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Monday, 23.07.2007
GUM – Russia’s largest department store
At the end of the 19th century, Tsar Nicholas II ordered a representative building to be built on Red Square to house a department store for merchants’ wares. Right from its opening in 1893 onwards, it was regarded as an architectural marvel that captured the spirit of Russia’s rise.
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During Communism, GUM was the Soviet Union’s largest department store. Today, it displays international haute couture and is owned by an international holding firm.
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The second half of the 19th century saw the complete overhaul and modernisation of Moscow. The city started to catch up with metropolises such as Paris, Brussels and New York. This was the context for the demolition of the old, decaying trade arcades at Red Square. Following the results of an architectural contest, Nicholas II awarded the Petersburg architect A.N. Pomerentsev the commission to build GUM.
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| View from Red Square (photo: Schütt/.rufo) |
The building was completed in 1893 after three years of building. The celebrated construction was immediately feted as representing the rise of commercial Russia. The expanse and lightness provided by the roof of glass and steel was the source of much of its architectural renown.
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Pomarentsev imitated the traditional Russian trading arcades. The building was designed to similarly house rows of individual stores. GUM comprises three such rows, each of which stretches over three stories. This exact proportionality was not left to chance.
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Pomarantsev adopted style elements of the Italian renaissance and fused these with Russian motifs. Arches call to mind Roman palaces, elegant bridges communicate between buildings and evoke strolls through Venice. GUM stood unchanged until 1950, when the Soviet rulers turned it into a state institution. In 1953, its restoration was declared top priority and experts from all over the USSR were flown in to work on it. Work was completed in the same year, and the department store reopened. Right up to the collapse of the UUSR it presented the cream of Soviet consumer goods and was the shop window of the USSR.
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New era, new name
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| Coordinates |
Red Square
Metro: Teatralnaya, Okhotny Ryad, Ploshchad Revolutsii
Opening hours: daily 10am-10pm
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The privatisation wave of the 1990s did not pass GUM by. The name GUM remained the same. But the ‘G’ now stands for Central, instead of State. But it continues to be truly universal.
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Today, it is run by Bosco di Ciliegi. Behind this Italian label hides the Russian fashion outlet operator Mikhail Kusnirovitch. In contrast to the owner, however, the stores are truly international.
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Today you can find all imaginable international labels in the GUM boutiques. The shop signs read like a Who’s Who of the fashion industry. GUM also contains Russian furs and jewellers. Sport articles and consumer electronics round off the selection. Cafés and restaurants provide refreshment and a welcome seat among the arcades, while art exhibitions add a touch of culture.
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(khs/.rufo).
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