The Seven Sisters of Moscow
Built on the demands of the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the seven towering skyscrapers, better known outside of Russia as The Seven Sisters of Moscow, continue to define Moscow’s skyline.
They were built from 1947 to 1953, in an elaborate combination of Russian Baroque and Gothic styles. At the time of construction they were the tallest buildings in Europe, and Main building of Moscow State University remained the tallest building in Europe until 1997.
The concept entailed building 8 skyscrapers in honor of Moscow’s 800th anniversary, but that did not occur because Stalin passed away. The finishing touch was supposed to be a building for the Heavy Machine-Building Industry near the Kremlin. But it was never built.
The seven sisters are similar in appearance but are also designated for different purposes: 2 ministries (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Administrative Building); 2 residential buildings (skyscrapers in Kudrinskaya Square and Kotelnicheskaya Embankment); Moscow State University’s main building; 2 hotels (Ukraina and Leningradskaya).
Taking the metro to admire the Seven Sisters
Moscow State University (Universitet Metro station, red line 1), Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel (Komsomolskaya Metro station, red line 1), Radisson Royal Hotel Ukraina (Kievskaya Metro station, dark/light blue lines 3/4 or circular brown line 5), Kotelnicheskaya Embankment (Kitay Gorod Metro station, orange line 6), Skyscraper in Kudrinskaya Square (Barrikadnaya Metro station, purple line 7), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Smolenskaya Metro station, dark blue line 3), Krasnye Vorota Administrative Building (Krasnye Vorota Metro station, red line 1).
- The Seven Sisters of Moscow
