Kostanay Clock Tower: How ordinary building turned into popular tourist attraction
The Kostanay Clock Tower called by local residents as “Big Ben” is one of the architectural monuments attracting tourists’ attention, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The building became the city’s recognizable symbol, featured on various tourist souvenirs such as magnets, cups, and other items.
This interesting building was not planned as an architectural monument, but its beauty and uniqueness did the opposite - now to be photographed against the background of the “Big Ben” means that the person visited Kostanay.
The construction of the building was justified by the need to close the space between residential buildings. And the tower fulfilled its mission. It has been decorating this place since 1980. The building is located at the intersection of Baitursynov Street and Al-Farabi Avenue, in the very center of the city.
“Upon my graduation from the institute in 1978, the tower had not yet been constructed. It appeared much later. The architect Iosif Iskakov was the author of the project. The building was constructed in accordance with his design, with a strict adherence to the rule of golden ratio,” Evdokia Suryadnova, a specialist of the Kostanay Museum of Local History, says.
Iosif Iskakov also authored construction of several notable buildings in Kostanay, including the regional akimat, the post office complex, and the first 9-story residential buildings.
Throughout its existence, the Clock Tower has changed its colour for several times. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2023 with more than 170 million tenge spent on it.
