Moskva Pool
The Moskva Pool was, for a time, the world's largest open air swimming pool.
It was built in Moscow in 1958 on the foundation of the abandoned Palace of the Soviets, to the designs of prominent Moscow architect Dmitry Chechulin. Construction of the Palace of Soviets had begun in 1937 and was abandoned in 1941 when steel from the foundation of the building was used for war materials during World War II. The empty foundation of the Palace of the Soviets was, in 1958, made into an open-air swimming pool which existed from 1958 until 1994. The water was heated in order to extend the pool season into cooler weather. In 1995 the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was reconstructed in its place, the original church having been demolished to make way for the Palace of the Soviets.
