Kurortny Prospekt (Resort Avenue)

13 points1 km1 hour

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (13)

House with Bats in Zelenogradsk

Point on route “Kurortny Prospekt (Resort Avenue)”

Point 9

House with Bats

🏟️ Architectural landmark • 📜 Historic site

Historical Background

One of the most beautiful buildings in Cranz and Zelenogradsk is this house with two symmetrical bay windows that look like little towers. According to unconfirmed reports, the apartment building belonged to two sisters named Schütz.

Architecture

This early 20th-century building is in the Art Nouveau style, which loves images of plants and animals. Look closely at the facade and you'll see bunches of grapes, chestnuts and tulips, as well as a charming owl above the main entrance and the outspread wings of bats under the second-floor windows. Another decorative element is a mascaron, a sculpted head of a fisherman wearing a cap.

Story

A directory listing the addresses of former Cranz residents shows that most people living in this house gave their occupation as “rentier.” Rentiers are people who live off income from their investments, whether money in the bank, securities, land or property that brings in rent. They could afford not to work and lived comfortably on the returns from their investments or from renting out housing. Letting rooms is also known to have been quite a profitable business for the people of Cranz.