Description of the attraction
The building of the Former Merchant Assembly is located in the central part of Kazan. Now it houses the Youth Theater. It was the house of the merchants Zhuravlevs. The house gained fame when the Kazan Merchant Assembly was located in it, which was in some way an estate club.
The building was built in the second half of the 19th century. The house was rebuilt in the early 1900s. An auditorium, stage and restrooms for the artists were made in it. Theatrical activity was in full swing for a whole decade before the First World War. Various educational lectures were held. There was a buffet in the building with excellent expensive cuisine. But the building was not built very solid. One of the walls cracked and threatened to collapse the plaster.
During the First World War, one of the many military hospitals in the city was located here. The first X-ray machine in Kazan was installed in it, worth 5,000 rubles. At this time, the house became the property of the city. The Women's Medical Institute began to be created there.
After the 1917 revolution, this building housed the House of Tatar Culture. There was a theater department with a very active creative life. In 1935, the Theater of the Young Spectator was opened in the building of the former merchant assembly. It was given state status. The Youth Theater is still in this building. The street on which it is located bears the name of Ostrovsky.
In 1995, the theater building was damaged by fire. For six years he did not have his own premises. In 2001, the theater was reopened after six years of renovation. Repair and restoration work continues to this day. Not so long ago, the facade was thoroughly renovated. It was restored to its original form. The work was financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic.
The courtyard has not yet been touched by the restoration. Of the three rooms of the building of the merchant assembly, famous for their luxury, two have been restored: the White and the Moorish. The Oak Hall is to be restored. Spectators have no access to the halls yet. They are used by the theater services due to a lack of office space. The large rehearsal hall is to be renovated. It is supposed to organize a mini-museum of the theater.
Despite the unfinished renovation work, the theater building is functioning.
