The Metropol Hotel

In the mid-19th century, merchant Chelyshev built an inn and baths in the place where today's Metropol Hotel is situated. Those were soon bought by the Northern House-Building Society established by a famous manufacturer and patron of the arts Savva Mamontov.

It was a very profitable a place, therefore Mamontov decided to build a first-class hotel here with the European name "Metropol". The best architects - V.Valkot and L.Kekushev - participated in the construction. The hotel was inaugurated in 1901. The famous "Princess of Dreams", a ceramic panel designed by M. Vrubel, became its main decoration. Look up: it is placed on the central facade facing Teatralny Passage. This panel has a peculiar history. The idea was borrowed from a play by Edmond Rostan popular at that time. The play tells about the troubadour Joffrois Rudel who boarded a ship and hurried to see a princess after having heard about her beauty. He got very sick en route, and when he managed to get to the princess and she gave him a hug he recovered consciousness for a moment and died. The princess abandoned secular life and took a veil. Admire the side facades of the Metropol Hotel decorated with panels by A.Golovin. Many prominent men including N.Bukharin. Bernard Shaw, Sergei Prokofiev, A.Tolstoy and A.Kuprin stayed at the hotel in their time. This is still one of the best hotels in the city.