The magnificent and magnificent building of the Noble Assembly in Kursk is a three-story building of original architecture of the 19th century. Currently, this is the House of the State Philharmonic of the city of Kursk. What is this building? What is his story? What is the fate of the building of the Kursk House of Officers of the former noble assembly? It is about this historical and mysterious structure that the article will be discussed.
General description of the building
The building is located near the Znamensky Cathedral and is an adornment of the central part of Kursk. Once, balls were held in his Great Hall, concerts were given, Fedor Chaliapin sang here.
It is a three-story corner building, built in the eclectic style. It is an architectural monument of national importance. The building was built in the 19th century, it was intended for the noble assembly. Throughout its history, the building was damaged twice during fires, but was reconstructed.
In different years, it housed: the Noble Assembly, the Palace of Workers, the Revolutionary Military Council, the Museum of Art, the House of the Red Army, the House of Officers. Now the building is on the balance of the State Philharmonic, which has placed its concert venue here.
What is the history of this amazing architectural object?
Background
At the end of the 18th century, on the site of the building of the Noble Assembly in Kursk there was the House of the Noble Assembly and the theater adjacent to it. In 1805, the serf actor M. Schepkin played on the stage of this theater, who later became a great Russian actor.
In 1875, a fire broke out in the theater building, which led to the loss of the theater and the entire structure.
Before the October Revolution
On the site of the burned down building in 1877, according to the project of the architect, who remained unknown to history, a new structure was built, which was named in honor of the Noble Assembly. On the third floor of the building was located a boarding house for noble children.
But in 1892, for no apparent reason, a fire broke out in the building of the Noble Assembly of Kursk, which lasted a whole day, after which the house collapsed. The fire was very strong, it spread to residential areas, burned out a whole residential area, consisting of wooden houses.
The building was restored according to the project of architect V. Slesarev. After reconstruction and restoration work, a marble staircase appeared in the lobby, which was surrounded by a colonnade. The Great Hall was also arranged with a balcony and a stage. The decoration used bronze, mirrors, crystal. Luxurious furniture was arranged.
In 1902, a monument to Alexander III was erected in the Great Hall of the Noble Assembly building in the city of Kursk; Emperor Nicholas II attended the opening of the monument.
In the Great Hall, until the beginning of the October Revolution, meetings of noblemen sometimes took place at which they discussed their noble-estate problems. The rest of the time, concerts were given or theater premieres were held: opera performances were held, F.I. Chaliapin performed in the opera Demon, and N. Plevitskaya sang on this stage in 1911. Here, occasionally balls and ceremonies were held.
After the revolution
After the revolution, the building was renamed the Workers' Palace, the Great Hall was called the audience of Marx and Engels. Workers began to own the house, meetings and meetings were often held here. Trade unions were also located in the building, and holidays were organized in the halls for workers and peasants. In 1918, Trotsky L.D. visited the workers' palace. In the Great Hall, many prominent revolutionaries spoke to the townspeople: Podvoisky N.I., Sergeev F.A., Bukharin N.I.
In 1920, in the building of the Workers' Palace (the former building of the Noble Assembly - 1877), the headquarters, command and the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front were located, of which Stalin IV was a member. In addition to Stalin, the commander of the Southern Front was Egorov A. I. and chief of staff Petin N. N.
Currently, memorial plaques are installed on the building: Sergeev F.A. and Kalinin M.I. (he was in Kursk and spoke in 1920 at the Workers' Palace).
In the 1920s, an art museum was opened in the building of the former House of Noble Assembly. Later, the premises were transferred to the club of railway workers, from the stage of which in May 1927 Mayakovsky V.V. and Aseev N.N. read their poems.
In 1929, the House of the Red Army was opened here, where sporting events were held, a movie theater worked, artists performed, ceremonies and meetings took place.
In 1937, the memorial office of Stalin I.V. was opened on the ground floor of the building, an exposition was placed here that was dedicated to Stalin's stay and work in the city of Kursk, his photographs, drawings, documents. A bust of the leader was installed in the office.
The Great Patriotic War
In 1943, during the retreat, the German invaders set fire to the architectural landmark of Kursk. The building of the noble assembly of Kursk burned to the ground, turning into ruins. In such a dilapidated form, the structure existed until the beginning of the 60s.
Post-war time
In the early 60s, the building was reconstructed, Shpara P. was the main architect of the project. During restoration work, the appearance of the historical structure was completely preserved, but large-scale reconstruction took place inside. The building has now become the House of Officers, there was an auditorium with a capacity of 900 seats. The Officers House has become an important cultural center of Kursk.
In 1963, the Museum of the Battle of Kursk was opened in several rooms, the exposition of which presents the things of military leaders, maps, maps, mock-ups, documentary and historical materials, weapons, photocopies of reports, medals, orders and much more.
In 1963, the museum was visited by participants in the Kursk battles: Marshal K. Rokossovsky, Lieutenant General Telegin K. F., Air Marshal Krasovsky S. A., Generals Kozlov M. A., Godin G. V., Yenshin M. A.., composer Pakhmutova A.N.
In 1995, a planetarium began to operate in part of the premises of the former building of the Noble Assembly. The city library is also located here, the book fund of which is more than 20 thousand volumes, thematic circles and studios, public and veteran organizations and clubs.
Since 2010, the widespread liquidation of the House of Officers began. The closure of the Kursk House of Officers caused outrage among the townspeople. Despite this, clubs and circles were closed, the museum suspended its work and began to transfer exhibits to storage rooms, the popular pop stars who came on tour in Kursk stopped giving concerts in the building. But thanks to the personal participation of the governor of the Kursk region, Mikhailov A. N. in solving this social problem, the building was transferred to the ownership of the region. The concert hall of the State Philharmonic of the city of Kursk is located in the House of Officers. In 2012, the building was transferred to the balance of the Philharmonic.
In 2013, a large-scale reconstruction of the building began, which lasted until 2015.
Architecture
In architectural terms, this three-story brick building, built in the eclectic style, combines the styles of Italian Baroque and Renaissance. The building is decorated with horizontal cornices. Its total area is about 6 thousand square meters. The building is part of the architectural complex when approaching the square.
