarskoye Selo palaces.

In 1974, the ceilings of two halls on the second floor were decorated with painted plafonds, made by the artist I. V. Nikolaev in the classical style of painting the ceilings of the school of old masters, but at the same time with elements of the newer decorative school of V. A. Favorsky. In the details and ornaments of the plafonds, the features of the World of Art aesthetics are noticeable, which emphasizes the connection with the works of the famous artists of the Benoit-Lancere family, from which the author himself comes.

In the same 1974, the National was included in the list of historical and cultural monuments protected by the state.

Speaking of the hotel, one cannot fail to mention the famous hotel restaurant - for many years it was a favorite place for a pleasant pastime among the intelligentsia and Soviet bohemia.

Despite repeated renovations in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and attempts to modernize the hotel, it fell into disrepair. And in the late 1980s, its comprehensive reconstruction and restoration began. According to the results of the competition, the general contractor was chosen - the Austrian company "Rogner", and the authors of the restoration project were the architects from Austria V. Hoffelner and E. Survillo. On the Russian side, specialists from the Moscow department for the design of public buildings and structures Mosproekt-2 took part in the restoration of the National. All work was completed in 1995, and the renovated hotel opened its doors to its guests again. And in her lifetime she has seen a lot of them, including the famous ones. Presidents of different countries, members of royal families, and famous cultural figures from all over the world have stayed here.

The current museum, hosting guests in historical interiors. At the dawn of its more than a century of history, the hotel welcomed distinguished guests of the last Russian tsar and representatives of the reigning dynasties of Europe. After the revolution of 1917, the National became for a short period of time the home of the Soviet government, in which Lenin, Dzerzhinsky, Trotsky lived in the hotel. Subsequently, the hotel was transformed into the First House of the Soviets - a hostel for the emerging Soviet nomenklatura. During the Second World War, the National served as the residence of 16 foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. And these are just some of the milestones in the legendary history of the hotel!

With all their diversity, many dramatic collisions of the National's fate can still be summed up in a common denominator: for more than 100 years of history, the hotel was chosen by truly heroes of their time, bright and outstanding personalities.

Among the items of interior decoration of the modern "National" are pieces of furniture and works of art from the Tsarskoye Selo and Anichkov palaces that personally belonged to the royal family of Russia and have been perfectly preserved to this day. A rare hotel can compare with the "National" in terms of highly artistic historical interior, which has unique pieces of furniture and interior decor, rare examples of painting and applied art, as well as museum-class musical instruments.

Historical photo gallery

Interesting Facts

The doors of the hotel opened for guests on January 1, 1903. The original name of the hotel "National". As conceived by the creators, the hotel was designed to receive and serve high-ranking foreign guests and representatives of the Russian state and military elite.
The architecture of the constructed building combined the features of the Renaissance and Classicism with decorative Art Nouveau motifs. The facade of the building was designed in the style of classicism. The interior of the hotel lobby was of particular splendor, with the main accent in the form of a main staircase, which has a unique design for the beginning of the 20th century. And to this day, white marble with stucco gilded decorations of metal railings and a harmonious mosaic of unique stained-glass windows on the main staircase attracts many admiring glances from the guests of the National. View photo front staircase .
In 1905, a metal canopy with griffins, streamers, monograms and a signboard with the opening date of the hotel - "1903" was erected over the main entrance to the hotel. For a long time there was a legend that exactly the same canopy, installed in the middle part of the facade of the building on Tverskaya Street, was destroyed by a grenade explosion during the revolutionary events in October 1917. However, photographic images and documentary confirmation of this legend have not yet been found.
In 1903, the National had one hundred and sixty numbers., among which the apartments on the third floor of the hotel were the most expensive and luxuriously decorated: room 101, until 1917 it was called "Living room of Louis XVI" and number 115, bearing the name "Living room of Louis XV". To this day, we can admire the elements of the original interior decoration of unique rooms: ceiling artistic painting in room 115 and a white marble fireplace with a metal grate in room 101. The apartments were intended for high-ranking guests: governors, foreign diplomats and members of the monarchic families of Europe. Currently, these numbers have a telling name "Presidential suites" and are the real pride of the hotel.
In 1903 cost of living in the hotel ranged from 1 ruble 50 kopecks up to 25 rubles per day. For comparison, at the beginning of the 20th century, zemstvo teachers and doctors received a salary of 10–15 rubles, which was a good income.
"National" highly valued its reputation. The service was hired only with a written recommendation of the staff already working in the hotel. Each worker valued his place, as it was very prestigious and profitable to be on the staff of such a hotel.
The main category of hotel guests from 1903 to 1917 were representatives of the Russian government. More than one thousand high-ranking officials stayed at Natsionalnaya. We can say with confidence that the history of the hotel guests is a chronicle of the last decade of the Russian Empire in faces.
In 1913, the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, the uncle of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, lived in the National.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 228 hotels in Moscow, and 10 of them were located on Tverskaya Street., next to the "National". In addition to the latter, the Dresden, Loskutnaya, Paris and Bolshaya Moskovskaya hotels were especially popular with visitors. However, all the listed hotels were built back in the 19th century and could not be compared with the “National” in terms of equipment and variety of services, which could truly be proud of technical innovations unusual for the beginning of the 20th century - elevators, a sophisticated ventilation device, an advanced heating system, telephone communication, taxi service, etc.
From 1903 to 1910, a series of postcards featuring the "National" was issued.
The restaurant has always been a special pride of the hotel owners and the hallmark of the hotel, which pleasantly surprised guests with the variety and intricacy of the menu, especially dishes of Russian national cuisine. The pinnacle of culinary art was, for example, the festive dinner menu of the early twentieth century. The enumeration of just snacks is amazing: here are oysters, and broth, and borscht, and royal jelly, and cream pigs, and various kulebyaks, and game pastes with truffles, and Gatchina trout, and Siberian nelma, and Visland salmon, and sturgeon Kuchugurskaya, and roast beef, and ham, and veal, and corned beef, and Nezhin cucumbers, and turkey, as well as capons, Caucasian pheasants, Siberian hazel grouses and different salads!
Not only ministers, officials and diplomats preferred to stay at the National. Among the guests of the hotel there were many artists - the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the French writer Anatole France, the English writer Herbert Wells. In 1903, one of the most eminent guests of the National was the author of the now world-famous Flight of the Bumblebee - an outstanding Russian composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
In 1910, on the second floor of the hotel, to the left of the main staircase in the recreation halls, a british club.
On the third floor, in the current room 177, there used to be a reading room. There was a large library, fresh newspapers and magazines at the disposal of the guests in the reading room.
October Revolution of 1917 fatally changed the fate of the National. In 1918, the Soviet government moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow, and while the Government was in a hurry to put in order the premises in the Kremlin, which had suffered from artillery shelling during street battles, the National Hotel became a temporary shelter for Lenin, Krupskaya, Dzerzhinsky, Trotsky , Sverdlov and other representatives of the Bolshevik elite. Lenin and Krupskaya lived for 7 days in room 107, which, having preserved its historical flair, is one of the best Kremlin suites modern hotel "National".
After the Soviet government moved to the Kremlin, the hotel began to be called in the spirit of the revolutionary time, in a new way - National, First House of Soviets.
During the use of the "National" as the House of Soviets, the condition of the hotel deteriorated sharply. The long absence of repairs led to the dilapidation of the building and the destruction of all life support systems. By the beginning of the 1930s, it was decided to turn the National again into a hotel for receiving foreigners and getting them acquainted with the young Soviet state, but the stationary equipment and interiors of the hotel rooms by that time could no longer meet international standards. The overhaul of the hotel lasted from July 1, 1931 to December 31, 1932. The equipment of the newly opened hotel rooms of the National was carried out from the reserve fund created after the October Revolution as a result of the "disbandment" of estates and palaces. Among the items of interior decoration in the "National" were furniture and works of art, including from Tsarskoye Selo and Anichkov palaces.
In the early 1930s, the revived "National" was a kind of hotel-museum, which collected unique pieces of furniture, musical instruments, paintings and works of arts and crafts. Perhaps, no hotel in Europe and America could compare with the "National" in such a high "museum" level of "hotel equipment".
New large-scale the canvas with an area of 120 square meters, placed by 1932 on the facade of the newly opened "National", depicted an industrial landscape- power transmission towers, factory pipes and tractors - everything that, according to the ideologists of Soviet art of the 1930s, better reflected the spirit of the time than the original antique plot in the spirit of fashion trends of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 1933, National became part of the structure of the State Joint-Stock Company for Foreign Tourism in the USSR - GAO Intourist.
"Forties-fatal" left a memorable mark on the fate of a unique hotel. They brought the hotel worldwide fame. When the German troops were on the outskirts of the capital, the "National" actually turned into a center that united the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. The hotel housed the staff of the diplomatic missions of the allied countries, leaders of the anti-fascist resistance, representatives of neutral states and the international Red Cross.
In the late 1960s, Intourist, a new hotel building made of glass and concrete, grew up next to the National. In 1983, "Intourist" and "National" were merged into a single hotel complex "Intourist-National", and in 1989, by decision of the State Committee, a single hotel complex "Intourist-National" was again reorganized and divided into two independent structures - the hotels "Intourist and National.
From 1991 to 1995, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out at the National. May 9, 1995 hotel "National" reopened its doors for guests under the brand Le Meridien, one of the largest hotel brands, bringing together five-star hotels around the world.
Since 2000, in accordance with the recommendation of the company Le Meridien, the famous hotel appeared under a new distinctive sign - Le Royal Meridien National.
On September 1, 2009, the National Hotel became the first and only hotel of the network in Russia The Luxury Collection , leaving the Le Meridien brand, also owned by the company Starwood Hotels & Resorts . The Luxury Collection has over 60 hotels worldwide. All of them - exclusive hotels with a unique history and architecture, the highest level of service for the most demanding and respectable guests. To move to The Luxury Collection brand, the hotel needed to carry out a large-scale modernization of the entire number of rooms and guest areas.
For more than a century of history, the National has survived the "golden age" and devastation, has been at the epicenter of wars and revolutions, survived all the troubles and upheavals that have befallen the country. Today, among the guests of the National there are still leaders of states and prominent politicians, public figures and scientists, businessmen and writers, actors and musicians, therefore the National is still at the center of the social, political and cultural life of the country and the world, receiving heads of state G8, guests of the Moscow International Film Festival, etc.

Moscow

(http://progulkipomoskve.ru/publ/doma/ gostinica moskva istorija stroitelstva_i_razrushenija/ 39-1-0-1512) http://zyalt.livejournal.com/780468.html

Hotel "Moscow" in the city of Moscow is one of the largest in the capital of Russia. It was originally built between 1933 and 1935. The project was developed by a group of architects, which included Leonid Ivanovich (?) Saveliev and Oswald Andreyevich Stapran, with significant participation of Alexei Viktorovich Shchusev.

The hotel complex was dismantled in 2004, and a building was erected in its place, which was built according to the original original drawings and almost completely reproduces the former forms of the previously dismantled one (as the developers say).

The history of the construction of the first stage

Moscow Hotel included in the list of the first buildings of this type in Soviet Russia. It occupies a whole block, bounded by Okhotny Ryad Street and squares - Manezhnaya and Revolution Square. The massive building became the dominant feature of the surrounding area.

The building, complex in its architectural plasticity, harmoniously fit into the surrounding architectural appearance, where the Historical Museum, the building of the City Duma, the Metropol and National hotels, and the entire Kremlin complex as a whole are located nearby.

It should be noted that the area of Okhotny Ryad was considered at the beginning of the 20th century one of the most unfavorable in terms of sanitary conditions in the city of Moscow. Since this place was planned under the new government as a site for the construction of the Palace of Labor, the surroundings began to be cleared and brought to a more dignified appearance.

Excesses, which resulted in the demolition in the 1920s of the chapel in the name of Alexander Nevsky and the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, were not done. But at the same time, all the dilapidated shops were demolished here, most of which were located at the southern tip of this area, and the local market was moved from the very center of the capital to Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

Due to financial difficulties, the Palace of Labor project was never implemented (perhaps even for the better), and in the early thirties, the construction of the Mossovet Hotel (the first design name) began here, the project of which was developed in the late 1920s.

The authors were architects Stapran and Saveliev. The future building was to be erected in the then fashionable style of constructivism, which clearly conflicted with the architectural appearance of the area: massiveness and strict asceticism did not fit in here.

When the frame frame of the building was almost completed, the well-known architect of the pre-revolutionary school, Alexei Shchusev, was involved in the implementation of the project for the construction of the future Moskva Hotel. Why?

Here it is worth making a remark.

The fact is that by the onset of the 1930s, the architecture of the country of the Soviets began to move away from the avant-garde style in the contour of buildings and turned to face the urban heritage of the past, i.e., the classical style, which became a factor in the emergence of the so-called "Stalinist Empire".

So, Alexey Ivanovich had to correct the initial idea of his young colleagues.

Significant changes could no longer be made because of the already built monolithic box, but Shchusev managed to correct a lot without infringing on the pride of Savelyev and Stapran, and create a laconic decor, executed in the spirit of neoclassicism.

So there appeared an eight-column portico with an open terrace, six floors high, numerous balconies along the facade and loggia-arcades from the side of the main entrance. Turrets appeared on the corners of the building, and after all the innovations, the building itself received a certain plasticity, which was helped to express the division into fragments of the entire facade.

The building of the Moskva Hotel was originally supposed to be of different heights: the main facade from the side of Manezhnaya Square had 14 floors, and the building along Okhotny Ryad - only 10.

Theater Square

Ukraine (http://www.ukraina-hotel.ru/history/section304/)

Story

Hotel "Ukraine" is one of the seven buildings known as "Stalin's skyscrapers". Brightly distinguished by the architecture that immortalized the era, they largely determine the appearance of the capital. These are the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square (1948–1953), the main building of Moscow State University on Sparrow Hills (1949–1953), a residential building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment (1938–1940, 1948–1952), an administrative and residential building near the Krasnye Vorota metro station (1939–1953), the Leningradskaya Hotel on Kalanchevskaya Street (1949–1952), a residential building on Kudrinskaya Square (1948–1954) and, of course, the Ukraine Hotel on Kutuzovsky Prospekt (1953– 1957). Soviet skyscrapers have become a memorable page in the history of our state and a hallmark of Moscow.

The 1930s were the time of major urban development projects. About 400 new cities and thousands of settlements were rebuilt in the country, and many old cities were actively reconstructed. It was at this time that Moscow and the capitals of the Union republics acquired the main features of their current architectural appearance. In 1935, the General Plan for the Reconstruction of Moscow was adopted, which laid down everything that was carried out later for decades: the creation of the Moscow-Volga Canal, the construction of metro lines, the construction of bridges, new highways (New Arbat), the reconstruction of the Garden Ring, mass housing development.

It was in the 30s that I.V. Stalin had the idea to erect " soviet skyscrapers”, deploying the panorama of Moscow along the river embankments, where high-rise buildings emphasize the picturesque natural relief of the city, its historical radial-circular layout, but came to terms with its implementation after the victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War. The construction of Moscow skyscrapers was completed after the death of the "leader of all peoples", and yet they are fully his brainchild and creation ( http:// retrofonoteka. en/ skyscrapers/ Moscow_ skyscrapers. htm).

Decree No. 53 of the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On the construction of multi-storey buildings in the city of Moscow" was signed by Stalin on January 13, 1947 - the year of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the capital. On the day of the 800th anniversary of Moscow, 8 stones were solemnly laid, symbolizing future buildings. And although the eighth skyscraper in Zaryadye, which was supposed to echo the vertical of the future Palace of Soviets on the other side of the Kremlin, was never built, this did not affect the colossality of the “Stalin skyscrapers” project. They became a visible embodiment of the prestige of the victorious country, a symbol of solidity, greatness and power of the young socialist state.

The architecture of the period of 30-50 years of the XX century is called by experts as "neo-traditionalism", "neo-romanticism", "neo-renaissance", "proletarian neoclassicism". For Russia, "Stalinist classicism", "Stalinist" or "totalitarian" architecture, has long been an art and a matter of national pride.

The hotel "Ukraine" got its appearance thanks to a group of eminent architects: academician of architecture, president of the USSR Academy of Architecture A.G. Mordvinov, design engineer P.A. Krasilnikov, co-author on the project of residential buildings V.G. Kalish and co-author of the stylobate project - Doctor of Architecture V.K. Oltarzhevsky, who studied the technique of building skyscrapers in New York and specialized in the design and construction of hotels. In total, more than two thousand people worked on various details of the project.

Options: the total area of the “Ukraine” building is more than 88,000 sq. m, the height is 206 m, including the 73-meter spire.

The building is distinguished by compositional perfection: the central building with a tower with a spire is balanced by the solidity and strict geometry of the outbuildings. Corner turrets and vases stylized as sheaves of wheat ears emphasize the palatial architecture of the building, and the spire gives it sublime austerity.

Soviet symbols in the outdoor decor of "Ukraine" - stars, sickles and hammers framed by wreaths - having lost their political pathos over time, became its highlight and sentimental reminder of a bygone era.