10 most beautiful fire station watchtowers in Russia (PHOTOS)
There are about 80 historical ‘kalancha’, the watchtowers at fire stations, scattered all over Russia. Today, most of them are no longer in use, but have become a part of the urban landscape and many of them are architectural monuments.
1. Kostroma
The fire station ‘kalancha’, with its yellow fire tower is a symbol of Kostroma and stands right on the central square of the city.
2. St. Petersburg
The fire station building with its fire tower is now the Museum of Fire Protection. Part of the permanent exhibition is dedicated to the fire brigade and firemen, who had to look in all directions and report any fires.
3. Moscow
The Sokolnicheskaya fire tower was built in the 1880s and was once the second highest observation tower in Moscow (after Sukhareva which did not survive to our days). The ‘kalancha’ operated until the 1930s.
4. Volgograd
In the center of Volgograd, you can find the building of the “first fire station of the city of Tsaritsyn” (this was the name of the city before the revolution, which later became Stalingrad) and is now a 19th-century monument.
5. Balakovo
This fire tower in Saratov Region was built on the eve of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The tower consisting of several parts is considered a real architectural landmark. Interestingly, its upper part resembles a Chinese pagoda.
6. Rybinsk
This Volga city has a reverent attitude to its history. Even the street signs in the center have been redesigned in a “retro” style (see photos here). And the ‘kalancha’ is one of the city's calling cards.
7. Uglich
A very elegant ‘kalancha’ has been preserved in the city of Uglich - and it is also wooden! The octagonal tower has an open gallery at the top and the fire station building itself is made in the Classicism style.
8. Omsk
This stone ‘kalancha’ appeared in Siberian city of Omsk to replace the dilapidated wooden one in 1915. It became the tallest construction in the city, from where it was visible “as in the palm of your hand”.
9. Kurgan
This nice wooden fire tower, built at the very end of the 19th century, was restored in 1998. And, unlike many others like it, it stands atop an active fire station.
10. Ussuriysk
In 1914, a fire station was built in this Far Eastern city. The six-story fire tower became the tallest building in the city at that time.
