Sobyanin announced the return of the cast-iron lions to Kuzminki

Restorers will soon move on to the final stage of restoring the famous cast-iron lions from the Kuzminki estate in Moscow. This was announced by the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin.

According to him, 14 sculptures were previously brought to the workshops for restoration. "First, the long-term paint deposits and traces of corrosion were removed. Then the cracks and metal defects were repaired," the mayor wrote on his Telegram channel. "Special attention was paid to the restoration of lost and deformed fragments."

Soon, restorers will move on to priming and painting the sculptures, and "this year the lions should return to their places," Sobyanin said.

Some of the restored figures are almost 200 years old. The sculptures were created based on drawings by architect Domenico Gilardi in the workshop of Santino Campioni. The mane of the animals is covered with an Egyptian headscarf, as in the sculptures found during excavations in Egypt.

The lion sculptures have become a symbol of Kuzminok, where large-scale restoration work is currently underway. The estate is the largest in Moscow in terms of the number of cultural heritage sites.

In May, Sergei Sobyanin announced that since the beginning of this year alone, over 500 permits have been issued in Moscow to preserve cultural heritage sites. According to him, the facades of the N.A. Durasov Palace, which is the decoration of the Lublino estate, are currently being put in order. Many of the works there have already been completed.

Emergency work is also underway in the building of the Pravda newspaper plant, one of the most significant monuments of constructivism by architect Panteleimon Golosov. Restoration work has also begun on the wooden gallery of the main house of the Narrow estate (Streshnevyh — Golitsyn).