Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow (Moscow)

 hotel, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage

www.kempinski.com/en/hotel-baltschug

After the fire of 1812, in which most traditional wooden structures were destroyed, a small two-story building owned by A. Osipov stood on the site now occupied by the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel. The boarding house was popular because of its location along the warehouse quay, the bridge across the river and its close proximity to the main trading areas located in Kitai Gorod. Over the years, it was enlarged many times until expansion was no longer practical. The grandsons of the Osipov contracted with the architect A. V. Ivanov to erect a new building in 1897.

Within a year, the new taller four-story inn featuring a striking façade embellished with decorative figures and overlooking the Moscow River was completed. The hotel featured a restaurant with a three-furnace beer brewery, and several shops selling things such as metal goods, window shades, cheese, and bread were located together with a barber, a baker, even a loan agency. While it was geared to traveling merchants and tradesman, many famous Moscow artists resided here for periods of time as the upper levels included airy well lit studios.

Following the 1917 Revolution, and the return of the capitol to Moscow, many state officials resided here in the 'Osipov Building'. From 1929 until 1932, it was called the Hotel Novomoskovskaya. By 1932 the second of two additions was completed and the building was seven stories high. In 1933 operations were transferred to Intourist, the state tourist agency, although from 1939 it served as a dormitory for the Department of Foreign Policy. Then in 1957 it was known as the Hotel Bucharest.

By the late 1980s the need for restoration work was extreme as the building began to show its age. As significant investment was deemed necessary to do the planned restoration, city planners decided to form a joint Russian-Austrian-Swiss enterprise to undertake the renovations of this historic landmark. Since 1992 Swiss managed Kempinski group has been operating this 200-bed hotel with great views for high prices.