Café Galaktika — a former public dining establishment in the Avtozavodsky Park of Culture and Recreation in Nizhny Novgorod, built at the turn of the 1980s–1990s in the shape of a flying saucer. In the early 2000s the café was still receiving visitors, after which it was abandoned. By 2026 the building had fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair and was included in a demolition plan as part of a large-scale renovation of the park.[2][3]

History

The building was erected on the site of a wooden dance floor destroyed by fire, where discotheques had previously been held.[2][3] According to residents' recollections, construction dates to the turn of the 1980s–1990s; in the early 2000s the café was still operating.[3] The structure's unusual silhouette — a rounded form resembling a flying saucer, executed in a modernist style — earned the building two popular nicknames: "the plate" and "the puck."[2]

Fate of the Building

After closing, the building stood abandoned for more than 15 years and was declared structurally unsafe.[2] In 2023, when preparations for a concept plan for the renovation of Avtozavodskiy Park began and the concept was being discussed with residents, a variant involving the restoration of the café and its return to operation was under consideration; changes to the building's exterior were also planned. In December 2023, the concept was presented to residents at a presentation held at the GAZ Palace of Culture, with the participation of district leadership and representatives of the Gorky Automobile Plant; at that time the project envisaged the reconstruction of Café Galaktika and its return to operation, as well as the restoration of the burned-down Rodina cinema in its original wooden appearance.[3][1][2] However, the current project by Nizhegorodgrazhdanproekt" calls for the structure's demolition. Construction of a new non-stationary public catering pavilion is permitted on the site; no specific timeline had been set at the time the project was published.[1][3]

Renovation of Avtozavodskiy Park

Avtozavodskiy Park, in which the building is located, was established in the 1930s. The park is a cultural heritage site of the Nizhny Novgorod Region — a monument of landscape architecture of regional significance; its main area covers 50 hectares, only two hectares less than Shveytsariya Park, yet no comprehensive renovation has ever been carried out during the park's entire existence.[5][3] The design and cost documentation for its comprehensive renovation was developed by MBI "Nizhegorodgrazhdanproekt." According to the project, the park is to gain new recreation spaces around the central fountain, a bandshell stage, an amphitheater, a children's center, and a youth area.[2] The total cost of the project was preliminarily estimated at 4 billion rubles as of the end of 2025; the source and mechanism of funding had not yet been determined at that point.[1][3] Shalabayev Yuri described the upcoming work as potentially more ambitious in scale than the reconstruction of Shveytsariya Park.[1]

Sources

  1. GIPERNN — The "cosmic" flying-saucer café is to be demolished in Avtozavodskiy Park (archive)
  2. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The "flying saucer" is to be demolished during the renovation of Avtozavodskiy Park (archive)
  3. Kommersant (Volga Region) — The Rodina cinema and Café Galaktika are to be restored in Avtozavodskiy Park — In December 2023, the concept for the renovation of Avtozavodskiy Park was presented to residents at… (archive)
  4. Newsroom24 — Flying-saucer café to be demolished in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  5. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — A pond instead of a "dry" lake, a food court, and a new Ferris wheel. What Avtozavodskiy Park will look like after renovation — Avtozavodskiy Park was created in 1935 and is a heritage site…
  6. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The water intake station building at Strelka was connected to the grid ahead of the café's opening (archive)