Masterpieces of wooden architecture. Russian wooden architecture masterpieces. The Moscow Kremlin is an indestructible fortress
Starting a conversation about Russian wooden architecture, it is necessary, first of all, to decide on the concept of this subject. For in our time, there are many architectural styles and production technologies associated with the construction of wood. It is clear that not every wooden building in Russia can be attributed to the works of Russian wooden architecture.
If we recognize that Russian wooden architecture is a holistic cultural and historical phenomenon that embodies the tastes and views of the Russian people, then we should distinguish it and not confuse with it works that are only similar in some respects, but essentially related to others. cultural traditions and styles. For example, many mansions and palaces of the 18th and 19th centuries were built of wood, but it serves only as a building material in them, but not as a material of art. The log walls of such buildings are usually sheathed or plastered and painted, and in terms of their forms and figurative sound, these stylistic works of architecture have nothing in common with folk architecture. The works of Russian modernism should not be confused with him. And, of course, many modern wooden buildings, ridiculous and eclectic or completely devoid of architectural and artistic image, cannot be attributed to Russian wooden architecture. Although in our time there is a lot of talk about the revival of traditions, but in reality this is very rare.
What is Russian wooden architecture? What are its main features?
A distinctive feature of Russian folk wooden architecture is, first of all, the attitude to wood not only as a building material, but also as a material of art. All the natural constructive and aesthetic qualities of wood are not hidden here, but on the contrary, they are revealed and emphasized. At the same time, as a rule, structural elements and techniques are at the same time decorative. So, felling of a log house is done to increase the overhangs of the roof and protect the walls from precipitation, while emphasizing the beauty and expressiveness of the completion of the log walls; console releases of logs, bearing porches, walkways and balconies, are decorated with expressive undercuts; powerful pillars are carved; massive window and door jambs are not covered with platbands, but are themselves decoration of openings; Reliable plank roofs with helmets, streams and chickens fascinate with the unity of the original constructive solution with the beauty and expressiveness of forms. Everything that is constructive and functional is made architectural and artistic at the same time.
The variety of forms is made up of different combinations of the same, repeatedly repeated in different buildings, developed and honed over the centuries, traditional architectural and constructive techniques. The uniqueness of the whole with the repetition of details is one of the principles of traditional architecture. Many buildings are very similar, but no two are exactly the same.
An important property of traditional wooden buildings is their collapsibility and the possibility of transportation.
In the old days in Russia, everything was built from wood - temples and chapels, fortresses and palaces, houses and outbuildings, cities and villages, and all of the above determined the appearance of not only individual buildings, but also entire settlements. The picturesque silhouettes of the buildings, surprisingly in harmony with each other and the surrounding landscape, formed into wonderful architectural ensembles.
Russian wooden architecture is a folk art that has reached heights that amaze the imagination, truly fabulous, which has revealed many masterpieces of world architecture. Built in the 17th century, the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye was called by contemporaries the eighth wonder of the world, and the amazing architectural ensemble of the Kizhi churchyard annually attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Summing up what has been said, we can try to formulate the signs and characteristics of Russian wooden architecture. This is an original Russian folk architecture, which is characterized by following the tradition, the unity of the material, the attitude to the building material - wood - as the material of art, the integrity and expressiveness of forms, the fusion of utility and beauty, constructiveness and aesthetics, harmony with nature, reliability and durability, and also the possibility of dismantling and transportation of buildings.
The fate of Russian wooden architecture, like all Russian traditional culture, is complex and tragic. In ancient Russia, wooden architecture was ubiquitous, since wood was the main building material, and most men mastered carpentry to one degree or another. But wooden buildings often suffered from fires, so the most important buildings are cathedrals, and over time, fortresses were also built of stone. Gradually, the construction of stone, brick buildings became more and more accessible, and there were less and less good scaffolding. Wooden architecture gradually moved to the northern lands, which are hard to reach and rich in timber. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, Peter's reforms began in Russia, radically changing the whole way of life, customs and tastes of the upper stratum of Russian society. Russian customs were forgotten for a long time, Western European culture was planted in every possible way. In Russian wooden architecture, this was reflected in the most unfavorable way. It completely disappeared from the life of the Russian nobility, and in the peasant environment of central Russia, although it continued to live, it no longer developed, and over time it became simpler, smaller and degraded. However, in the Russian north, rich in forests, populated mainly by free peasants and artisans, wooden architecture continued to develop in the 18th century. Most of the masterpieces of wooden architecture in the Russian north were built in the 17th and 18th centuries. This is the world-famous ensemble of the Kizhi churchyard, and the Assumption Cathedral in Kem, and the Church of the Assumption in Kondopoga, and the majestic temples of Poonezhie and Dvina. But in the 19th century, new trends reached these remote lands. New temples began to be built either from brick or wooden in a new taste, far from the age-old traditions of the people. They tried to remake the ancient churches, changing both the appearance and the interior decoration in accordance with the new tastes inspired by the European architecture of the northern capital. The log walls of ancient buildings were covered with plank sheathing with painting, plank and plowshare roofs were replaced with iron ones, traditional tents on the bell towers were replaced by spiers, interiors changed beyond recognition - sheathing, painting, wallpaper, gilded iconostases and icon cases with glass, paneled doors, etc. In the language of those who created it was the merchants and clergy of that time that all these alterations were called "splendid renewal."
In the second half of the 19th century, the enlightened Russian society awakened interest in folk culture and Russian antiquities. A gradual revival of original Russian culture begins, architects and art historians begin to study Russian folk wooden architecture, travel around the Russian north, making measurements and sketches of ancient wooden buildings. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first attempts were made to restore the wooden churches of the Russian north.
In the 20-30s of the last century, temples were closed everywhere, turned into clubs, warehouses, or simply abandoned, while others were destroyed. An abandoned wooden building cannot be preserved for a long time, it requires supervision, maintenance and periodic repairs. The rotten roofs begin to leak, the lower crowns of log cabins rot, debris from bird nests accumulates under the cladding. In addition, many buildings suffer from fires. As a result, by the end of the 20th century, the vast majority of monuments of wooden architecture were lost. However, many monuments were saved, restored on the spot or transported to open-air museums of wooden architecture. Thanks to the efforts of the architects-restorers of the second half of the 20th century, of which A.V.Opolovnikov should be noted first of all, many masterpieces of wooden architecture were carefully studied, measured, and projects for their restoration were completed; many have been restored, put on record under state protection. Museums, scientific and restoration design and production workshops, institutes were created, books on wooden architecture were published.
During the period of “perestroika and reforms”, the situation in the restoration of monuments of wooden architecture deteriorated sharply. State funding has been reduced many times, the quality of restoration work has deteriorated, wrong laws and corruption actually block the development of the restoration work and contribute to the destruction of monuments that continue to perish everywhere. We risk losing our most valuable cultural heritage.
Ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost. Transfiguration and Pokrovsky churches, 18th century. Bell tower, 19th century.
View of the island of Kizhi from a bird's eye view. Zaonezhye, Medvezhyegorsk district, rep. Karelia
Church of the Transfiguration - summer
Church of the Intercession - winter
Interior of the Intercession Church
Iconostasis of the Intercession Church
Church of the Assumption in Kondopoga (1774) - swan song of Russian wooden architecture
A masterpiece of world architecture, one of the recognizable symbols of Russian culture
The church stands on the shore of the Kondopoga Bay of Lake Onega
south wall
South porch. Mighty logs!
Altar apse
Adjacency of the barrel of the apse to the eastern wall of the central quadrangle
north porch
On the north porch
Refectory interior. Powerful pillars support floor beams
Ceiling-sky in the central quadrangle
View of the temple from the village
Northern fairy tale...
Nicholas Church in the village of Lyavlya near Arkhangelsk. 16th century
Assumption Church in the village of Varzuga, Murmansk region. 17th century
Church of the Ascension from the village of Kushereka (Onega district, Arkhangelsk region). 17th century
Transported to the Museum of Wooden Architecture Malye Korely near Arkhangelsk
Church of the Epiphany in Paltoga, Vytegorsk district, Vologda region 18 century.
Crashed a few years ago...
Bell tower in the village Village of Vinogradovsky district, Arkhangelsk region
Ensemble of Verkhnemudyugsky churchyard. Burnt down in 1997
The village of Lyadiny, Kargopolsky district, Arkhangelsk region. An 18th century church is on fire. Spring 2013
Church of the Nativity in Melikhovo, Chekhov district, Moscow region 18 century. Burned down in 1996. Recreated in 1999-2000.
To be continued...
To learn more about the history of our culture, all you have to do is look around. Russian architecture with its autograph - the dome-top - will tell a thousand tales about the past of the nation.
Russian architecture with its baroque domes is distinctive and recognizable.
Numerous architecturally valuable buildings in large and small cities of Russia are monuments not only to national identity, but to the imperial spirit. The most interesting of them:
SMOLNY MONASTERY IN SAINT PETERSBURG
Smolny Cathedral, originally intended to be the central church of the monastery, is undoubtedly one of the architectural masterpieces of Russia. Designed by the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who is also the architect of the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace in Pushkin, the Grand Palace in Peterhof and many other sights of St. Petersburg.
Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo
PETERGOF PALACE
ANCIENT CITY OF KOLOMNA
Founded in 1177, this old gray provincial town as a monument of architecture is full of bright colors. Its kremlin is built of red brick, and flower arrangements enliven the main square of the city.
CITY OF VEREYA
Vereya's age is over 650 years (1371). Here is the Nativity Cathedral of the local Kremlin, which was rebuilt at the turn of the 18th century in the loft style, a neoclassical bell tower.
CHURCH OF THE SIGN OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN DUBROVITSY
Extremely valuable from an architectural point of view, the Church of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos in the small town of Dubrovitsy is little known, despite the fact that it is located not far from Moscow. Located in the Golden Ring of Russia, founded in 1690.
TRINITY CATHEDRAL IN THE CITY OF PSKOV
Trinity Cathedral was mainly built in the 17th century, it was restored after a fire.
PECHERSKY ASCENSION MONASTERY IN NOVGOROD
Pechersky Ascension Monastery, founded in the 14th century, became the spiritual and religious center of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod. Surrounded by a red brick wall in the style of a traditional Russian Kremlin.
SPASO-YAKOVLEVSKY MONASTERY IN ROSTOV
Founded in the 14th century. The last rebuilding dates back to the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century in the neo-classical style.
The Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery is the most interesting here.
Murom is one of the oldest cities in Russia (almost from the 9th century). The city is often mentioned in Russian folklore.
Holy Trinity Convent, built in the 17th century. The Kazan Church, the bell tower, the wooden church of St. Sergius, etc. are of interest here.
Church of the Ascension with miniature golden domes.
The Kizhi Pogost, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is located on the Kizhi Island in Karelia. It consists of two churches and bell towers of the 18th-19th centuries, enclosed by a reconstructed fence. According to legend, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (pictured) was built by the carpenter Nestor - without nails and with the help of one ax
Fire station in the architectural and ethnographic museum "Khokhlovka" 43 kilometers from Perm. On an area of almost 40 hectares there are 23 monuments of the 17th-20th centuries, among them - wooden buildings brought from all over the Perm Territory. For example, this depot created in the 1930s came here from the village of Skobelevka
The Big Spasskaya Tower on the territory of the Taltsy Museum, 47 kilometers south of Irkutsk. The structure was moved from the city of Ilimsk, which was flooded in 1975 during the construction of the Angarsk cascade of hydroelectric power stations. The tower is part of the reconstructed wall of the Ilimsk prison, a fortified settlement of the 17th century.
Built in 1774, the Assumption Church is a functioning Orthodox church in the city of Kondopoga in Karelia. This is one of the main monuments of Zaonezhskaya wooden architecture.
Intercession Church is located in the Nevsky forest park in the Leningrad region. The building in the form of a cross and with 25 chapters is a copy of the building of 1708
The Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pogost (Arkhangelsk region) belongs to the tiered wooden architecture: it consists of several log cabins, placed one on top of the other. This Orthodox church was built in 1722
The Small Korely Museum of Wooden Architecture and Folk Art of the North of Russia is located 25 kilometers south of Arkhangelsk. On an area of almost 140 hectares, there are about a hundred huts, barns, wells, fences and windmills. The oldest building, the bell tower, was built in the 16th century.
More than half a million exhibits are stored in the Kostroma Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. Among them are manuscripts of the 16th century, items from the times of Ancient Russia recovered from barrows, popular prints and avant-garde paintings of the last century. Also on the territory are the buildings of the Ipatiev Monastery, leading its history from 1432.
The Church of Elijah the Prophet near the village of Tsypino in the Vologda region is a tiered tower built of three octagonal elements - octagonal. Built in 1755, the temple barely survived the restoration of 2003. By that time, the top of the building had collapsed, due to which the building had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.
Built in 1653, the Old Ascension Church in Torzhok was rebuilt many times. In the 1780s, a foundation was laid under the building, and the wooden roof was replaced with an iron one. In 1828 the chapter was updated. The last time the church was reconstructed was in the 1980s.
Tiered Church of St. Nicholas built in 1757 in the Vitoslavlitsa Museum of Wooden Architecture near Novgorod. The melodious name is borrowed from the village of the 12th century, traces of which were found by archaeologists last year. On the territory of the museum there are structures collected here from all over the Novgorod region
Sretensko-Mikhailovskaya Church in the Arkhangelsk region was erected in 1655. This is one of the few octagonal hipped temples that have come down to us, the dome of which is replaced by a pyramid. The church acquired the eclectic decoration of the facade during the restoration of 1894-1895.
MONUMENTS OF WOODEN ARCHITECTURE.
Turning to the history of primordially Russian wooden housing construction, one can be convinced that the most extensive and unique reserve of folk art is the Russian North. It is in the Arkhangelsk province that you can find more wooden buildings than anywhere else in Russia. They were located on a fairly large area, so it was physically impossible to inspect all of them. That is why it was decided to transfer some of these monuments of wooden architecture to the famous architectural museum of Russia in the village of Malye Korely, which is located near Arkhangelsk.
In this museum, a successful attempt was made to recreate the residential complexes of different districts - Mezensky, Kargopol-Onega, Severo-Dvinsky and Pinezhsky. It should be said that all the buildings in the museum are grouped according to the "geographical" feature. This helped create an excellent model of the Russian North in a small area.
Not far from the village of Kizhi, there is another architectural ensemble of incredible beauty. If we talk about the Kizhi historical and cultural natural complex in terms of the concentration of architectural heritage objects, then this complex can be called unique and unparalleled throughout the European North of Russia. This is the oldest open-air museum in the Russian Federation, which attracts the attention of many domestic and foreign tourists. Along with architectural monuments that have been preserved unchanged since the time of construction or were moved from other regions and recreated already in the open spaces of the reserve, the Kizhi Museum illustrates the main aspects of the traditional culture for the indigenous population of Karelia (Vepsians, Karelians, Russians).
Also enough excellent material, which makes it possible to study the main directions of wooden housing construction of the Middle Ages, is also represented by the city of Kostroma. This settlement was founded in the Middle Volga region, which is famous for its rich forests. This was the main factor that determined the nature of urban development. It should be noted that until the 17th century, stone architecture was a very rare occurrence in Kostroma. Even the houses of the richest merchants and representatives of the nobility, as well as the dwelling place of the mother of Tsar Michael, were built exclusively from wood. Kostroma architectural monuments, which are preserved in the Museum of Wooden Architecture and in the region, provide an excellent opportunity to restore the image of ancient wooden temples.
An ancient Russian city like Suzdal can also boast of unprecedented architectural richness. Architectural monuments are evenly and picturesquely located throughout the territory of Suzdal, forming an integral and incredibly beautiful architectural ensemble. The style chosen by the architects of antiquity gives a special charm to this ancient city, whose history dates back thousands of years.
Some photographs of monuments of wooden architecture, which combined the uniqueness and beauty of Russian architectural ensembles of wooden housing construction in Kizhi, Small Korel, Kostroma and Suzdal.
In this collection, photographs were used from the album "Russian Wooden Architecture", published by the Producer Center "M + K" in 2002. Editor Rumyantsev V. N. Master photographers: Fetisov R. O., Fetisov O. V. and Belkin A.
In the northern countries, where forests occupy a large part of the territory, they have become an important part of the life of local peoples. The forest was a source of food - they hunted wild animals, gathered berries, mushrooms and herbs. Wood has become the main building material, and constantly improving technologies have led to the emergence of real architectural masterpieces.
Benefits of using wood
The tree has many advantages appreciated by builders. First of all, it is excellent thermal insulation. In houses made of this material, heat is retained even in severe frosts, provided that the room is heated. Another important quality of wood is its ease of processing. With the help of metal tools, it can be given any shape and highly artistic sculptures, carved elements can be created.
Our ancestors could build truly grandiose wooden structures without a single nail. Unfortunately, the tree has an important drawback - it is easily amenable to fire, so we will never see many amazingly beautiful buildings built by ancient masters. Individual examples of such architecture can be seen in open-air museums.
As examples, we can cite the wooden buildings of the Scandinavian countries, where harsh Vikings once ruled, or architectural monuments in Russia. But not only the northern countries can boast of unique wooden buildings. In the southern countries, rich in forests, there are also amazing houses. For example, in Thailand, in the resort of Pattaya, one of the local attractions is the cult building Sanctuary of Truth, built without a single nail from precious wood.
Even a religion such as Islam, where stone was traditionally used in architecture, was not spared the influence of local traditions. So, in Russia, on the territory of the Volga Bulgaria, a specific style appeared - wooden mosques. Experts note their appearance in the 10th century and, obviously, it was based on earlier methods of building buildings from wood.
Old Russian wooden masterpieces
Separately, it is worth talking about the masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. They can be conditionally divided into places of worship and residential buildings. And although most of the surviving architectural monuments are wooden temples, enough ancient residential buildings remain in the north of the country.
For different types there is a certain classification. There are types of buildings: cage, tent, multi-roof, tiered, multi-domed, frame and others. Most of the surviving buildings made in this style date back to the 15th-17th centuries.
One of the most famous monuments of ancient Russian wooden architecture is Kizhi. Here are the grandiose churches - the Transfiguration of the Lord (22 domes, height - 37 meters) and Pokrovskaya, which harmoniously complements the first. Together with the hipped bell tower, they form a single complex that will not leave indifferent connoisseurs of architecture. On the territory of the open-air museum there are also samples of Karelian architecture brought there from other places.
Another museum of wooden architecture is located in the village of Malye Korely, in the Arkhangelsk region. Many buildings from different places were also brought here so that tourists could see a variety of styles that have found distribution in the Russian North. The museum is divided into zones and repeats a miniature map of the region.
If we move further south, to the Volga region, here we can find a huge number of preserved wooden masterpieces. First of all, this is Kostroma, where stone houses began to appear only from the 17th century. Another museum center is the ancient city of Suzdal.
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