Voronezh is a large city in Russia, founded at the end of the 16th century. Over one million people live here. The city was badly damaged during the Second World War, in particular, its architecture. Nevertheless, in the historical center there is still something to see for a curious tourist.
Many interesting sights can be shown to guests by the Leninsky district. Voronezh, in general, is a rather beautiful city, the architectural appearance of which is represented by buildings from different historical eras and styles.
Voronezh and its architecture
The glorious city was founded in 1586. Since then, not one of the buildings has reached us. The oldest building in Voronezh is considered the complex of the Assumption (Admiralty) Church, which dates from the XVII century. House Savostyanova is the oldest 3-storey building in the city.
But dozens of architectural monuments of the 19th - early 20th centuries have been preserved here. These are private mansions, residential and public houses. Baroque, classicism, empire and constructivism - Voronezh boasts monuments of all the listed architectural styles. The city center is also richly built up with beautiful, pompous and numerous buildings in the style of Stalin's neoclassical.
In administrative terms, the city is divided into 6 districts. These are Zheleznodorozhny, Left-bank, Central, Kominternovsky, Soviet and Leninsky district. Voronezh modern also includes within its borders a number of villages and hamlets that previously had the status of independent settlements.
The main attractions of the Leninsky district
Leninsky district is the smallest in Voronezh in area. It covers an area of only 1853 ha. Geographically practically coincides with the historical center of the city. There are many architectural monuments and cultural objects.
Within the Leninsky district are the local history museum, a circus, an opera house, the Literary Necropolis with the grave of the poet Alexei Koltsov, a 19th-century Jewish cemetery and other attractions. Many tourists and visitors to the city are attracted to the Chizhovsky bridgehead memorial complex. The main architectural monuments of the region include the Admiralty Church (XVII century), the building of the VGASU (mid XX century), the Resurrection Church (XVIII century).
A certain compositional center of this region is Lenin Square. Voronezh celebrates New Year's holidays and other mass events here. The area is built up with buildings mainly in the middle of the last century.
Lenin Square (Voronezh): history and general description
The main square of the city did not always bear such a name. Initially, it was called Horse (in the XIX century). Here, indeed, until 1880, horses were traded. Later, the horse market was moved to another place, so the square became known as Starokonnaya.
In the photo below you can see how it looked at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1956, this part of the city received its modern name - Lenin Square.
Voronezh, as already mentioned above, was badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, its central part is mainly built up with buildings of the second half of the twentieth century. In place of the old brick houses destroyed by the war, new ones grew with columns and turrets. Lenin Square was no exception in this regard. Voronezh can be proud of the most beautiful architectural complex in the style of the Stalinist Empire style. And he is in this square.
At this point, several important city arteries converge at once: Revolution Avenue, Kirov, Stankevich and Kardashov Streets. The area is decorated with two monuments: V.I. Lenin and A.V. Koltsov. A marble bust of the Russian poet Alexei Koltsov was opened in the eponymous square back in 1868.
The architectural ensemble of the square
The ensemble of Lenin Square in Voronezh is represented by 15 buildings. Almost all of them were designed and built in the 1950s.
On the square under No. 1 is the House of Soviets, in which the regional government is now located. The seven-story massive building with two wings was built for almost seven years: from 1953 to 1959. According to the original design, the House of Soviets was planned to be crowned with an elegant two-tier tower. However, in 1955, N.S. Khrushchev "on the elimination of architectural excesses", and decided not to build a tower.
The second most important and large-scale building on Lenin Square is the building of the Voronezh Opera and Ballet Theater. Its construction began in 1940 and lasted 20 years (with interruptions to the war). The appearance of the theater is strictly classical: the absolute symmetry of the main facade, a triangular pediment and Corinthian columns.
The oldest in the ensemble of the square can be considered the philharmonic building, built in 1908 in the Art Nouveau style, but the most spectacular is the Voronezh Hotel, crowned with a high metal spire with a sailboat on the tip.