In the very center of the city of Kazan, on a hill, there is a rather unusual building. Almost every resident of the city knows that this is a landmark of the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan - the old Shamov hospital. Tourists love to take a closer look at it, and there are various rumors about it about ghosts living there.
History of the Shamov hospital in Kazan
The hospital was built back in 1910 with the money of the merchant of the first guild, or, as they would say now, the bakery magnate Yakov Filippovich Shamov. Construction began in 1907, but the merchant himself did not live to see its completion, dying in 1909.
Initially, he wanted to build an Old Believer church, thereby seeking to atone for his many sins. There are opinions that he wanted to pay off the prison in this way. But the comrades who served as his doctors convinced the merchant that his sins would be best atoned for if he helped ordinary people by building a hospital for them. Therefore, the fact that a hospital now stands on a hill, and not a church, the city owesthe merchant's family doctors, namely Konstantin Abramovich Grachev and Vladimir Ivanovich Kotelov.
Shamov entrusted Grachev with organizing the construction, specifying only two conditions: the Old Believers should be treated separately from people of other faiths, and that the hospital building should be beautiful. But he asked not to swing too much in expenses. Grachev is excellent at fulfilling both conditions. The building turned out to be beautiful, and the Old Believers received treatment separately, taking into account the peculiarities of their religion. For Shamov, this was important, since he himself was an Old Believer.
Konstantin Oleshkevich was invited as an architect. It was he who, instead of the original design of a two-story building, proposed replacing it with a three-story building. Shamov did not agree to spend money on the third floor for a long time. But the decisive factor was that if the hospital was completed with the money of the city treasury, then it would not be given the name "Shamovskaya". And this was critical for the conceited Shamov.
Shamovskaya hospital is located at the address: Kazan, st. Kalinina, house 5. From the very beginning she had a connection with the Kazan Medical University. Students came there for practice, there was an exchange of experience between university professors and hospital doctors.
First City Clinical Hospital
Until 2009, hospital activities were carried out in the building. True, for more than 60 years it has been called City Clinical Hospital No. 1. During the Kazan operation of 1918, the hospital building was badly damaged, and was restored only by 1920. Inside it wasreequipped and since then it has become known as the "City Clinical Hospital No. 1". It closed with the same name.
But, despite this, many out of habit call her Shamovskaya. And after all, not every native Kazan will immediately figure out where the City Clinical Hospital No. 1 is located, but if you tell him that this is the same Shamovskaya, he will immediately remember the location.
For a very long time, the hospital was considered one of the best in the entire city. It was equipped with advanced (at that time) equipment. But over time, a lot of money was no longer poured into it, and much of the equipment was hopelessly outdated. But people received quality medical care there until the closing. It was considered good luck to get there.
Attraction
While walking through the center, tourists often notice the Shamov Hospital of Kazan, because it is located on a hill and can be seen from afar. True, now it is dangerous to go there due to the emergency state, officially entry is prohibited there. But desperate daredevils and journalists make their way there illegally from the back door, this can be done if you climb the ravine from the side of Volkova Street, and so get into the courtyard of the hospital. If you remain unnoticed until this time and the door is unlocked, then you can get inside at your own peril and risk. It is clear that not everyone wants to take such risks, and it is reasonable. Therefore, today this is the attraction that is supposed to be looked at only from the side and on postcards.
Architectural style
From a bird's eye viewDuring the flight, the hospital resembles the letter "Sh", and this is no coincidence, this is the first letter of the surname of that same merchant. The architectural style of the building itself is modern. This is a rare example of a special-purpose civil type building, designed in an exquisite architectural style. That is, the building was originally built for hospital needs, but in a seasoned style with decorative elements. Usually such buildings were built either for cultural needs, for example, theaters, and such buildings as hospitals were not decorated, but were built purely for unitary purposes. It is this feature that makes the Shamov Hospital of Kazan an architectural monument.
The last year the hospital was completed by the merchant's wife, and it was at her insistence that the pediment of the building was decorated with the inscription: "Shamovskaya Hospital". She was tinted in those years with gold paint.
The building has an old attic, which can be reached by a spiral staircase. And throughout the building you can find old levers with which you can control the temperature of the room by adjusting the gap in the stove dampers.
Building condition during downtime
The building was in satisfactory condition for several years. It was not restored, but was protected from the raids of marauders and the homeless. Which did not always work out successfully, and some glass was clearly broken not by the wind, but by people, forged gratings were bent with special tools.
There are a couple of cracks on the wall of the building, which, however, are quite amenable to repair. Just until they started doing it. But the walls themselvesso solid and thick that even in winter, with the complete absence of heating and human activity, it is relatively warm inside. During this period, the walls were covered with mold, which requires thorough cleaning. Since mold is very dangerous to he alth.
Description of the Shamovskaya hospital during the idle period is a separate delight for lovers of mysticism. Wind seeps through broken glass, creating a distinctive sound. The walls are strong and almost no moisture can penetrate, and inside there is a whole furniture, the doors hang on hinges, and inside it is quite possible to move around. The paint is almost all peeled off and flew off. Some rooms are sealed for some reason. After numerous repairs, nothing remained from the decoration of the revolutionary times in the chambers. Inside, these are ordinary hospital walls without any stucco. But the flights of stairs, high ceilings with patterns, high windows and carved railings show pre-revolutionary grandeur to the naked eye. In those days, they built to last for centuries, in the truest sense of the word, and after proper repairs, the building will stand for more than a decade.
Ghost Legends
Since 2009, the building has been empty, but is carefully guarded, and outsiders are not allowed in. Since his condition is satisfactory, and not all the windows are intact, the wind, walking around the room, makes frightening sounds. Which was the reason for talking about the fact that ghosts are found in the Shamovskaya hospital in Kazan. Inside, everything remained the same as on the closing day, nothing was looted. And you can find items such as medical flasks, old equipment, wartime photographs. If you walk alongcorridors, you can see old signs, dried indoor flowers and even posters. And some rooms are sealed.
These are almost ready-made scenery for a horror movie. Surely, in the entire century-old history of the Shamovskaya hospital in Kazan, she has seen many painful deaths and suffering. And if you believe those who recognize the existence of ghosts, it is these circumstances that do not allow souls to rest and go to heaven.
Mortuary
Most of the legends about evil spirits are also connected with the fact that next to the main building of the hospital there is a former pathoanatomical department, or in vain a mortuary. Even the guard does not go down there, since there is no need to guard it, and it has long been abandoned. The building is wooden and is in a much more deplorable condition than the main one, and there is no longer any hope of rebuilding it into something more worthwhile. It is still standing today only thanks to a solid stone foundation.
Those who got inside note the ominous atmosphere and the wind whistling through the completely broken windows. And in the room where refrigeration equipment for corpses used to stand, instruments and vials from medical solutions still lie on tables eaten away by the elements. Shoot horror movies tomorrow. In such a room, any skeptic can be scared.
Reconstruction
Having withstood two wars, perestroika, change of power and other cataclysms, the hospital did not stop its main activities all these years. But in 2009, it was decided to close it for a large-scale reconstruction. It happened bythe requirement of Rospotrebnadzor, as the building was recognized as emergency. It was stupid to demolish such a property of the city, and the authorities decided to give the Shamovskaya hospital a second life. And to do this not at the expense of the treasury, but by attracting investors. This experience is not new for the capital. So, several houses, which are examples of wooden architecture, have already been restored with private money. Such projects provide for the transfer of cultural heritage objects to preferential lease, but with the condition that gratuitous investments in restoration will be made.
According to the last of the approved projects, there will be a hotel there. The walls have already been cleared of mold, and the building looks bright again. The construction of new buildings and parking has started. And at the main entrance there is a huge porch, designed in the general style of the building. Inside the Shamov hospital in Kazan, reconstruction is also in full swing.
In addition to the hospital itself, Shamov's crypt at the Arsk cemetery was also recognized as a heritage site, and it will also be restored. His crypt is especially valuable for the current Old Believers, it was they who financed its restoration. And the authorities have only supported the initiative to give permission for this.
The main condition of the authorities is that the appearance of the main building does not change dramatically, and it can be seen that the building is old. And also, so that customers do not forget which building they stay in, it was decided to create a museum of the hospital.
Investors
The first talk of a new owner began a couple of years after closing. Residentsreported that the building is in the statement of the Malaysian company Aliran Adaman. And it really was, but the Malaysian project was rejected due to the fact that they wanted to make superstructures of glass, thereby radically changing the appearance of the old building. A project of a private multidisciplinary clinic was put forward for consideration, which also did not find approval from the president of Tatarstan. Then information leaked to the press that the hotel would belong to the young Turkish hotel chain Rixos. But it didn't work out here either. And in the end they said that the hotel would be called Kazan Palace.
SPA hotel or medical center
As a result, a spa hotel is planned in the building of the Shamov hospital. It will be a place where you can stay, get treatment and play sports. A kind of sanatorium for the we althy. Planned to be built there:
- suites;
- pool;
- fitness room;
- parking.
But since the intentions regarding the internal arrangement have been adjusted more than once, it is difficult to hope that this is finally decided.
When will it open?
Since 2014, it has become known that now there will be a hotel in the Shamov hospital in Kazan. And since then, what dates have not been named. Most expected for the World Cup, which took place in the summer of 2018.
The project has already been presented twice: in the winter of 2014 and in the summer of 2015. Each time the President of the Republic Rustam Minnikhanov was pleased with what he saw. But then something wentnot so, and the talk about it subsided. The deadlines for the delivery of the project were called different and were constantly pushed back. Initially, it was said about 2017, and in the latest mentions already about 2020.
Opinion of citizens
The townspeople themselves know little about the stage of reconstruction. But, in their opinion, Shamov himself would be dissatisfied with what is being built there. They believe that a hospital for ordinary people should have been left there. But in fact, not all of them understand how much money it costs to restore a building in such a disrepair. And that such a project is beneficial for both investors and the city.
At the first time after the closure, photographers and journalists tried to break through there, some even succeeded. There are many articles about this place in the local media. Then the territory was overgrown with weeds, and they gradually forgot about it. But now the townspeople have noticed shifts in the restoration and the conversations have revived. Bloggers fly quadcopters over the hospital, and local media wonder when it will be possible to visit the new hotel.
