Alexandrovsky passage, Kazan

Alexandrovsky Passage is a large and original historical building in Kazan, a city landmark. One of the few passages in Russia. It was built in 1880-1883.

The building was designed by V. V. Suslov and N. I. Pozdeev, the building was erected by the St. Petersburg architect Heinrich Bernardovich Rusch, commissioned by the merchant Aleksandrov.

The building combines elements of Art Nouveau and Neo-Baroque.

The owner sold it to his sister, O. S. Alexandrova-Haynes, who donated the building to the city to house a museum. However, the building turned out to be unsuitable for the city museum, and furnished rooms and stores were placed there. By the end of the Soviet period, the building was in a near-crash condition. Due to the weakened soils its northern corner sagged. Due to the technical complexity of reconstruction and the difficult economic situation before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, only the foundations were reinforced, while the restoration of the building was delayed and has not yet been completed.

The main entrance is accentuated on the height of 2 floors by a portico with two sculptural figures of caryatids. The facades are decorated with eclectic architectural decor with a predominance of Baroque and Renaissance elements. The main dome of the facade is decorated with a clock. The interiors of the building are decorated with figures of people, images of masks of faces, stucco decorations. In the middle of the central building there is a fixture - a bronze statue of a woman holding a baby by the hand. For some recent time the coloring of the building had pink tones, now the overall tone is the original light gray with color highlighting of individual elements.

Passage originally occupied a whole block formed by Voskresenka, Petropavlovskaya, Pochtamtskaya and Chernoozyorsky boulevards. But later, the part of the trading quarter facing the corner of Voskresenka and Pochtamtskaya was lost. The Chernoyarovsky Passage was erected there.