House of Soviets (Kaliningrad)

House of Soviets (2016)

Archaeological excavations in January 2018 on the former palace square in front of the House of the Soviets (in the background the Königsberg Cathedral )

The House of the Soviets ( Russian Дом Советов Dom Sowetow ; German also House of Councils or Council House ) is a striking building in Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg ) in Russia . The skyscraper, built in the 1970s but not completed, is located southeast of today's city center in the area of the former Königsberg old town on the site of the former moat. Originally, the city and oblast administrations , i.e. H. the councils ( soviets ) move into this building.

history

In 1967 the ruins of the Königsberg Palace , in whose cellar the Amber Room was possibly located, was blown up on Brezhnev's orders . This eventually led to the loosening of the subsoil, which at this point was not firm enough for the 16-storey high-rise under construction. The resulting static problems led to the cessation of construction work in the 1970s; the council house remained a ruin.

In the 1990s, investors were repeatedly sought for the building, who should open a business center in it. Since in the meantime a legal dispute developed between the city and an investor who had dropped out, construction work has not been resumed. Plans to restore the house at least externally by the city anniversary in July 2005 and to provide it with windows were only partially implemented. Officially, it is still intended to expand the ruins into an administrative and business center, without it being specifically determined when and in what form this should take place. However, there are also demolition plans.

In its unfinished state, it is now considered a landmark of the city rebuilt after the severe destruction of the Second World War, or - depending on your opinion - for the failure of the Soviet Union. In the vernacular, the sagging of the building was sometimes referred to as the “revenge of the Prussians”.

Directly to the west of the town hall is the central square , which was laid out on the site of the castle ruins that were blown up in 1967. Contrary to its name, it is not in today's city center, but about 1.5 kilometers southeast of it. Excavations took place there in January 2018.