Unique Manezh irreparable?

According to famous architect Sergei Petrov, it is practically impossible to retrieve the original image of the famous Manezh, one of Moscow's architectural symbols designed by Osip Bove.

The expert warns that nowadays this unique building, built in 1817, cannot be restored because the 19th-century materials and its original structures cannot be reproduced.

He did not rule out that the unique architectural monument of global importance and the doubtless masterpiece had been lost for good. He explained his pessimism by the fact that today it is practically impossible to use the old technologies and the same kind of wood that were used in the 19th century to make the beams of the building.

The architect described the Manezh building as an unrivaled rarity of the world. Its structure is unique: wooden beams spanned as much as 45 meters with no medium poles whatsoever. "No other building in Europe has such a colossal wooden structure," stressed the architect. Manezh can be rightfully considered an architectural miracle, he added.

It has been there for nearly 190 years, requiring no reconstruction at all. Manezh was the symbol of Russia's military glory. It was built for the 5th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon, and was the main in a series of monuments commemorating the war of 1812. At the same time, it was an architectural construction of genius, the result of the brilliant skills of Russian military engineers.