KAZAN, Republic of Tatarstan, August 12 /TASS/. The house of Karl Fuks, the rector of the Imperial University in Kazan, where many famous people used to stay in the 19th century, has been put up for sale at 120 million rubles (about $1.8 million), Sergey Valeyev, the house’s co-owner, told TASS on Tuesday.
Valeyev explained the decision by purely economic reasons.
"It is rather expensive to maintain and guard this historical object," he said refusing to name the exact sum.
The House of Professor Karl Fuks is an object of cultural heritage of the Republic of Tatarstan. Well-known Russian reformer Mikhail Speransky visited it in 1821; German scientist and traveler Alexander von Humboldt, who was a foreign honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, stayed there in 1829 while Russian 19-th century poet Alexander Pushkin stopped at the place in 1833 when he arrived in Kazan to gather materials for his book "The History of Pugachev" in which he wrote about the 18th century rebellion against Empress Catherine the Great led by Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev.
The future owner of the House of Professor Karl Fuks located in the centre of Kazan will get a renovated building with the original basement, the arch and other elements.
"It is not a modern replica. We presented it to the commission of the Culture Ministry of Tatarstan in 2013. We had taken account of all their requirements," Valeyev went on to say.
The House of Professor Karl Fuks used to be a municipal property. It was included in restoration programmes many times but the restoration works did not take place for lack of funds. The object had been offered for sale several times before restoration worker Sergey Valeyev and his companion Alexander Ryazantsev, who plays for the Rubin football club, bought the dilapidated building in 2013.
"It may be possible to lease this house but naturally we are not going to lease it to any meat pastry owners," Valeyev explained.