Old House of Mutual Credit Society

Since my job involves long distance travel, I don't post as often. But at the same time it allows me to see various architectural masterpieces on the territory of the CIS countries. On this trip, I visited St. Petersburg, the northernmost city in the world with a population of over one million people. The number of attractions is unimaginable, which means I have something to share with you. As you know from my past posts, I like to pay attention to unusual and hidden buildings. Walking along the cozy river channels, I looked at an old four-story house. It turned out that this was not a simple house, but an architectural monument called the St. Petersburg Mutual Credit Society.

The first thing that catches your eye is the numerous elements of external and internal decor. This four-story old building built in 1888 has various architectural styles. But most of all I liked the majestic sculptures. For example, the balconies are supported by Atlantean sculptures, while the second and third floors are decorated with arched windows. Large windows on both sides are surrounded by sculptures of women.

Probably all the important elements of the facade are decorated with rich decors. It takes a lot of time to consider each of these architectural masterpieces. The building currently serves as a bank. One of the workers standing opposite, seeing my interest, decided to tell me about some of the iconic elements of the building. Apparently, he knows the history of the building of the St. Petersburg Mutual Credit Society very well and is very proud that he works in a historical building.

Despite the large number of architectural details, I think that the main element is the upper part of the building. On the roof there is a dome, which was previously a decorative dome of the exhaust pipe. At its foot you can see several sculptures. In the center is the female figure of the goddess of victory Nike, and at her feet are the god of the seas Neptune and the god of trade Mercury. It's amazing to see such meaningful diversity and grandeur in a financial institution.

The bank employee advised me to go inside and look at the front room. At the entrance, the visitor is greeted by a high massive wooden door. Even it has beautiful carved elements. Behind a small old room are the offices and workrooms of a modern bank. The interior will impress from the first seconds of your stay. Most of all, I was struck by the presence of the fireplace, but apparently in our time it plays a decorative role. The second point that pleasantly surprised me is the pre-revolutionary elevator, which harmoniously complements the rich decor of the room. It turns out that the building of the mutual credit society can be called autonomous. It contains a power plant, ventilation, steam heating systems, elevators, sewerage, water supply, telephone communication and alarm systems. Probably not enough only own food production.

In a short period of time, I had the opportunity to touch the architectural masterpiece and see the beautiful building from all angles. I noticed that large groups of tourists pass by a historic building and do not even realize it. However, Peter is replete with historical buildings and it takes many days to see them all. But I hope you enjoyed the building of the St. Petersburg Mutual Credit Society as much as I did.

All photos taken by me during my trip. Thank you for your attention!