Chkalov Stairs | |
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Stairs | |
Russian: Чкаловская лестница | |
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Design | Alexander Yakovlev Lev Rudnev Vladimir Munts |
Construction | 1943-1949 |
Opening date | 1949 |
Steps | 560 |
Dedicated to | Valery Chkalov |
Location | Russia, Nizhny Novgorod |
Coordinates: 56°19′51″N44°00′34″E / 56.33083°N 44.00944°E |
The Chkalov Stairs is a monumental flight of steps in the center of Nizhny Novgorod, connecting Minin and Pozharsky Square, the Upper Volga and the Lower Volga embankments. It was built by the architects Alexander Yakovlev, Lev Rudnev and Vladimir Munts. [1] It is the longest staircase in Russia. [2] [3] The staircase starts from the monument to Chkalov, near the St. George's Tower of the Kremlin. It is built in the form of a figure of eight and consists of 560 steps, if you count it both sides. The number of steps from the bottom to the top is 442 on the right. In the intersections of the side slopes there are two observation platforms. At the bottom of the stairs is a monument to the boat "Hero", which is located at the Lower-Volga embankment.
During the Russian Empire and until the mid-1940s of the 20th century, the site of the Chkalov Stairs was called the Volga slope. It was one of the most popular places among Nizhny Novgorod residents and visitors. At the top was a semicircular ledge from which a view of the floodplain of Bor. Now there is a monument to Chkalov.
The first ideas for the construction of the stairs on the Volga slope was put forward by Alexander Shulpin, the chairman of the Gorky City Executive Committee, in 1939. The stairs were to connect the center of the city with the Volga, and outdo the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa. But the realisation of the project was prevented by World War II (Eastern Front). [4]
The realisation of the plans was delayed until 1943. That year, Gorky began actively rebuilding the destroyed buildings and industrial enterprises after the German bombing. Then Shulpin began to promote his idea again. In the same year he went on a business trip to Moscow and presented the project to the Leningrad architects Alexander Yakovlev, Lev Rudnev and Vladimir Munts. When the agreement was received, the Moscow government allocated money for the construction of this grandiose staircase in honor of the victory of the Battle of Stalingrad. The staircase itself was to be called the Stalingrad Stairs. Construction was started the same year, carried out by German prisoners. The staircase was inaugurated in 1949. The chairman of the city executive committee spent about 7 million rubles on its construction, and was arrested for embezzling public funds in the Leningrad affair. He was rehabilitated after Stalin's death. [5]
The staircase is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city. On the Chkalov Stairs they arrange sports races. [6]
The last restoration of the staircase was carried out in 2012-2013. [7]
Nizhny Novgorod, colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, known from 1932 to 1990 as Gorky, is the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and the Volga Federal District in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga rivers in Central Russia, with a population of over 1.2 million residents, up to roughly 1.7 million residents in the urban agglomeration. Nizhny Novgorod is the sixth-largest city in Russia, the second-most populous city on the Volga, as well as the Volga Federal District. It is an important economic, transportation, scientific, educational and cultural center in Russia and the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and is the main center of river tourism in Russia. In the historic part of the city there are many universities, theaters, museums and churches.
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,597 as of the 2010 Census. From 1932 to 1990 it was known as Gorky Oblast.
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was a test pilot awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (1936).
The Nizhny Novgorod Metro, formerly known as the Gorky Metro, is a rapid-transit system which serves the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Opened in 1985, it consists of 15 stations and is 21.6 kilometres (13.4 mi) long. The metro connects with the City Rail and Nizhny Novgorod Central Diameters systems at the Moskovskaya station. It has the third-largest number of stations of any Russian subway system, the largest two being Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Chkalovsk is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, 95 kilometers (59 mi) northwest of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 12,368.
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Chkalovskaya is a station on the Avtozavodskaya line of the Nizhny Novgorod Metro. It opened on 20 November 1985 and was one of six initial stations of the Metro.
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Gorkovskaya is a station on the Nizhny Novgorod Metro and is the northern terminus on the Avtozavodskaya line. It opened on November 4, 2012. It is also the only station on the right bank of the Oka River in the historic Upper City section of Nizhny Novgorod. The station is named for Gorky Square, under which the station is situated. Maxim Gorky was born in Nizhny Novgorod and the city was itself named Gorky until 1990.
Nizhny Novgorod railway station is a central station in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. In terms of the amount of work performed, the 1st class station, and by the nature of the work performed, is a cargo station. It was opened on August 2, 1862.
The Nizhny Novgorod tram network comprises 16 tramlines and uses a standard Russian broad gauge. Trams have been operating in Nizhny Novgorod since 1896, but services were interrupted for a few years following the 1917 Russian Revolution.
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Rozhdestvenskaya Street – an historic street in Nizhny Novgorod. Is a unique open-air museum, there are only stone houses, the history of the oldest of which dates back to the middle of the 18th century. Officially there are 35 monuments of architecture. The most famous landmark is the Church of the Nativity.
The Minin and Pozharsky Square, also known as just Minin Square, is the main square of Nizhny Novgorod. It is a social and cultural center of the city, the venue of the most important celebrations. It is located in the historical centre of the old town from the southeast side of the Kremlin.
Nizhny Novgorod was founded by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in 4 February 1221. Citizens organized an army to liberate Moscow from the Poles in 1611, led by Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During the Russian Empire, in 1817 Nizhny Novgorod became the country's main trading city. In 1896, the city hosted the largest All-Russia exhibition. In the Soviet era, Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky, in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky. Then it was the industrial center of the Soviet Union. During the World War II, the city sent to the front a huge amount of military equipment and ammunition. Therefore, the German air force bombed the city for 3 years. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city was renamed back to Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia, the city became a political center and the capital of the Volga Federal District. Now the city is the center of information technology and develops tourism.
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Mikhail Sergeevich Kuznetsov is a Russian state, public and scientific figure. He served as Deputy head of Nizhny Novgorod, and deputy of the City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod.
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