History

The Maidens Hotel building is a landmark in itself. In the late 1920s, plans were set in motion to build a network of telephone exchanges across Moscow, aiming for one in every neighborhood. At the time, architecture was shaped by constructivist notions: function was key, not be obscured by ornamental excess. The very first automatic telephone exchanges in Arbat, Baumanskaya and Bolshaya Ordynka Streets truly matched the trend.
However, when it came to the construction of the telephone exchange in Zubovskaya Square, meant to service Frunzensky District, the focus shifted to re-examining classical architectural heritage. The projects in progress began gaining more embellishments: pillars, arches, pediments, sculptures and other additions. By the mid-1930s, a new style emerged, which would later be called post-constructivism or Soviet Art Deco.
Kasyan Solomonov, a staff architect at the People's Commissariat for Communications, designed a complex of three buildings for the Frunzensky District telephone exchange. The main 7-storey building is a massive structure with a solemn facade and large glass bay windows on the ground floor: post-constructivism at its finest. This was the largest telephone exchange built in Moscow in the pre-war period. As early as 1934, it was designated as the Central Long-Distance Telephone Exchange, allowing subscribers to make long-distance and international calls from work phones, home lines and intercom stations.
In 1957, the station hosted the headquarters of the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students. It was no longer a mere telephone exchange, but a symbol: a place that helped Moscow remain a modern capital, connected to the rest of the world.
Around and About:
Located in one of Moscow's most prestigious and green areas, Maidens Hotel is within walking distance of the capital's iconic landmarks: the majestic Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the atmospheric Patriarch's Ponds, the famous Gorky Park and the spacious Prechistenskaya Embankment, which leads to the Red Square and the Kremlin museums, Zaryadye Park and the Luzhniki Olympic Complex.
Within walking distance, visitors will find the legendary museums and galleries: the Moscow Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the State Tretyakov Gallery, Burganov's House Museum, Herzen House Museum, the Multimedia Art Museum (MAMM), the Museon Art Park, the Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery and so many more.
The well-known Chaika swimming pool is also located nearby. Moskva River cruises departing from the Krymsky Bridge Pier offer inspiring views of the capital from the water.
Name:
The hotel's name, Maidens, refers to its geographical location near Devichye Pole (Maidens' Field). This is a historical area in the bend of the Moskva River between the Garden Ring and the Novodevichy Convent. The land was granted to the Convent in 1685 by Tsarevna Sophia and is supposedly named after it. According to a different version, this is where young women would be brought for the Golden Horde to "collect" as tribute.
Either way, the image of these maidens, with beautiful, pure souls and noble thoughts, was incorporated into the hotel's art concept, as each of the suites is dedicated to a remarkable Russian female artist, an Amazonian warrior of the avant-garde: Varvara Stepanova, Lyubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Alexandra Exter, Nadezhda Udaltsova and Natalia Goncharova.
Avant-Garde Library:
The hotel's library, which is one of its main points of attraction, continues the art theme with its extensive collection of books on constructivism and avant-garde. The library's collection echoes all facets of the surrounding spaces: even the colour palette of the book covers has the same aesthetic as the interiors. Among others, the collection features works by and about Wassily Kandinsky, Velimir Khlebnikov, Alexander Rodchenko, John Bowlt, Camilla Gray, Olga Sviblova and Ekaterina Degot.
Art Collection:
The hotel's multi-layered image is emphasized and enhanced by its art collection found in the lobby. Here, the source of inspiration is no longer avant-garde art, but rather the name itself: Maidens. The central image is a mysterious female traveller that decided to stay at the hotel and forever become its invisible guardian.