STATE KREMLIN PALACE

Description

Essentials about the State Kremlin Palace in brief

For many visitors, the State Kremlin Palace is the ugliest building on the Kremlin grounds. Built in 1961, it is also the youngest building in the Kremlin and does not seem to fit in with the otherwise historic ambience. This is probably due to the fact that the white marble of the facade can hardly be distinguished from concrete and the 27 meter high building therefore looks a bit like a concrete box.

The history of the State Kremlin Palace

The State Kremlin Palace was built in the early 1970s primarily as an event hall for the party congresses of the CPSU. At the time, it was also called the Kremlin Congress Palace. In addition to holding party congresses, the palace was also used for concerts and festivities. For a long time, it even hosted the world-famous ballet performances of the Bolshoi Theater.

The use of the State Kremlin Palace

Inside, the State Kremlin Palace consists of a good 800 rooms, with a considerable part of the interior space occupied by the main hall on the upper floor, which can hold up to 6,000 people. Above the concert hall there is also the festival hall, which can seat up to 4,500 people.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the CPSU, the original purpose of the Congress Palace ceased to exist. Shortly thereafter, it was therefore renamed the “State Kremlin Palace” and has since been used only for events. In addition to ceremonies, conferences, exhibitions and sporting events, in more recent times the State Kremlin Palace has mainly served as a stage for pop and rock concerts. Superstars such as Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Sting and Tina Turner have been guests here. Incidentally, the record holder among the artists who have performed at the State Kremlin Palace is Thomas Anders. He has been on stage here more than ten times, with and without Modern Talking.