Barnaul Planetarium (Cultural and Educational Center)

The Barnaul Planetarium is one of the oldest planetariums in Russia. It is currently located in the building of the former "Rodina" cinema at 19 Lenina Ave. Before that, it was located in the Oktyabrsky district of the city in the center of Barnaul's Izumrudny Park, in the building of the former Holy Cross Church. In 2019, the church building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

History

The building that now houses the planetarium was originally the Holy Cross Church at the cemetery of the same name (the full name of the church is "In the Name of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-Giving Cross of the Lord"). In January 1902, the Barnaul City Duma decided to build a stone Orthodox church on the Moscow (Gonbinsky) tract and appointed the first-guild merchant V.D. Sukhov, a former city head, as the trustee of the construction. The construction was carried out with donations from citizens according to a project by architect Bodunov. The church was consecrated in 1909, and V.D. Sukhov accepted the duties of church warden at the Duma's suggestion. In 1920, the Holy Cross Church was turned into a parish church.

In 1932, by the decision of the West Siberian Regional Executive Committee, the church was closed, and the building was handed over to the district library as a reading room. At the same time, a decision was made to close the cemetery and turn the territory into a park of culture and recreation named after the Udarniks (shock workers). The original interior was lost, and a window opening on the western facade was bricked up. In 1950, the head and drum of the church dome were dismantled. In the same year, on March 11, a planetarium was opened in the former church building. In 1960, another reconstruction of the interiors took place, and an extension with a decorative colonnade was built on the southern facade.

After the collapse of the USSR, in the 1990s–2000s, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church repeatedly stated that the former church building should be transferred to the Barnaul Eparchy. In 2011, the administration of Altai Krai announced plans to build a new planetarium, which was to be located in the Park of Culture and Recreation of the Central District.

Modern State

In October 2018, the director of the planetarium and his deputy received suspended sentences for copyright infringement in the demonstration of full-dome films, and in December 2018, the procedure for transferring the building to the Russian Orthodox Church began, which was completed in the spring of 2019. After the official transfer of the building to the ownership of the Holy Cross Church parish of the Barnaul Eparchy, the planetarium was given the opportunity to use the church building free of charge for another two years while a suitable site was being sought for it. Of the possible options, the choice fell on the "Rodina" cinema, which temporarily housed the "Skazka" puppet theater. Currently, the Barnaul Planetarium is located in the building of the former "Rodina" cinema at 19 Lenina Ave. The premises are fully equipped for the new planetarium.