The article is devoted to the emergence and the first stages of the formation and development of memorial and museum architecture. This theme attracts increasing attention in the context of the growing globalization, the erosion of national and state, historical and cultural characteristics and the loss of the identity of countries and regions, and the reasons for the emergence of this type of public buildings that in the previous century have become, in effect, a "secular temple". The author analyzes narrative, figurative and planning features of a number of iconic complexes that have become an important component of peoples and countries. The publication deals with architectural complexes dedicated to important historical events until the middle of the twentieth century (before World War II).

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