Moskva swimming pool
The Moskva or Moscow swimming pool ( Russian плавательный бассейн "Москва" / plawatelny bassein "Moskwa" ) existed from 1960 to 1993 in Moscow on the site of the Christ the Savior Church , which was blown up in 1931 , the national monument of Tsarist Russia .
Instead of the church, the 415 m high Palace of the Soviets , crowned with a 70 m high statue of Lenin , was to be built. The work did not get beyond the erection of the foundation, was completely stopped at the beginning of the war in 1941 and not restarted after the end of the war.
In 1958, according to plans by the architect Dmitri Nikolayevich Chechulin, the construction of a public swimming pool began on the palace foundations . The project caused displeasure among the believers, which was also expressed in the catchphrase "was church, then stuff, is now shame" ("был храм, потом - хлам, а теперь - срам").
The swimming pool of the outdoor pool was in the shape of a circle with a diameter of 129.5 m, in the middle of which there was a diving tower. A square 50 m pool with marked lanes was partitioned off within the circle. The outdoor pool was open all year round. In winter the outdoor pool was heated, which made the pool look like a foggy landscape.
The demolition of the now dilapidated swimming pool and the rebuilding of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in its place met with broad approval from the Russian public.
Web links
- Further information and images
- englishrussia.com: Swimming in the Frost. Photos and information on construction, operation and demolition. September 22, 2012, archived from the original on June 9, 2019 ; accessed on May 20, 2020 (English).
Coordinates: 55 ° 44 ′ 41 ″ N , 37 ° 36 ′ 20 ″ E