curiosity about architecture - gives rise to history
Russia, Pyatigorsk, Caucas. Lermontov's gallery.
The name Pyatigorsk is derived from the fused Russian words "five"+"mountains" and the city is so called because of the five peaks of the Beshtau (which also means five mountains in Turkish) of the Caucasian mountain range overlooking the city. It was founded in 1780, and has been a health spa with mineral springs since 1803.
Prime attraction is the striking light-blue and beautifully proportioned Lermontov's Gallery, was finished and was opened in May, 1902.The building remains unchangeable.
It received the name of the Great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov. Forever you, the unwashed Russia!
The land of slaves, the land of lords:
And you, the blue-uniformed ushers,
And people who worship them as gods.
I hope, from your tyrannic hounds
To save me with Caucasian wall:
From their eye that sees through ground,
From their ears that hear all.
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov
*****
The Hotel Moskva, center.
a puzzle
what's wrong with that building?
the boring answer is given below
The original hotel was notable for its use of two different designs for the wings off the central structure. The most popular (possibly apocryphal) explanation is that main architector Shchusev submitted two different designs for the wings of the building, with the intention that Josef Stalin would select one of the designs when he authorised the plans. However, he simply signed off the blueprints, likely failing to take note of the two choices. This confused the builders, and afraid to make the bold move of informing Stalin that he had failed to select a design, they simply constructed one wing of each on either side of the building. One design included large windows and a more ornate facade, while the other maintained smaller windows and the simpler details of the rest of the hotel's facade.
And the label of Stolichnaya vodka features a line drawing of the old hotel on bottles.