House on the Embankment

The House on the Embankment is a block-wide apartment building on the banks of the Moskva River on Balchug in downtown Moscow, Russia. It faces Bersenevskaya Embankment on one side and Serafimovicha Street on the other side. Until 1952, it was the tallest residential building in Moscow. It is considered an example of constructivist architecture. It is most known as the place of residence of the Soviet elite, many of whom were arrested and executed during Stalin's Great Purge. Location This residential complex of 505 apartments and 25 entrances is located on Zamoskvorechye Island, a district connected with the rest of the city by two bridges: Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge and Maly Kamenny Bridge. The ensemble covers an area of 3.3 hectares and comprises 8 buildings with a varying height of 9 to 11 floors. It overlooks Serafimovich Street and Bersenevskaya Embankment. The official address of the building is 2 Serafimovich street. Organizations located on the river side sometimes use the address 20 Bersenevskaya Embankment. History The relocation of the capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow caused an increased need to house civil servants in Moscow. In 1927, a commission decided that a building would be constructed in the Bersenevka neighborhood, opposite the Kremlin, which had been occupied by the Wine and Salt Court, an old distillery and excise warehouse. During the Tsarist era, the area had been used mainly as a mushroom market.