HistoryAfter the fire of 1812, in which the traditional wooden structures of the
district were destroyed, a small two-story hostelry was built on the site now
occupied by the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow. This popular boarding
house was expanded throughout the 19th century, but demand for its services and
superb location eventually outstripped its size.
A new building was erected in 1898 by the well-known Moscow architect
Alexander Ivanov. Featuring a stunning facade embellished with decorative
figures overlooking the river and a more modest front for the Balchug Street
side, the new building displayed architectural elements from the era of
neoclassicism. This early hotel offered a diverse selection of goods and
services for guests: a restaurant with a three-furnace beer brewery as well as a
barber, baker and loan agency were located alongside shops selling metal goods,
window shades, cheese and bread.
Following the October Revolution, the building again changed hands. From 1928
to 1932, as the Hotel Novomoskovskaya, it became a massive seven-story stone
structure. In 1933, ownership transferred to Intourist, the official state
tourist agency, which used the building as a dormitory before it became the
Hotel Bucharest in 1957.
On the site of the former Hotel Bucharest, the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski
Moscow has been writing its own history for over a decade. The exterior walls,
dating back to 1898 and the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, are the only remnants of
the original building. Reconstruction was begun in 1989, with building materials
transported from Austria by truck in over 600 trips. 1992 saw the re-opening of
a hotel unsurpassed in beauty and well worth the reconstruction costs of
approximately USD 85 million. Since then the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow
has served as a preferred venue for many important events, bringing people
together to help make the Moscow miracle happen