Chekhov Gymnasium

The Chekhov Gymnasium in Taganrog on Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya 9 (formerly Gymnasicheskaya Street) is the oldest gymnasium in the South of Russia. Playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov spent 11 years in the school, which was later named after him and transformed into a literary museum. Visitors can see Anton's desk and his classroom, the assembly hall and even the punishment cell which he sometimes visited.History of the schoolThe Boys Gymnasium was founded in 1809 and this building was completed in 1843 by the plans of the Italian architect Francesco Boffo. Students of the Boys Gymnasium benefited from various grants, most of them being introduced by the Greek-Russian merchant and benefactor Ioannis Varvakis (1745 - 1825). In mid-1870s a school church was made in the same building, and the cross may be seen on some old postcards.After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the following Civil War, the building housed a cavalry school (6th Cavalry College), frequently visited by Semyon Budyonny, Klim Voroshilov and Efim Shadenko.During the Occupation of Taganrog in 1941-1943 used by the Germans as Sicherheitsdienst headquarters.