The Commercial Women's College

Unknown photographer, 1900s, Published by R. Ya, Klikchy. Tver, 1910s. The Collection of RNL

Two-storeyed building of red bricks situated on the territory of the former Kremlin at the fork of two bridges over the Tmaka is known to everybody in the city. School N° 6 has been placing there for a long time, the most prestigious one in Tver, with a deep study of English, recently transformed in gymnasia.
The building has a very venerable age. On 8 September 1905 there a solemn opening of the Tver Commercial Women's College took place where a governor P. A. Sleptsov and a mayor A. F. Karpov presented. It was an institution of general education. Students got commercial education besides general. In senior classes special subjects were studied: commodity research, book keeping, law, sketching. Great attention was paid to exact sciences.
The college was created under initiative of mayor A. F. Karpov on account of bond loan of 150.000 roubles, which had been allowed for the city by the Government in 1901. In that time it was suggested to build in Palace Sq. a new house for Maryinskaya Women's Gymnasia, for which a project had been made by municipal architect A. P. Fjedorov. Building Department declined the project for it didn't correlate with educational and hygienic norms. Having been changed four years later the primary variant was used for building the Commercial Women's College.
The graduate from natural sciences department of St. Petersburg University N. O. Rose headed the college for the first ten years. Girls from all estates and of any religions could enter the college but fee was high so most of the students were from well-to-do families.
Basic principle of education and upbringing was respectful treatment of a child as a person and attention to all her needs. About 300 girls got education there in a course of 13 years of the college existence. In 1918 the Manufacture and Economic Institute was opened on the base of the college.