Mansion of Akhmetov, Merchant mansion on Kirovka pedestrian street, Chelyabinsk, Russia
The Mansion of Akhmetov, also known as the Galeev House, is a two-story building at Kirovka 147 (109 Karl Marx Street) in Chelyabinsk. Its first floor is brick and once held the owner's shops; the second floor is wooden, carved in the traditional Russian style, and held living rooms. A 23-story Chelyabinsk-City tower stands next door.
The mansion was built in 1878 during a period when Chelyabinsk was undergoing rapid industrial growth. Its construction reflects the era when successful merchants invested in grand private residences to display their status and wealth.
The ground floor housed the owner's shops selling haberdashery, household chemicals, tea, coffee and sugar, while the wooden upper floor held living rooms decorated with carved work in the traditional Russian style. In Soviet times shops such as "Ural" occupied the ground floor; today a bar stands there and a bank branch occupies the upper floor.
The mansion stands at Kirovka 147, the pedestrian stretch of K. Marx Street, next to the 23-story Chelyabinsk-City tower. Approach on foot along the walkway; the carved wooden upper floor and brick ground floor are best compared from the opposite side of the street. A bar occupies the ground floor and a Chelyabinvestbank branch the second, so the interior is not open as a museum.
The building's north facade carries an information board naming the merchant Uldan Akhmetovich Akhmetov as builder and owner, yet historian Gayaz Samigulov attributes it to Zakir Galeevich Galeev, which is why it is also called Galeev House. Next door stands the 23-story Chelyabinsk-City tower.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,367 contributors worldwide.