Junker Military School Building

OBJECT DESCRIPTION

The building was constructed in the 1840s in the central part of the Kazan Kremlin under the guidance of architect P.G. Pyatnitsky. Initially, this two-storey brick building served as a barrack for cantonists (sons of military personnel who were obliged to serve in the army by virtue of their origin). The building was given to a Military School in the 1860s, which was soon converted into a Junker Military School (a junker is an intermediate rank in the Imperial Russian army, between an officer and a junior commander). In 1909, the training school was reformed and became a military school for the training of middle-ranking infantry officers.

A house was built with a third floor during Soviet times. In 1919, Infantry Leadership Training Courses were held in the building, followed by the United Kazan Muslim Leadership Training Courses. In March 1937, the school changed its status to the Infantry School. In April 1941, specialists for armoured and mechanized troops were trained in the facility. The educational institution was named the Kazan Tank School. After the Great Patriotic War, institutions of various types were accommodated here.

The extended building body was built in the style of late Russian classicism, with a symmetrical layout and strict monumental appearance. The building’s three entrances are adorned with forged canopies manufactured using the Chebaksin forging technique (an artistic metal forging style called after the settlement of Chebaksa), intertwined with roses, cornflowers, and mascarons (an image featured in the architectural composition). The façades of the building are plastered. The first floor is ornamented with rustication, and the windows have profiled architraves. A hinged metal pediment accentuates the main entrance from the outside.

In 1994–1995, under the direction of architects G.M. Gayazova, V.O. Popova, and I.B. Kharisova, the building was restored and adapted for museum expositions in 2001–2005.

Nowadays, the «Hermitage-Kazan» Exhibition Centre and Tatarstan’s Natural History Museum occupy the building of the former Military School.