The building of the Ancient Mansion is located in Arkhangelsk. It was built in 1786. The fate of this house was not easy: it burned down several times, was rebuilt several times, corrected, reconstructed, and was never used for its intended purpose. At first there was a Bank office here, then a Exchange office, a Commercial Bank and, finally, a city customs office.
In 1964, the building was transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts. For several years, an exhibition of ancient Russian art was located here, and later - museum collections. Since the early 1980s, the Mansion has been restored. The opening of the museum took place in September 1998. The first exhibition – “Portrait in an ancient interior” – provided an opportunity to see the transformation artistic styles in the interior late XVIII– beginning of the 20th century. Formation of the ensemble, where besides portrait painting includes furniture, mirrors, porcelain, which made it possible to create a special atmosphere in which works visual arts, as if they awaken when they find themselves in an environment close to them. The house has a permanent exhibition “Portrait in an ancient interior”.
Since the Mansion on the Embankment was never in the possession of a specific family, the authors of the exhibition decided not to reproduce the original interior. But on the other hand, the museum’s funds contained furnishings and household items from the 18th – early 20th centuries. Therefore, it was decided to restore the living environment, into which the museum exhibits would fit organically.
The Portrait Gallery of the Old Mansion features works that come from local institutions and old houses. Among them you can see a portrait of I.K. Bazhenin (a person related to Arkhangelsk) and royal portraits: Peter the Great, Elizaveta Petrovna, Pavel Petrovich (II half of the 18th century). The portrait gallery characterized the owner’s taste and was the subject of his pride and vanity.
The owner's office was one of the main rooms of the noble house and represented, in a way, its intellectual and economic center. The main place in the cabinet exhibition is occupied by portraits of Arkhangelsk governors of the 18th century: T.I. Tutolmina, P.P. Konovnitsyn and others. The interior recreates the decoration of an office from the late 18th – early 19th centuries.
In the living room of the Old Mansion you can feel the atmosphere of a town house from the first quarter of the 19th century. Living room XIX centuries, it was a place where they read and empathized out loud, did handicrafts, “explained themselves,” and played music. Of course, it is difficult to imagine a living room without a piano. In addition, the main place in interior decoration is occupied by marble sculpture and bronze products. The heart of the living room is her portraits, serving as early XIX century indicator of living standards and position in society. Most often, the portraits were anonymous: not only the author, but also the people depicted in them are unknown. A group of such portraits was placed above the sofa.
The house contains a room with a women's boudoir ( mid-19th century), where the mistress of the house took a break from social duties, read, did handicrafts, and carried out the obligatory correspondence, as evidenced by the elegant bureau-secretary. Also here you can see a dressing table and a table for needlework. Scenic paintings this room conveys the most different moods, women in tune with the world. Here you can see romantic paintings by Aivazovsky, Sudkovsky, Bogolyubov, a sentimental idyll of a Western artist in the Rococo style, “Family Scene” by the artist Charles van den Dele and, of course, portraits of children. The pearl of the women's boudoir is “Portrait of an Unknown Woman,” donated to Arkhangelsk by the Russian Museum in 1929, and it came to the museum from the artist’s studio.
The final hall of the Mansion is the dining room. It was usually a bright, comfortable room. The main place in the interior is occupied by the extendable “centipede” table, around which all family members gathered. It was necessary in the dining room to have glass cabinets in which various items made of porcelain, glass, and earthenware were displayed. A special place in the decoration was given to porcelain. At the end of the 19th century, it was not just an object of collecting and representation, but was a necessary part of table setting. On the wall you can see “Portrait of a Woman in a White Dress” by A.I. Vakhrameev, portrait of N.D. Vidyakina by an unknown artist.
The old mansion on the Embankment lives brightly, active life. Thematic exhibitions and excursions are regularly organized here, arousing genuine interest among local residents and tourists. In the halls of the mansion you can hear chamber music, balls for children, social events, receptions and presentations are organized.
Relatively recently, I was accidentally brought into an old abandoned house. Built before the revolution, it was abandoned in the nineties and two thousand. Now it stands virtually wide open, there is no one inside, it’s as if time has stopped. An old piano, books, notebooks are ghosts of the past that remember their past owners...
I partially talked about this house in one of my past ones, but now I would like to touch on it in more detail than just a couple of frames. On the outskirts of one village there is a pre-revolutionary house. Apparently, there were no inhabitants there for a very long time - there are no signs even from the 2000s, let alone recent ones. There is no fence, the entire area is very overgrown. Deserted and lonely. An open door, on the terrace there are boxes with many Christmas decorations. It's dark and gloomy inside. Oppressive silence. Soon our eyes get used to the darkness, and we see a door ajar. We open it and find ourselves in the former kitchen. The ceiling is slightly tilted and there is a lot of antique furniture in the room. Then the eye notices it - a piano! luxurious pre-revolutionary piano from the German company "C.M. SHRODER". Purely intuitively, hands reach out to try it out to see how it sounds. Many keys no longer respond, but some produce wonderful sounds. They scatter and echo throughout the house. The echo fades and there is silence again. Alas, this is not enough. We go into another room, the former living room. There are many stopped clocks on the table. Everyone shows different time. An old stove in the corner. Let's move on... In one of the rooms we find old notebooks and textbooks from the 30s. You start reading, and time seems to stop (although it has already stopped here (!)). It's crazy, it was almost 80, or even 90 years ago. In the barn we find objects of old village life. The condition of everything is very bad, the house is gradually dying. We go out into the street in confused feelings. There are many trees and thickets on the territory. They seemed to surround and embrace the house. But it's time for us to go...
1. Trapped.
2. It remembers the centuries-old touches of fingers...
4. “The most important task for us now is to study and study.”
5. But the arrows froze...
6. A penetrating note...
7. For tea?
8. We find different bubbles on the window.
9. Once again the piano, it deserves it.
10. But sometimes sunlight enters the house through cracks in the walls, and the rooms are illuminated by sunlight, albeit for a short time...
11. We lift the lid of the piano and find a company badge with an eagle, a crown and the inscription “Supplier to His Majesty’s Court.”
12. We go outside...mailbox
13. Collapsing antiquity.
But it's time to go.
Until new reports! By the way, it would be interesting to see who among friends will respond in the comments to the blog, who reads, who is just looking through the diary) Otherwise, many of them don’t even really know each other after all these friends)
Carving is the most ancient way of decorating wood products. Carvings were used to decorate wooden ships and photo of a carved house, houses, furniture and utensils, looms and spinning wheels. If you want to buy or order carved platbands for your home or cottage, please carved cornices and platbands, carved wooden platbands photo, carved platbands to order.
Old carved buildings are cultural heritage our country, transmitted from Ancient Rus'. Russian architecture has roots that came to us from Byzantium and became the basis of Russian architecture for many years to come. Hut - “Teremok”.
A beautiful Russian carved house, which was built according to the plans of Sergei Malyutin, a famous Russian architect and artist, is part of the historical complex “Teremok” and is located in the village. Flenovo, Smolensk region. This work of art was created in 1902.
In the past it was the property of philanthropist M.K Tenisheva. The carved elements of the building reflect the culture of Russia and the fabulousness of ancient epics.
The log house is supported by fabulous “gorynych snakes”. Just below the roof arch are the moon and several months. Various patterns give an unforgettable look and a fabulous look this house. Beauty!
Estate of Shastin A.I..
The heritage of Irkutsk, built at the beginning of the 19th century, became lace only in 1907. Beautiful patterns the façade and windows were radically changed appearance at home, and relief carving and figured pillars added a special “zest” and made the house a work of art.
All this work is completely manual.
House of the blacksmith Kirillov.
The fabulous “gingerbread” building was recognized as the best in Russia in 1999. Sergei Kirillov is an outstanding blacksmith who created this house by hand and independently, without any help. This difficult work took more than 13 years and was completed only in 1967.
The wooden and metal decorations of the facade will make you admire the skill of this great man.
Kirillov's hut-tower is a shining example naive art, and to all this, the image is supported by fairy-tale and Soviet symbols. To this day, the blacksmith’s widow lives in the house, and the gate to the courtyard is not locked. Even an ordinary passerby can admire this house and get an unforgettable experience.
Oshevnev's house.
The attraction is located in Karelia, in the museum folk history- “Kizhi”. The house is a rich and beautifully decorated estate, created according to the cultural canons of the North, taking into account winter weather conditions and the traditions of local residents.
The design, created in the 20th century, is reminiscent of the housing of a 19th century peasant without need for anything and includes a Russian stove, a large bed, and large wooden benches. The dishes are made of clay and wood.
There are many small copper items in the house. In the upper room there is a large painted dining table and other everyday items. The house has three balconies, but they are decorated completely differently. The facade is decorated with voluminous carvings and many interesting patterns.
Sukachev's estate.
The estate of Vladimir Sukachev is a landmark of the city of Irkutsk, created in 1882. More than 130 years have passed, but Sukachev’s house still retains its amazing beauty and the unchanged details of the estate.
Silhouettes of dragons and fabulous floral images are indicators of the rich imagination of Siberian masters.
Pogodinskaya hut.
This relic is located in Moscow, among stone buildings, where only a few historical buildings remain. The hut belonged to the famous Russian historian M.P. Pogodin and was created in 1856.
The work of a skilled craftsman N.V. Nikitina is a tall log house, which is made of large logs. The roof of the hut is decorated with saw-cut carvings. Window shutters and other elements of the hut are decorated with wooden lace.
Photo by anton apostol
In Vladimir there are not simple platbands - they are in treble clef here! 
Teremok, Nizhny Novgorod. 
29. an old house, Vologda. 
Beautiful house IR Dalnee Konstantinovo, Nizhny Novgorod region 
12. A beautiful house somewhere at the entrance to Kstovo already. 
fringed platbands from Kostroma and neighboring regions
Yaroslavl region
Kostroma
Rostov Veliky
And Izborsk Pskov region
The village of Anastasino, near Smolensk.
People in Smolensk must remember. A long time ago there stood, opposite the railway hospital, the most carved and colorful house. What a beauty it was. It seems that the new owner, a lover of serf cottages, demolished it.
Russian house of five walls Central Russia. Typical gable roof with light. Five-wall with a cut along the house
These examples, I think, are quite enough to prove that this type of house really exists and is widespread in traditionally Russian regions. It was somewhat unexpected for me that this type of house prevailed until recently on the White Sea coast. Even if we admit that I am wrong, and this style of houses came to the north from the central regions of Russia, and not vice versa, it turns out that the Slovenes from Lake Ilmen have nothing to do with the colonization of the White Sea coast. There are no houses of this type in the Novgorod region and along the Volkhov River. Strange, isn't it? And what kind of houses did the Novgorod Slovenes build from time immemorial? Below I give examples of such houses.
Slovenian type of houses
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In this photo we see a gable roof, which allows us to attribute this house to the Slovenian type. A house with a high basement, decorated with carvings typical of Russian houses. But the rafters lie on the side walls, like a barn. This house was built in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century for Russian soldiers whom the Russian Tsar sent to help Germany. Some of them remained in Germany completely; the German government, as a token of gratitude for their service, built houses like these for them. I think that the houses were built according to the sketches of these soldiers in the Slovenian style |
This is also a house from the German soldiers' series. Today in Germany these houses are part of the Russian Museum wooden architecture under open air. The Germans in our traditional applied arts earn money. They keep these houses in such perfect condition! And we? We don't value what we have. We turn our noses up at everything, we look at everything overseas, we do European-quality renovations. When will we take up Russ Repair and repair our Russia? |
In my opinion, these examples of Slovenian-type houses are enough. Those interested in this issue can find a lot more evidence of this hypothesis. The essence of the hypothesis is that real Slovenian houses (huts) differed from Russian izbas in a number of ways. It’s probably stupid to talk about which type is better and which is worse. The main thing is that they are different from each other. The rafters are placed differently, there is no cut along the house near the five-walls, the houses, as a rule, are narrower - 3 or 4 windows in the front, the platbands and linings of Slovenian-type houses, as a rule, are not sawn (not openwork) and therefore do not look like lace . Of course they meet at home mixed type buildings somewhat similar to Russian-type houses in the arrangement of rafters and the presence of cornices. The most important thing is that both Russian and Slovenian types of houses have their own areas. Houses of the Russian type are not found or practically never found in the Novgorod region and the west of the Tver region. I didn't find them there.
Finno-Ugric type of houses
The Finno-Ugric type of house is, as a rule, a five-walled building with a longitudinal cut and a significantly larger number of windows than houses of the Slovenian type. It has a log gable, and in the attic there is a room with log walls and a large window, making the house seem to be two stories high. The rafters are attached directly to the wall, and the roof overhangs the walls, so this type of house does not have eaves. Often houses of this type consist of two joined log houses under one roof |
The middle course of the Northern Dvina is above the mouth of the Vaga. This is what a typical house of the Finno-Ugric type looks like, which for some reason ethnographers persistently call northern Russian. But it is more widespread in the Komi Republic than in Russian villages. This house has a full-fledged warm room in the attic with log walls and two windows |
And this house is located in the Komi Republic in the Vychegda River basin. It has 7 windows along the facade. The house is made of two four-walled log houses, connected to each other by a log frame. The gable is made of logs, which makes the attic of the house warm. There is an attic room, but it has no window. The rafters are placed on the side walls and overhang them. |
Village of Kyrkanda in the southeast Arkhangelsk region. Please note that the house consists of two log cabins placed close to each other. The gable is made of logs, and there is an attic room in the attic. The house is wide, so the roof is quite flattened (not steep). There are no carved platbands. The rafters are installed on the side walls. There was a house consisting of two log buildings in our village of Vsekhsvyatskoye, only it was of the Russian type. As a child, playing hide and seek, I once climbed out of the attic into a gap between the log houses and barely crawled back out. It was very scary... |
House of Finno-Ugric type in the east of the Vologda region. From the attic room in this house you can go out onto a balcony. The roof overhang at the front is such that you can be on the balcony even in the rain. The house is tall, almost three stories high. And in the back of the house there are three more of the same huts, and between them there is a huge story. And it all belonged to one family. This is probably why there were many children in families. Finno-Ugric people lived luxuriously in the past. Today, not every new Russian has a cottage of this size |
The village of Kinerma in Karelia. The house is smaller than the houses in the Komi Republic, but the Finno-Ugric style is still visible. There are no carved platbands, so the face of the house is more severe than that of Russian-type houses |
Komi Republic. Everything suggests that this is a house built in the Finno-Ugric style. The house is huge, it contains all the utility rooms: two winter living huts, two summer huts - upper rooms, storage rooms, a workshop, a canopy, a stable, etc. To feed livestock and poultry, you don’t even have to go outside in the morning. Long cold winter it was very important. |
Republic of Karelia. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the type of houses in Komi and Karelia is very similar. But these are two different ethnic groups. And between them we see houses of a completely different type - Russian. I note that Slovenian houses are more similar to Finno-Ugric ones than to Russian ones. Strange, isn't it? |
Houses of the Finno-Ugric type are also found in the northeast Kostroma region. This style has probably been preserved here since the times when the Finno-Ugric Kostroma tribe had not yet become Russified. The windows of this house are on the other side, and we can see the back and side walls. You could drive a horse and cart into the house along the paved road. Convenient, isn't it? |
On the Pinega River (the right tributary of the Northern Dvina), along with houses of the Russian type, there are also houses of the Finno-Ugric type. The two ethnic groups have lived together here for a long time, but still maintain their traditions when building houses. I draw your attention to the absence of carved platbands. There is a beautiful balcony, a small room in the attic. Unfortunately, this good house abandoned by the owners who were drawn to the city couch potato life |
There are probably enough examples of houses of the Finno-Ugric type. Of course, nowadays the traditions of building houses have been largely lost, and in modern villages and villages they build houses that differ from the ancient traditional types. Everywhere in the vicinity of our cities today we see absurd cottage developments, testifying to the complete loss of our national and ethnic traditions. As you can understand from these photographs, which I borrowed from many dozens of sites, our ancestors lived unconstrainedly, in environmentally friendly, spacious, beautiful and comfortable houses. They worked joyfully, with songs and jokes, were friendly and not greedy, near houses nowhere in Russian North there are no blind fences. If someone's house in the village burned down, then everyone would build it for him. new house. Let me note once again that there were and still are no high fences near Russian and Finno-Ugric houses, and this says a lot.
Polovtsian (Kypchak) type of houses
I hope that these examples of houses built in the Polovtsian (Kypchak) style are quite enough to prove that such a style really exists and has a certain distribution area, including not only the south of Russia, but also a significant part of Ukraine. I think that each type of house is adapted to certain climatic conditions. There are a lot of forests in the north, it’s cold there, so the residents build huge houses in the Russian or Finno-Ugric style, in which people live, livestock, and belongings are stored. There is enough wood for both walls and firewood. There is no forest in the steppe, there is little of it in the forest-steppe, which is why the residents have to make small adobe houses. Big house not needed here. Livestock can be kept in a pen in summer and winter, equipment can also be stored outside under a canopy. A person in the steppe zone spends more time outdoors in the open air than in the house. That’s how it is, but in the floodplain of the Don, and especially Khopra, there is a forest from which it would be possible to build a stronger and larger hut, and make a roof with a horse, and build a light in the attic. But no, the roof is made in the traditional style - hipped, so it’s more familiar to the eye. Why? And such a roof is more resistant to winds, and the winds in the steppe are much stronger. The roof here could easily be blown away by the next snowstorm. In addition, it is more convenient to cover a hipped roof with straw, and straw in the south of Russia and Ukraine is a traditional and inexpensive roofing material. True, poor people covered their houses with straw in central Russia, even in the north of the Yaroslavl region in my homeland. As a child, I also saw old thatched houses in Vsekhsvyatskoe. But those who were richer roofed their houses with shingles or planks, and the richest - with roofing iron. I myself had the opportunity, under the guidance of my father, to cover our new house and the house of an old neighbor with shingles. Today, this technology is no longer used in villages; everyone has switched to slate, ondulin, metal tiles and other new technologies.
By analyzing the traditional types of houses that were common in Russia quite recently, I was able to identify four main ethno-cultural roots from which the Great Russian ethnic group grew. There were probably more daughter ethnic groups that merged into the Great Russian ethnic group, since we see that the same type of houses was characteristic of two, and sometimes three related ethnic groups living in similar natural conditions. Surely, in each type of traditional house, subtypes can be identified and associated with specific ethnic groups. Houses in Karelia, for example, are somewhat different from houses in Komi. And Russian-type houses in the Yaroslavl region were built a little differently than houses of the same type on the Northern Dvina. People have always strived to express their individuality, including in the arrangement and decoration of their homes. At all times there were those who tried to change or improve traditions. But exceptions only emphasize the rules - this is well known to everyone.
I will consider that I wrote this article not in vain if in Russia fewer ridiculous cottages will be built in any style, if someone wants to build their new house in one of the traditional styles: Russian, Slovenian, Finno-Ugric or Polovtsian. All of them have today become nationwide, and we are obliged to preserve them. Ethno-cultural invariant is the basis of any ethnic group, perhaps more important than language. If we destroy it, our ethnic group will degrade and disappear. I saw how our compatriots who emigrated to the USA cling to ethno-cultural traditions. For them, even making cutlets turns into a kind of ritual, which helps them feel that they are Russians. Patriots are not only those who lie down under tanks with bunches of grenades, but also those who prefer the Russian style of houses, Russian felt boots, cabbage soup and borscht, kvass, etc.
In the book by a team of authors edited by I.V. Vlasov and V.A. Tishkov's "Russians: History and Ethnography", published in 1997 by the publishing house "Nauka", there is a very interesting chapter on rural residential and economic development in Russia in the 12th - XVII centuries. But the authors of the chapter L.N. Chizhikova and O.R. For some reason, Rudin paid very little attention to Russian-style houses with a gable roof and a light in the attic. They consider them in the same group with Slovenian-type houses with a gable roof overhanging the side walls.
However, it is impossible to explain how Russian-type houses appeared on the shores of the White Sea and why they are not in the vicinity of Novgorod on the Ilmen, based on the traditional concept (stating that the White Sea was controlled by the Novgorodians from Ilmen). This is probably why historians and ethnographers do not pay attention to Russian-style houses - they are not in Novgorod. In M. Semenova’s book “We are Slavs!”, published in 2008 in St. Petersburg by the ABC-Classics publishing house, there is good material about the evolution of the Slovenian-type house.
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According to the concept of M. Semenova, the original dwelling of the Ilmen Slovenes was a semi-dugout, almost completely buried in the ground. Only a slightly gable roof, covered with poles on which a thick layer of turf was laid, rose above the surface. The walls of such a dugout were made of logs. Inside there were benches, a table, and a lounger for sleeping. Later, in the half-dugout, an adobe stove appeared, which was heated in a black way - the smoke went into the dugout and came out through the door. After the installation of the stove, the house became warm even in winter, and it was no longer possible to bury oneself in the ground. The Slovenian house “began to crawl out” from the ground to the surface. A floor of hewn logs or blocks appeared. This house became cleaner and brighter. The earth did not fall from the walls and ceiling, there was no need to bend over backwards, it was possible to make a higher door.
I think that the process of turning a half-dugout into a house with a gable roof took many centuries. But even today the Slovenian hut bears some of the features of an ancient half-dugout; at least the shape of the roof has remained gable. |
A medieval house of the Slovenian type on a residential basement (essentially two-story). Often on the ground floor there was a barn - a room for livestock) |
I assume that the most ancient type of house, which undoubtedly developed in the north, was the Russian type. Houses of this type are more complex in their roof structure: it is three-sloped, with a cornice, with a very stable position of the rafters, with a light heated by a chimney. In such houses, the chimney in the attic made a bend about two meters long. This bend of the pipe is figuratively and accurately called a “hog”, on such a hog in our house in Vsekhsvyatsky, for example, cats warmed themselves in winter, and it kept the attic warm. In a Russian-type house there is no connection with a half-dugout. Most likely, such houses were invented by the Celts, who penetrated the White Sea at least 2 thousand years ago. Perhaps the descendants of those Aryans lived on the White Sea and in the basin of the Northern Dvina, Sukhona, Vaga, Onega and upper Volga, some of whom went to India, Iran and Tibet. This question remains open, and this question is about who we Russians are - aliens or real natives? When the connoisseur ancient language India Sanskrit got into a Vologda hotel and listened to the women's conversation, he was very surprised that the Vologda women spoke some kind of spoiled Sanskrit - the Russian language turned out to be so similar to Sanskrit. Houses of the Slovene type arose as a result of the transformation of semi-dugouts as the Ilmen Slovenes moved north. At the same time, the Slovenes adopted a lot (including some methods of building houses) from the Karelians and Vepsians, with whom they inevitably came into contact. But the Varangians of Rus' came from the north, pushed the Finno-Ugric tribes apart and created their own state: first North-Eastern Rus', and then Kievan Rus, moving the capital to more warmer climes, ousting the Khazars. But those ancient states in the 8th - 13th centuries did not have clear boundaries: those who paid tribute to the prince were considered to belong to this state. The princes and their squads fed themselves by robbing the population. By our standards, they were ordinary racketeers. I think that the population often moved from one such racketeer sovereign to another, and in some cases the population “fed” several such “sovereigns” at once. Constant clashes between princes and atamans, constant robbery of the population in those days were the most common thing. The most progressive phenomenon in that era was the subjugation of all petty princes and chieftains by one sovereign, the suppression of their freedom and the imposition of a flat tax on the population. Such salvation for the Russians, Finno-Ugric, Krivichi and Slovenians was their inclusion in the Golden Horde. Unfortunately, our official history is based on chronicles and written documents compiled by princes or under their direct leadership. And for them - the princes - to submit to the supreme power of the Golden Horde king was “worse than a bitter radish.” So they called this time the yoke. |
The Russian hut has always been nice, solid and original. Its architecture testifies to its fidelity to centuries-old traditions, their durability and uniqueness. Its layout, design and interior decoration were created over many years. Not many traditional Russian houses have survived to this day, but you can still find them in some regions.
Initially, huts in Russia were built from wood, with their foundations partially buried underground. This ensured greater reliability and durability of the structure. Most often there was only one room, which the owners divided into several separate parts. An obligatory part of the Russian hut was the stove corner, to separate which a curtain was used. In addition, separate areas were allocated for men and women. All corners in the house were lined up in accordance with the cardinal directions, and the most important among them was the eastern (red), where the family organized an iconostasis. It was the icons that guests were supposed to pay attention to immediately after entering the hut.
Porch of a Russian hut
The architecture of the porch has always been carefully thought out; the owners of the house devoted a lot of time to it. It combined excellent artistic taste, centuries-old traditions and the ingenuity of the architects. It was the porch that connected the hut with the street and was open to all guests or passers-by. Interestingly, the whole family, as well as neighbors, often gathered on the porch in the evenings after hard work. Here the guests and owners of the house danced, sang songs, and children ran and frolicked.
In different regions of Russia, the shape and size of the porch were radically different. So, in the north of the country it was quite high and large, and the southern facade of the house was chosen for installation. Thanks to this asymmetrical placement and the unique architecture of the facade, the whole house looked very unique and beautiful. It was also quite common to see porches placed on pillars and decorated with openwork wooden posts. They were a real decoration of the house, making its facade even more serious and solid.
In the south of Russia, porches were installed from the front of the house, attracting the attention of passers-by and neighbors with openwork carvings. They could be either two steps or with a whole staircase. Some home owners decorated their porch with an awning, while others left it open.
Seni
To keep in the house maximum amount The owners separated the living area from the street using heat from the stove. The canopy is exactly the space that guests immediately saw when entering the hut. In addition to keeping warm, canopies were also used to store rockers and other necessary things; this is where many people made storage rooms for food.
A high threshold was also made to separate the entryway and the heated living area. It was made to prevent cold from entering the house. In addition, according to centuries-old traditions, each guest had to bow at the entrance to the hut, and it was impossible to go inside without bowing before the high threshold. Otherwise, the guest simply hit the doorframe naked.
Russian stove
The life of a Russian hut revolved around the stove. It served as a place for cooking, relaxation, heating and even bathing procedures. There were steps leading up, and there were niches in the walls for various utensils. The firebox was always with iron barriers. The structure of the Russian stove - the heart of any hut - is surprisingly functional.
The stove in traditional Russian huts was always located in the main area, to the right or left of the entrance. It was considered the main element of the house, since they cooked food on the stove, slept, and heated the entire house. It has been proven that food cooked in the oven is the healthiest, since it retains all the beneficial vitamins.
Since ancient times, many beliefs have been associated with the stove. Our ancestors believed that it was on the stove that the brownie lived. The garbage was never taken out of the hut, but burned in the oven. People believed that this way all the energy remained in the house, which helped increase the family’s wealth. It is interesting that in some regions of Russia they steamed and washed in the oven, and were also used to treat serious diseases. Doctors of that time claimed that the disease could be cured simply by lying on the stove for several hours.
Stove corner
It was also called the “woman’s corner” because all the kitchen utensils were located there. It was separated by a curtain or even a wooden partition. Men from their family almost never came here. A huge insult to the owners of the house was the arrival of a strange man behind the curtain in the corner of the stove.
Here women washed and dried things, cooked food, treated children and told fortunes. Almost every woman was engaged in needlework, and the calmest and most convenient place That's what the stove corner was for. Embroidery, sewing, painting - these were the most popular types of needlework for girls and women of that time.
Benches in the hut
In the Russian hut there were movable and fixed benches, and chairs began to appear in the 19th century. Along the walls of the house, the owners installed fixed benches, which were secured using supplies or legs with carved elements. The stand could be flat or tapered towards the middle; its decoration often included carved patterns and traditional ornaments.
There were also mobile benches in each house. Such benches had four legs or were installed on solid boards. The backs were often made so that they could be thrown over the opposite edge of the bench, and carved decor was used for decoration. The bench was always made longer than the table, and was also often covered with thick fabric.
Men's corner (Konik)
It was located to the right of the entrance. There was always a wide bench, which was fenced on both sides with wooden boards. They were carved in the shape of a horse's head, which is why the male corner is often called "konik". Under the bench, men stored their tools intended for repairs and other men's work. In this corner, men repaired shoes and utensils, and also wove baskets and other products from wicker.
All the guests who came to the owners of the house for a short time. It was here that the man slept and rested.
Women's corner (Seda)
This was important in women's fate space, since it was from behind the stove curtain that the girl came out during the viewing party in elegant attire, and also waited for the groom on the wedding day. Here women gave birth to children and fed them away from prying eyes, hiding behind a curtain.
Also, it was in the women's corner of the house of the guy she liked that the girl had to hide the sweeper in order to get married soon. They believed that such a sweeper would help the daughter-in-law quickly become friends with her mother-in-law and become a good housewife in her new home.
Red corner
This is the brightest and most important corner, since it was considered a sacred place in the house. According to tradition, during construction, he was allocated a place on the eastern side, where two adjacent windows form a corner, so the light falls, making the corner the brightest place in the hut. Icons and embroidered towels always hung here, as well as in some huts - the faces of ancestors. Be sure to set up a large table in the red corner and eat food. Freshly baked bread was always kept under icons and towels.
To this day, some traditions associated with the table are known. So, it is not advisable for young people to sit on the corner in order to start a family in the future. It is bad luck to leave dirty dishes on the table or sit on it.
Our ancestors stored cereals, flour and other products in hay barns. Thanks to this, the housewife could always quickly prepare food from fresh ingredients. In addition, additional buildings were provided: a cellar for storing vegetables and fruits in winter, a barn for livestock and separate structures for hay.