Construction site of cement workers before the war
DK was built in monolithic reinforced concrete and refers to the architectural direction of constructivism. The object itself was supposed to be made not just a theater stage, but a real center of gravity for the cultural life of the cement industry workers in Novorossiysk. Thus, the construction went on in two stages. The theater part was already ready in the summer of 1941, and in the second stage they planned to place a lecture hall, rooms for organizing various circles and even a gym. But this was not destined to be realized.
According to various sources, the theatrical part of the Palace of cement workers planned to open on Sunday 22 June 1941 of the year. But the day that in history the city was supposed to enter as a celebration of culture and art, entered the history of the Fatherland as the day of the beginning of the great war.
After the protracted bombing of the city and the port infrastructure, the war, in the face of the Wehrmacht, and not just the Luftwaffe, entered Novorossiysk in September 1942 of the year. DK cementnikom soon turned out to be the scene of the most brutal battles, the front line often passed right through the building itself, which passed from hand to hand. During the year of the fighting, a very modern building by the standards of those years was almost completely destroyed.
In 50-s, it was decided not to restore the Palace of Culture, but also not to demolish it, but to make it a monument that by its existence would most vividly describe the hell of steel and fire that came to our homeland in the Great Patriotic War.
However, sadly, what the Nazis and their European allies did not, time and illiterate vandals, which include lovers of autographs over the bottles of alcohol drunk before, did.
For example, last year a monument to the resilience and courage of our ancestors was defiled by paint by some fans of the swastika. Also on the territory of the monument you can regularly find beer and vodka bottles, syringes and used condoms. Illiterate lumpen, whose manners can only be called swine, are not afraid of even the extremely dilapidated state of the monument. But in 2004, a tragedy has already occurred on the territory of the Palace of Culture - a child died.
In this case, the building is actively involved in the life of the city. Rituals of memory and meetings of veterans are regularly held there, which are dated to be significant for our country and for Novorossiysk dates - June 22, September 16 (City Liberation Day), February 4 (the beginning of the Land Force Landing), etc. The very same monument by presidential decree in 1995, received federal status.
Oddly enough, it is this high status that can play a very ambiguous role in the fate of the monument. Local media regularly report on the condition of the facility. For example, more than 10 years ago, an engineering survey pointed out the critical state of a monument. Due to the wind load, and the recreation center stands at the foot of the mountain range, on top of which the very “boron” is born, the effects of the marine environment and temperature drops invariable reinforced concrete slabs fly down along with columns, beams and ceilings. However, the federal status of the facility does not allow local authorities to independently decide on any actions in the emergency territory.
The last cry for help was an appeal to a member of the Federation Council from the Krasnodar Territory, Vladimir Beketov, in the hope of helping to advance the issue with the restoration of a historically significant monument not only for Novorossiysk, but for all Russians. The question is so acute that usually officials who do not particularly value responsibility take the initiative to convert the monument into municipal property. The piquancy of this tragic situation gives the fact that the municipal authorities, as I wrote in one of the previous materials, planned to buy a sundial at the price of 10,5 million rubles, which should be a “new landmark”.
However, I don’t want to be unfounded, so I suggest that the reader, with his own eyes, assess the condition of the cement-culture centers.
Here is the facade of the building. Pay attention to the upper part of the facade, it has long collapsed and the shells of the Great Patriotic War have nothing to do with it - time is inexorable. Also from this point you can see the riot of self-provided greens.
The columns seem to hold on to honest words.
The wounded body of the DC allows us to imagine the density of the fire that had passed the storm over this building in 1942-43.
Carefully pass inside, desperately peering into the reinforced concrete floors overhead. They look very dilapidated, and a persistent feeling is created that if you step under them, they will fall on your head.
Everywhere overhead hanging fittings. As soon as I tried to climb higher, the old staircase "sighed" slightly and spoke with the rustle of crumbling concrete crumb. Therefore, I reasonably left the "talkative" alone.
In the very center of the DC, not some lilac or wild rose bushes grow, but real trees themselves. I had to literally wade through the whole thickets, behind which the stage and theater hall were already lost. And some plants even began to “capture” the upper floors. How “positively” the roots of the plants act on the body of an already fairly shabby building can be represented quite clearly.
Still, there is hope that the building can be saved. Just not to be late. But it is sad not only that the DC was brought to such a form, but also from the behavior of our compatriots. And I mean not only vandals, but also citizens of another kind. I mean those who are periodically outraged by the very existence of such memorable complexes. After all, these monuments require a person to behave not like in a doorway or tavern, but somewhat more restrained, educated with a certain amount of self-control. Some even indulge in philosophizing, saying that the ancestors did not fight for it, so that we would turn everything into monuments. And someone with characteristic servility nods toward the West. True, they somehow forget that, for example, in France, the ruins of the whole city of Oradour-sur-Glane were left for the edification of posterity. There are regularly guided tours for young people, and the town will not occur to anyone to demolish. In Spain, there is also a whole city-museum of the civil war - Belchite. Something like that…