The Almaty Pioneers Palace (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Алматинский дворец школьников, '' tr. almatinskii dvorets shkolnikov'') is a

Pioneers Palace Young Pioneer Palaces or Palaces of Young Pioneers and Schoolchildren were youth centers designated for the creative work, sport training and extracurricular activities of Young Pioneers and other schoolchildren. Young Pioneer Palaces originat ...

, an institution from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

to provide after-school education for children, built in Almaty in 1983.

History

In 1978 the first secretary of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Kazakhstan The Communist Party of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Коммунистік партиясы, ''Qazaqstan Kommunistık Partiasy'', QKP; russian: Коммунистическая партия Казахстана) is a banned political pa ...

Dinmukhamed Kunaev Dinmukhamed Akhmetuly "Dimash" Kunaev (also spelled Kunayev; kk, Дінмұхаммед (Димаш) Ахметұлы Қонаев, Dınmūhammed (Dimaş) Ahmetūly Qonaev, russian: Динмухаме́д Ахме́дович (Минлиахме ...

decided to build the palace. Construction began in 1979 and finished in 1983. The team of architects included , A. P. Zuev, T. S. Abildaev and others. The team of architects was awarded a diploma of the Supreme Soviet of the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

. In 2014, the Pioneers Palace was closed for major reconstruction, the first one in the building's 30-year history. At that time, there were about 80 sports, science and technology, arts and crafts groups. All groups and sections were temporarily transferred to other educational institutions in the city. The reconstruction was finished in 2015.

Architecture

The architectural and planning composition of the four-storey building is in the form of a spiral with pavilion volumes strung on its axis. The main entrance is accented by a grand staircase. The center of the composition is the Celebration hall topped with a dome, to which all groups of rooms of the palace adjoin. Diameter of the dome is 21 meters and its height is 19 meters. The decoration of the Celebration hall is a chandelier, which holds 288 lamps, weighing 3.5 tons, and its diameter is 7 meters. To the left of the dome is a 40-meter observatory tower. Korday and Balkhash granite, shell rock of Mangystau, wood and metal were used in construction. Spacious avenues and squares in front of the building allow for open air mass events. The building is designed for 2,200 schoolchildren. There is an auditorium with 800 seats, rooms for various hobby groups, gyms, a swimming pool and others. It consists of 12 pavilions, with a usable area of over 35,000 square meters.

Heritage status

Since 26 January 1984, the Pioneers Palace has been included in the state list of historical and cultural monuments of local importance in Almaty. Near the Pioneers Palace there is a protective zone, a zone of regulation of development and a zone of protected natural landscape of the objects of historical and cultural heritage.

References

{{coord, 43, 14, 16, N, 76, 57, 33, E, region:KZ-ALA_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 1983 establishments in Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic School buildings completed in 1983 Education in Almaty Buildings and structures in Almaty