The legendary Moscow hotel is celebrating its birthday. You are amazing"

Place Charles de Gaulle located in Moscow, in the Alekseevsky district of the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug (before).

The square is located on the territory of the Cosmos hotel complex.

Nearest metro station: VDNKh.

The square was named in 1990 in honor of Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), military and public figure, President of France in 1959-1969.

Installed on the square monument to French President Charles de Gaulle. The monument was opened on May 9, 2005, on the day of the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The 20-meter bronze monument to one of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition, the President of France, General Charles de Gaulle, was made by Z. K. Tsereteli. The opening of the monument was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Jacques Chirac. To the right of the monument there is a fountain and

sculpture of the ancient Greek goddess Kore

. The goddess steps on the warrior's shield and holds in her hands a dove and an olive branch - symbols of peace.

The sculpture was made by sculptor Stavros Georgopoulos, based on a sculpture from the 5th century BC from the Athens Archaeological Museum (commemorative plaque). On the pedestal of the statue there is a memorial plaque with the words of Herodotus "".

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Additionally

The center of Moscow is a great place for walking. There are many beautiful places and attractions here. And if this is a pedestrian street where vehicles are prohibited, then the pleasure of walking is twice as great.

This hotel, like many buildings of the late 70s of the last century, was built in the shortest possible time - the start date of the largest sports festival in the history of the country - the 1980 Summer Olympics - was approaching. The building, which looks like a horseshoe from above, is the result of the work of two architectural bureaus, Soviet and French. Moreover, to the surprise of foreign experts, the standards that the construction had to comply with turned out to be even more stringent than the European ones they were accustomed to.

Grand opening, the highlight of which was the most popular French singer in the Soviet Union at that time Joe Dassin, took place a year before the start of the Olympics in Moscow, on July 18, 1979.

The hotel was prepared to receive foreign tourists and delegations. For these purposes, 1,718 standard rooms with double beds, 53 two-room and even 6 three-room rooms were equipped with the latest technology and fashion. Today, the number of rooms has been slightly reduced due to the conversion of standard rooms into junior suites and suites, as well as the creation of apartments and grand deluxe rooms.

In one of the rooms of the Cosmos Hotel, 1980. Photo: RIA Novosti / E. Ryabov

Out of spite for records

After the closure of several of Moscow's largest hotels, which were soon demolished and ceased to exist, the Cosmos Hotel was included in the Russian Book of Records as the largest hotel with a fund of more than 1,800 rooms.

And in 2004, during the season of its 25th anniversary, the hotel also became the most visited in the history of the country. Englishwoman Michelle Collins, who settled in the Cosmos, was congratulated on becoming the seven millionth visitor to the hotel during its entire existence. Among the visitors are dozens of movie and show business stars, athletes, and politicians.

Monument to Charles de Gaulle on the square named after him in front of the Cosmos Hotel. Photo: RIA Novosti

By the way, this hotel is connected with France not only by Joe Dassin, who performed his hits at the opening of Cosmos, and by the architects who worked on its creation. In the hotel courtyard there is a monument to the legendary French general from World War II Charles de Gaulle. By the way, it was opened in 2005 by the current presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin And Jacques Chirac.

Throughout its existence, the Cosmos Hotel has consistently been at the center of events, starting with the 1980 Olympics, when the hotel housed a press center. After that, participants of various exhibitions held at VDNKh and later at the All-Russian Exhibition Center regularly stayed here. Major international events were also organized here, such as the International Congress of Cosmonauts and Astronauts in 1984, the International Festival of Youth and Students in 1985, and the International Chess Olympiad in 1995. And in 1996, “Cosmos” again became the center of journalism - the press center of the Goodwill Games was located here. Such cult TV shows as “Song of the Year” and “Morning Star” were held on the hotel premises.

Moscow, pl. Charles de Gaulle, metro: "VDNKh".

On May 9, 2005, on the day of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, a monument to French President Charles de Gaulle was unveiled in front of the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow. The authors of the monument are sculptor Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli and architect A.V. Kuzmin.

The eight-meter sculpture of Charles de Gaulle is elevated on a majestic classic ten-meter pedestal made of polished granite.

The image of Charles de Gaulle is conveyed to Tsereteli as he saw him in person in the early 1960s during the general’s tenure as President of France. Then de Gaulle often wore a military uniform and a general's cap with one star, especially during the difficult era of the Algerian War for France. This emphasized his heroic role as one of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition during the Second World War. This is exactly how the artist remembered him, strict, restrained, and military-fit, and this is how he is depicted in the sculpture.

The opening ceremony of the monument was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Jacques Chirac.

The opening ceremony of the monument was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, Minister of Culture and Mass Communications Alexander Sokolov, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, as well as the author of the monument, President of the Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli.

The inscription on the pedestal reads:
"General
Charles de Gaulle
President of the French Republic."

31.12.2018
2018, the year of the yellow dog, ends and 2019, the year of the yellow pig, begins. A playful and cheerful dog hands over the reins to a well-fed and calm pig.

31.12.2017
Dear friends, on the last day of the 2017 year of the fiery rooster, we want to congratulate you on the advent of the New Year 2018, the year of the yellow dog.

31.12.2016
In the coming new year 2017, we wish the fiery rooster to bring you good luck, happiness and bright and positive impressions during your travels.

31.12.2015
On the last day of the passing year, we would like to congratulate you on the advent of 2016, the year of the energetic and cheerful monkey.

16.10.2015
On October 16, 2015, a monument to People's Artist of the Soviet Union Yevgeny Leonov was stolen.

A country: Russia

City: Moscow

Nearest metro: VDNH

Was passed: 2005

Sculptor: Zurab Tsereteli

Architect: Alexander Kuzmin

Description

The monument to French President Charles De Gaulle represents an eight-meter tall figure of the president in full dress uniform, standing in full alignment. The figure of Charles De Gaulle is installed on a ten-meter granite pedestal with an inscription in Russian and French. “General Charles De Gaulle President of the French Republic”, “General Charles De Gaulle Le President de la Republique Francaise”.

History of creation

The monument to the French President was erected on the day of celebration of the 60th anniversary of victory in the Second World War on May 9, 2005. The monument was erected on Charles De Gaulle Square in front of the Cosmos Hotel, which was named in his honor in 1990. The grand opening of the monument was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Jacques Chirac.

How to get there

Arrive at the VDNKh metro station (the first car from the center) and get off at the All-Russian Exhibition Center. On the street, immediately at the metro, turn right and through the underground passage, cross Mira Avenue and go to the Cosmos st. Mira Avenue, 150. Where, in front of the hotel entrance on Charles De Gaulle Square, you will find a monument to the French President.

May 9, 2005. The location for the installation was not chosen by chance: in 1990, the square in front of the hotel received the name of Charles de Gaulle, and 15 years later they decided to immortalize him with a monument.

Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle(1890-1970) - French military leader and statesman, general, symbol of the French Resistance during the Second World War, as well as the founder and first president of the Fifth Republic (President of France). Despite his personal hostility to communism, de Gaulle established close relations with the Soviet Union and concluded a number of important agreements, including cooperation in science and space exploration, which made the USSR and France strategic allies.

The monument is made with a portrait likeness and depicts the French leader in a somewhat constrained, but strictly military pose: slightly hunched over, he simply stands straight with his arms down. The sharp shoulders are slightly upturned, and deep sadness seems to be frozen on the face; Squinting slightly, the bronze de Gaulle looks off into the distance. The general is dressed in a characteristic military uniform: a jacket, a sword belt on his belt, and an army cap with two general stars on his head. A small badge with a cross on the tunic attracts attention - this is the Cross of Lorraine, a symbol of the “Gaullist” branch of the Resistance movement. The figure is placed on a high cylindrical pedestal, on which the name and title are engraved in Russian and French: “General Charles de Gaulle. President of the French Republic.”

The height of the monument is 18 meters (8 meters - sculpture, 10 - pedestal).

History of the monument and criticism

The idea to perpetuate the memory of Charles de Gaulle in Moscow toponymy arose in 1990, when, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the general’s birth, a small square in front of the Cosmos Hotel was named after him. Then Charles de Gaulle Square appeared in Moscow, but there were no plans to install a monument on it yet.

The idea of ​​installing the monument came to us in 2002, when sculptor Zurab Tsereteli presented 3 options to the city authorities, of which one was subsequently selected and went into work. Initially, the city media said that the monument would be small, about 6 meters, of which 3.5-4 meters was the figure itself, and the rest of the height would be on the pedestal, but in the end it turned out to be 18 meters. The grand opening of the monument to Charles de Gaulle on the square of the same name took place on May 9, 2005 with the participation of the Presidents of Russia and France Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac, who arrived here after the Victory Parade. French World War II veterans and a large number of press were also invited to the opening ceremony.

Muscovites reacted ambiguously to the opening of the new monument: many townspeople thought the too large size and location of its installation were inappropriate; people compared it with the brave soldier Schweik and laughed at the general’s tortured pose, as if he had been told “Attention!” and “At ease!” They didn’t give orders.

But most of all, the townspeople were amused by the similarity of the monument to the French comedian Louis de Funes in the image of the gendarme Cruchot, whose role he played in a series of famous films, therefore in ironic folk place names he became famous as a monument to Louis de Funès.

Monument to Charles de Gaulle located on the square of the same name in front of the Cosmos Hotel (150 Mira Avenue). You can get to it on foot from the metro station "VDNH" Kaluga-Rizhskaya line.