Rossiya Hotel

The Hotel Rossiya (Russian Гостиница Россия / Rossiya Gostiniza, namely Russia Hotel ) next to the Red Square on the Varvarka 6 in the center of the Russian capital, Moscow was until its closure on 31 December 2005 and the subsequent demolition of the largest Hotel Europe.

The building was designed by the architects Dmitry Chechulin and opened on 15 January 1967. The three- star hotel is spread over an area of ​​240,000 square meters and had 3.170 rooms on 21 floors. For the construction of the hotel an entire neighborhood in the old business Kitai -Gorod suburb was razed in the 1960s.

On February 25, 1977 broke out unexplained causes at the same time in the 5th and the 11th floor of the hotel fire, which covered large parts of the building in minutes. 42 people died, the building was badly damaged. Some pointed to a deliberate arson, this is proven, however, still do not.

On 1 January 2006 the hotel was closed. After the departure of the long-term tenants, the building was demolished in the course of 2006. Even the once for Hotels complex, Central State Concert Hall, which also carried the designation " Rossiya", was demolished.

Plans for a new building

Originally, the businessman Shalva Tschigirinski with the British architect Norman Foster wanted to build for $ 800 million, the Rossiya as five-star hotel again. Tschigirinski had close contacts with the building contractor and wife of the former Moscow mayor, Yelena Baturina. A court declared the tender invalid and the huge area has been empty since 2006. The plans of a multifunctional complex with a new Yeltsin library and several small hotels were dashed.

The Rossiya wasteland behind the Kremlin is one of the same name, controlled by the Moscow city government corporation. After the Moscow ex-mayor Yury Luzhkov had for years resisted the project of a new parliamentary center, his successor Sergei Sobyanin had expressed according to media reports that in place of the former Hotel Rossiya for two billion euros a gigantic complex of both chambers of parliament is to be built. This should contain a total area of ​​200,000 square meters including a boardroom with 5,000 seats.

So far meets the Duma (People's Chamber) in the vicinity of the Bolshoi Theatre, while the Federation Council (representing the member states ) is divided on building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka and partially on the New Arbat.

See also

• List of largest hotels