The mansion of F.O. Shechtel

At the end of the 19th century, the Shekhtel family acquired a plot in Ermolaevsky Lane. Fyodor Shekhtel built a mansion on this site with the help of architect Vladimir Adamovich. In letters to his friend, the owner of the house wrote that his building was mistaken for a church or a synagogue. After the October Revolution, the mansion was occupied by various organizations. In 1944, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs was located here. According to the researchers, the Schechtele house is smoothly transitioning from neo-Gothic to modern. Medieval stone towers are made without rich decoration. The mansion is surrounded by a stepped fence with a wrought-iron fence. The building's corner towers are lined with rectangular tiles. One tower is built in the form of a hexagon. It is equipped with an observation deck. The main entrance is framed by a tent dome. The portal is decorated with mosaics based on sketches by Fyodor Shekhtel. It shows the initials of the architect, the date of construction of the flowering irises.