The Hotel «European», where Mayakovsky, Gorky, Lenin stayed

On the crossing of the Great Soviet Street (b. 16/17) and Lenin Street (b. 15) there is a house that is the subject of cultural heritage «the Hotel «European». Despite the fact that, the whole building located in two streets is under State Guard protection, the hotel «European» was only the part of a large house with a clock. At the beginning of the XX century, in the building there was not only the hotel, but also the Fraser restaurant and «Kurland shop» for men and women. But the memorable events are linked with the hotel.
Here, in December 4, 1899 stayed the writer Maxim Gorky who arrived to Smolensk. The same day in the hall of the Noble Assembly (now — the building of the Smolensk Regional Philharmonic Hall), he was reading his works «The old Isergil» and «The song about Falcon», had the meeting with workers and youth. In the city the writer stayed for 4 days and on the 8 of December he left the hospitable Smolensk.
In July 13-15, 1900 V.I. Lenin stayed in this hotel, he came to Smolensk create supporting point of the first political Marxist newspaper «Iskra». V.I. Lenin met with his student acting at the St. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class I.V. Babushkin, with exiled Marxist V.N. Rozanov, with the «legal Marxists» P.B. Struve.
In January 25, 1925 to meet with readers Vladimir Mayakovsky came to Smolensk. Having housed in the hotel «European», he went to the theater in the evening. His speech was greeted with roaring applause. At midnight he came to the provincial party club (now — the building of the Smolensk city Administration).
Today the hotel building «European» is more familiar for the citizens of Smolensk under the name «The House with the clock.» After all, even before the war time, the playground at the house has become a favorite meeting place. According to contemporaries, the clock stopped during the bombing of Smolensk in the night from 28 to 29 June 1941. About half of the year the watchmaker M. Kirienko restored it. All items he made manually. In 1949 the clock was removed from the usual place, as the building was badly damaged during the World War II. He decided not to restore and rebuild a new one. Just in a year the clock was set up on the corner of the newly built house. From the former hotel building «European» remained only a small part of the first floor overlooking the Lenin street. The main part of the building, including the one, that overlooks the Great Soviet street was rebuilt for housing and accommodation stores. All this has changed the face of the former hotel building.