Estonian architecture. Estonian Museum of Architecture Early Gothic: 13th - early 15th century
Estonians like to emphasize that their ancestors have lived on their land for thousands of years. The history of Estonian architecture begins with cone-shaped buildings, the so-called. vezh, stone burial grounds and...
Stone settlements and fortified churches
Stone hill forts and fortified churches have been a feature of the Estonian landscape since the 13th century. To keep the local population in check, the German and Scandinavian conquerors needed to strengthen their...
Manor Ensembles as the Embodiment of Ostsee Culture
Medieval city
In the 13th century, after the invasion of the Danes and Germans, in order to gain a foothold in the conquered lands, they needed to build trading cities. All the largest Estonian...
Outside the city wall
The most significant change in the cities of Estonia before World War I was the appearance of Estonian customers and Estonian architects. "Estonian style" was defined in the northern, Finnish way. From Estonian architects...
Outskirts and garden city
In the 20th century, the city has two opposite, but such phenomena characteristic of Estonian cities, as the outskirts and the garden city. Just like most peasants, a hundred more...
Period of socialism
Estonian architecture survived relatively painlessly, fortunately, a short period of Stalin's time (from the end of the war to 1955). As a declaration of the principle of Soviet art "national in form...
I am convinced that architecture is the face of a country, a city, personifying and telling their story. Estonia in this sense is no exception, the architecture of its cities reflects the essence of this country, which was in different periods of its existence as part of different states, but retained its originality.
Therefore, first of all, I would divide the entire Estonian architecture into istoric periods - styles. Here you can find:
- Medieval architecture, partly influenced by the older northern countries (which is the best preserved among the countries of northern Europe). There is a lot of the Middle Ages in Tallinn - the entire Old Town with fortified walls, in Tartu - the historical center with several medieval churches, and of course in Narva - I mean one of the most famous attractions to me not only in the city, but also in the country - Narva Castle.
- Modern. Before visiting here, I did not even suspect that there is so much architecture of this style in Estonia. Still, in the first place, I associated the country with the Middle Ages, with sharp spiers of cathedrals and towers. But there is indeed a lot of modernity here - entire blocks of residential buildings in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, public buildings - for example, theaters in Tallinn and Pärnu, churches in Tartu.
The second classification option Estonian architecture, which, I think, would be appropriate - in terms of type and purpose.
- Churches - in Estonia there are Catholic and Protestant churches, and there are Orthodox cathedrals (the most recognizable is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn). In general, it seems to me that the proximity and influence of other states - Sweden, Denmark, Russia - was best reflected in the cult architecture.
- Forts and fortress towers. I would say that Estonia is famous for its defensive structures - Narva, Tallinn, and even on the island of Saaremaa there is a beautiful fortified castle. And in the Narva Castle, by the way, knightly tournaments and all sorts of medieval festivals are very often arranged. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to visit them yet.
- Palaces and mansions. I already wrote about the most famous palace complex above - this is Kadriorg. The construction of which, by the way, was started by order of Peter I. Estates or manors - as I noticed, they are quite often found mainly outside the city, in the vicinity of Tallinn and Tartu.
- Residential houses. Curious examples of stone and wooden buildings, completely different in time of construction - from the Middle Ages to the present, were found in all major cities, the entrance doors surprise and impress separately - bright, not repeating and not similar to each other
The eastern part of Estonia, directly adjacent to the territory of Russia, has felt the influence of the Soviet era the most and, accordingly, the most replete with buildings of that period. But even here, not to mention other areas of Estonia, within the framework of one of the dominant stylistic architectural trends of the Soviet era, called conceptualism, the buildings being built according to state orders acquired a deliberate pseudo-European flavor.
This happened due to the proximity of the republic to Finland, whose original culture inspired Soviet architects to some imitation.
One of the significant figures in the then architectural firmament was Toomas Rein, who designed most of the most interesting buildings and complexes in the 70s and 80s.
An example of residential buildings of his authorship is an unusual complex in the city of Pärnu, completed by the mid-80s.
The current state of many buildings of that time leaves much to be desired. But this residential complex, sometimes referred to as "Sun Houses", appears in the form of a model in the Pärnu Architectural Museum.
Layout of "Solar Houses"
True, the conceived and the implemented differ quite a lot, but that's what it is and a harsh reality.
Another eminent Estonian architect was Valve Pormeister. Her creative career has been long and productive, designing buildings both during the Estonian SSR and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One of her original works, built a little earlier than those mentioned above, in the mid-60s, is located in the north-eastern part of Tallinn, in the Pirita area.
This is the building of the Tulyak cafe, which was very popular in previous years. The cafe remained there later, and has now reopened after reconstruction, raising its status to a restaurant. The building was conceived as part of an architectural complex, which included, in addition to it, the Flower Pavilion, and the whole complex harmoniously fit into the surrounding landscape with a well-groomed lawn. Now the whole landscape has changed a lot, and in the modern outlines of the restaurant one can hardly see the former work of the legendary architect.
This is how the Tulyak cafe looked like when it was still famous, but just a cafe.
Cafe Tulyak
And this is what the restaurant of the same name looks like now.
Once you start talking about Tallinn, it's hard to stop. How not to mention, for example, the Singing Field, where the largest musical events are held annually, and every five years - the All-Estonian Song Festival!
The natural slope of the area is the best suited for a huge open-air auditorium that can accommodate more than a hundred thousand spectators at once.
The slope is crowned by a huge shell of the Singing Stage - a remarkable building in its constructive solution, designed by the Estonian architect Alar Kotli and erected by 1960, when the XV General Song Festival was held.
Or how to ignore the tallest building in all of Estonia - the Tallinn TV Tower, whose height reaches three hundred and fourteen meters. The project of the TV tower was created by architects David Basiladze and Yuri Sinis.
Most of its height is a reinforced concrete structure, above which rises a 124-meter metal pole-mast.
Only service personnel have access to it, in this case almost equivalent to celestials, and “mere mortals” are content with an observation deck at a height of one hundred and ninety meters, where a panoramic restaurant is equipped and where those wishing through twenty-two floors are lifted by a high-speed elevator.
However, for extreme sports there is also a staircase with more than a thousand steps.
It took five whole years to build the TV tower, it took a lot of engineering and technical innovations, and the opening of the TV tower took place right in time for the sailing regatta, which was held in Tallinn and was part of the 80 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
By the same significant date, that is, by the Moscow Olympics, another interesting object appeared in Tallinn, which received the loud name "Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports."
Among the people, the name quickly transformed into the "City Hall" or simply "Gorhall", as it is called now.
An outstanding building, built from local rocks, is located on the shore of the bay in full accordance with the requirements of conceptualism, that is, complementing and using the possibilities of the surrounding landscape to the maximum. Inside were located, among other things, a large skating rink and a concert hall.
The latter, by the way, still functions today, but only occasionally, and a few tenants do not save the situation of the decaying giant. But the local youth loves to gather at the Gorhall in the summer and, despite the piercing Baltic winds, enjoy the beautiful views that open up.
The project of the Palace of Culture and Sports was created by a whole team of authors, the main architects were Raine Karp, Riina Altmäe and Ülo Sirp. In 1984, they and other members of the group received the USSR State Prize.
If we turn to earlier times, more precisely to the 1950s, when Soviet neoclassicism was the predominant architectural style, then we must definitely mention the oldest cinema in Tallinn, Druzhba, which began its work in 1955. The majestic building with columns immediately set the visitors in the right mood.
This state of affairs persists even now, when the cinema, which is still functioning, having replaced the Russian name with the Estonian one, is already called Sõprus and the films shown on the screens of its two cinema halls are completely different.
Nevertheless, it retains the status of theater rather than cinema: fans of popcorn and unpretentious blockbusters do not belong here, the audience gathering in the cinema appreciates intellectual films like retrospectives of Fellini, Tarkovsky, Pasolini, Aki Kaurismäki and other luminaries of cinematographic art like Kim Kee Duka.
By the way, the decor of the building, at least the exterior, looks surprisingly untouched, although the cinema, which has undergone reconstruction, gives the impression of a well-groomed and modern one.
The interior decoration and even the layout have changed quite a lot.
The design of the cinema building was developed by a group of architects, of whom Friedrich Wendach made the largest contribution. Today this building is recognized as an architectural monument.
In general, one can talk about the Soviet architectural heritage in Estonia for a long time. There are many interesting buildings in Tallinn and other cities. We can also recall the building of the library of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR, now called the Academic Library of Tallinn University. She is practically the same age as the Singing Scene, only a few years younger.
(Architects: U. Telpus, P. Madalik)
But I would like to finish with something not so ordinary as residential buildings or cinemas. Can you imagine that a banal bus stop can embody the style of the era no worse than pompous stone giants? You can not? Then look!
Tallinn is popular among travelers, but very few of them often know how it differs from other European capitals. Someone will say that it looks like Helsinki, to someone it reminds of Prague. In the 19th century it was called Northern Naples, but in reality Tallinn has always been Tallinn.
And it is worth leaving the Old Town and across the road - the trendy quarter of Rotermann, and then - the ancient suburb of Kalamaja. It is built up mainly with wooden houses, in which fishermen used to live. Today it is one of the most famous hipster areas in Europe.
In the Kadriorg district, a baroque palace is adjacent to the modern art museum Kumu. And next to it is a picturesque quarter in which the atmosphere of a provincial provincial town of the 19th century has been preserved to this day.
In the center of Tallinn, the strict and solid representative architecture of the First Republic is adjacent to the Soviet one.
Gothic
There was a fortified settlement on the hill of Toompea already from the 11th century, and around the modern Town Hall Square there was a settlement and a market surrounded by a fence. Nearby there were two trading yards: Scandinavian and Russian.
With the arrival of the crusaders in 1219, a castle and the Dome Cathedral were built on the hill of Toompea. The first fortress wall around the Upper City began to be built in 1229. In the Lower City, the first wall appears in 1265 at the insistence of Queen Margaret. The fortress wall that has survived to our time dates back to the 14th century. At this time, a city was formed that consisted of two independent parts - Toompea (Domberga - Upper Town), the capital of the Duchy of Estonia, and the Lower Town, the Hanseatic Revel.
The most significant period in the development of Tallinn's architecture was the 13th-16th centuries. Tallinn Gothic was formed under the influence of the architecture of the island of Gotland, the Lower Rhine lands, Westphalia, and later the architecture of the cities of the Hanseatic League and the Teutonic Order. The originality of this style was given by limestone, a local building material.
By the 14th century, Tallinn Castle had become one of the most powerful fortresses of the Livonian Order. The layout of the castle, the severity and simplicity of its architecture served as a model for other fortifications in the region. Only the western and northern outer walls, as well as three towers, including one of the symbols of Estonia, Long Hermann, escaped reconstruction.
In the 15th century (late Gothic period), the Town Hall, guild buildings, monastic buildings and residential buildings appeared in the city. These are elongated facades with high gables. Among the various buildings in terms of plan, houses with two rooms prevailed - diele and dornse. Diele - a spacious, two-story building with a hearth at the back wall served mainly as a trading office, workshop. Behind it was the dornse, a living space with calorific heating. The upper floors, basements and attics were used as warehouses.
Such residential buildings in their original form have been preserved on Pikk Street (Three Sisters group, Pikk 71), on Lai Street ("Three Brothers", Lai 38, 40, 42) and in the Old Market ("Father and Son", Kuninga one).
The Old Town of Tallinn has been included in the UNESCO Historical and Cultural Heritage List as a well-preserved medieval city. It is unique not only for the Baltic Sea region, but also for the whole of Europe.
Examples of Gothic architecture in Tallinn:
1. City Hall (XV century), Raekoja 1.
2. Dome Cathedral (XV century), Toom-Kooli 6.
3. Church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) (1420), Niguliste 3.
4. Church of St. Olaf (Oleviste) (XV century), Pikk 65 / Lai 50.
5. Church of the Holy Spirit (XV century), Pühavaimu 2.
6. Building of the Great Guild (1417), Pikk 17.
7. Guild building of St. Olaf (1422), Pikk 24.
8. The complex of buildings of the Dominican monastery of St. Catherine (XIV-XV century), Vene 12/14.
9. Building of the New Almshouse (XVI century), Rüütli 7/9.
10. Horse mill (XIV-XVIII centuries), Lai 47.
11. Ruins of St. Brigid's Monastery (1417), Merivälja tee 18.
renaissance
Only a few buildings from the Renaissance era have survived to this day. For example, the House of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads (1597) Pikk 26. The most striking expression in Tallinn was found in the decoration of the Renaissance, especially in carved details and decorative paintings.
Baroque
By the beginning of the 17th century, a new style came to Tallinn - baroque, or northern baroque, which can be called Protestant. This very restrained style is characterized by rationality and simplicity.
In the 18th century, the Baroque can be traced mainly in the restructuring: from the time of Peter I to the middle of the 18th century, stone construction was prohibited throughout the Russian Empire, except for St. Petersburg.
The pearl of the Baroque in Tallinn is the "Old Palace", or Rosen House (1670s, Pikk 28). The most monumental building of this era in Tallinn is the Kadriorg (Ekaterinenthal) Palace by the architect Nicollo Mikcheti in the Italian Baroque style (1718, A. Weizenbergi 37). Another example is the building of the residence of the Estonian governor and provincial government in the transitional rococo style with elements of early classicism (1773, architect Johan Schulz, Lossi plats 1). The Stenbock House at 17 Lai Street (1685), which for some time belonged to A. D. Menshikov, is an example of the Dutch Baroque.
In the church of St. Nicholas (Niguliste) in the 17th century, the facade of the northern narthex was decorated with sculptures, and at the very end of the same century the shako of the tower was rebuilt in the Baroque style (Niguliste 3).
Classicism
In the era of classicism (late 18th - early 19th centuries), many buildings were erected in the Upper Town, and many buildings were rebuilt in the Lower Town. During the restructuring, many medieval facades acquired a fashionable look in the style of classicism. From the side of the courtyard, Gothic was often preserved.
Vivid examples of classicism in Tallinn: Government House (circa 1790, Rahukohtu 3), Rosen House (1830, Lai 5), Benkendorf House (1814, Kohtu 8), the first domed building - St. Nicholas Church (1827, Vene 24).
historicism
By the middle of the 19th century, a fashion for historical styles and eclecticism arose. The first examples of such architecture in Tallinn were the building of the Guild of St. Knut (1864, Pikk 20), built in the Tudor Gothic style on the street. Pikk, and the building of the Knights' Assembly (1848, Kiriku plats 1). Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1900, Lossi plats 10) is an example of pseudo-Russian style. The Reichmann House (1909, Pikk 21/23) is an interesting example of neo-Mannerist style.
Since the second half of the century, the historical center of Tallinn has changed dynamically. By the end of the century, the area between Viru Square and the Tõnismägi district was being actively built up: thus, the Old Town and the new center were growing together.
Thanks to the originality of the building material, the industrial architecture of the new era echoes the architecture of the Old Town: the warehouses and factories of Rotermann (Rotermanni 8), the Rosen distillery (Mere pst 6).
Modern
In the 20th century, new trends were introduced into the architecture of Tallinn by the spread of the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Especially the "northern modern", formed under the influence of Finnish architecture.
During this period, well-known Finnish architects, the famous A. Lindgren, G. Gezelius and E. Saarinen, worked in Tallinn. The latter in 1913 drew up the first master plan of the city, which provided for the relocation of the shopping center outside the Old City.
Examples of northern modern architecture:
1. Estonian National Opera (1913) Estonia pst 4.
2. The building of the Estonian Drama Theater (1910) Pärnu mnt.5.
3. House of Saarinen (1912) Pärnu mnt 10.
4. Workhouse of the Luther Factory (1905) Vana-Lõuna 37.
The second branch of Art Nouveau in Tallinn was eclectic-decorative or the so-called “Riga Art Nouveau”. It is more magnificent, it is distinguished by the widest use of masks and ornaments. Buildings by the architect J. Rosenbaum, for example, the House with Dragons (1910, Pikk 18), can be called striking examples of this style.
Architecture of the first Republic of Estonia
At this time, the functions of the city center are moving beyond the historical core. A new Tallinn is being formed - the capital of the Republic of Estonia.
Tallinn architecture of the 1930s is a mixture of traditionalism, functionalism, art deco and northern classicism. It is very recognizable and solid, in particular due to rectangular shapes and colors: brown or gray, anthracite plaster popular at that time. In the late 1930s, facade decoration with dolomite panels or chipped limestone was widespread.
It was functionalism that in the 20th century shaped the style of the current look of the center of Tallinn, which can be called truly national.
You can get acquainted with the architecture of the first Estonian Republic in the areas of Tõnismägi and the Pärnus highway, as well as Raua street and the Police Park.
Iconic objects of functionalism style:
1. House of Arts (1934) Vabaduse väljak 6.
2. Tallinn City Council building (1935) Vabaduse väljak 7.
3. Tallinn "Chilihouse" (1936) Roosikrantsi 23/Pärnu mnt 36.
4. Parliament building (Riigikogu) (1922) Lossi plats 1a.
5. Building of the fire brigade (1939) Raua 2.
6. Chapel of the Metsakalmistu cemetery (1937) Kloostrimetsa tee 36.
7. Liiva cemetery chapel (1935) Kalmistu tee 34a.
This era brought two original styles to the architecture of Tallinn: “Stalinist classicism” of the 40s-50s of the XX century and Soviet modernism of the 50s-80s. A distinctive feature of the Soviet architecture of Tallinn in comparison with other Soviet republics is its certain “bourgeoisness”, which is why Tallinn was a popular film site where “Western life” was filmed.
Architecture 1945–1961
After the war, architects who did not emigrate and stayed in Estonia built in a style similar to the architecture of the pre-war period. In this style, one can notice the influence of Germany - high tiled roofs, gray or brown plaster, familiar to the 30s.
1. Building of the Academy of Sciences (1958). Estonia pst 7/ Teatri väljak 1.
2. Cinema "Sõprus" (1955). Vana Posti 8.
But by the beginning of the 1950s, international "Stalinist classicism" had prevailed.
In the 1950s, architects were sent to Tallinn for work or practice, mainly from Leningrad. They brought “Soviet” models into the city's appearance, ideologically sustained and better expressing Stalin's ideas in architecture, but representing typical copies.
1. "House with a tower" (1954). Tartu mnt. 24.
2. House of Navy Officers (1954). mere pst. 5.
Of particular interest is the private development of the 50s-60s in the districts of Maryamäe, Pirita, Nõmme, which is completely different from what was built in other republics of the Soviet Union.
Architecture 1960s–1980s
In the 60s, at the very beginning of the Khrushchev thaw, a period of stylistic experiments was outlined in the architecture of Tallinn. Significant objects appear that become symbols not only of the city, but of the entire republic. At this time, despite the "Iron Curtain", new fashionable trends in the architecture of Northern Europe and especially Finland penetrate into Estonia. The peculiarity of modernism lies precisely in its internationality.
Modern Estonian architecture
Having passed the era of block construction, typical of the 70s of the XX century, and the Soviet modernism of the 90s, Estonian architecture, which was considered advanced even in Soviet times, made a qualitative step forward by the end of the 1990s.
New projects of recent times have become significant events that define the face of the city. Lovers of modern architecture in Tallinn have something to see. Contemporary Estonian architecture reflects trends close to the Nordic region. The characteristic features of this style are functionality, rationality, the use of modern materials, the use of energy-saving technologies and natural materials in architecture, especially wood.
A striking example of modern architecture is the KUMU Art Museum (2006, Valge 1). In an effort to fit into the rocky landscape, it literally breaks out of the ground and very delicately shifts the focus of the historic quarter.
Against the backdrop of modern buildings in Tallinn, several sacred structures stand out: the new monastery of St. Bridget (2001, Merivälja tee 18) is harmoniously integrated into the surrounding space and adjacent to the ruins of an old monastery of the 15th century, becoming its actual continuation. The Tallinn Synagogue (2007, Karu 16) is an interesting solution, where amazing interiors adorn a fairly modest building.
Along with new projects, the reconstruction of old buildings is being carried out very actively. The architecture of many of them is trying to preserve as much as possible.
In the old industrial quarter of Rotermann (Rotermanni 8), a new, conceptual complex is being created today: the old factory buildings are complemented by modern buildings, as a result, the quarter begins to play one of the central roles in the urban ensemble.
In the building of the former power plant, the Energia Educational Center and the Culture Cauldron Creative Center (Põhja puiestee 27a) were opened.
One of the last objects is the Maritime Museum, located in the building of the former seaplane hangars (1917). The structure itself is a beautiful and rare example of reinforced concrete shell-type structures in Estonia and in the world (Vesilennuki 6).
Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, which was built from the beginning of the 15th century, are classic examples of the convention. Of these castles, the Kuressaare Episcopal Castle on the island of Saaremaa is the best preserved, the layout of which includes the square corner towers Sturvolt and Long Hermann, as well as the chapel with a refectory located along the perimeter of the courtyard, the bishop's chambers, the chapter hall and the dormitory.Fortress walls
The fortress walls and towers of Tallinn have been known since 1248, but the oldest walls and towers that have survived to this day date back to the 14th century. Construction continued into the 15th century, and the reconstruction of the fortifications was completed in the 1520s. They are still very well preserved: at the end of the 16th century, 26 towers were erected, of which 18 survived. The walls had a height of up to 8 meters and a thickness of 2.85 meters. A lancet arcade ran along the bottom of the inner part of the wall. During the -XVI centuries, as artillery developed, the towers were built on, cannon loopholes were arranged in them. The highest is the Kiek-in-de-Kök tower (38 m), the most massive is the four-story Fat Margaret in the Sea Gate complex. The city of Tartu had similar stone fortifications, but they were demolished in the 18th century.
Residential buildings
Tallinn residential buildings of the 15th - early 16th centuries belong to the gable type, when a narrow facade comes out onto the street, topped with a gable roof covered with a gable roof (bishop's house, Big Guild house, Three Sisters houses of the first half of the 15th century, house on Lai Street, 25 , other houses of the old city).
town hall
A landmark of civil architecture is the Town Hall in Tallinn built in 1404 with a lancet arcade of the first tier on the longitudinal facade and a tall thin octahedral tower along the axis of the front facade topped with a triangular gable. It is the only surviving Gothic town hall in Northern Europe.
Guilds
Guild houses in Tallinn are known for their exquisite interiors (the Gothic hall of the Great Guild of 1410, the hall of the Olaevskaya Guild of 1424). The facades of the three guilds of Tallinn are made by skilled craftsmen and are worthy of people's attention, especially since they are not far from each other: the buildings of the Great Guild and Olaf are made in the Gothic style, Knud - in the pseudo-Gothic English Tudor style.
Churches of Tallinn
The Church of the Holy Spirit of the XIV century is unusual in its spatial composition. It is double-nave, hall-type, with a tower on a chimney facade and with a high gable. The originally planned third nave was not built, because then one of the central streets of the city would have been blocked.
Renaissance: 1550-1630
The Renaissance came to Estonia under Swedish rule. Renaissance and mannerist influences were manifested only in small architectural forms and decor, which adorned buildings that were completely Gothic in composition and construction. The only surviving building in this style is the House of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads in Tallinn (1597, rebuilding of the Gothic building). Another - important (weight) - destroyed in 1944.
Early Baroque: 1630s-1730s
The early baroque is represented by few monuments, given the then decline in construction activity, due to numerous wars in the region: the most prominent are the town hall in Narva in 1671, the Tallinn Gate in Pärnu at the end of the 17th century.
Late Baroque: 1710s-1775s
As a result of the Northern War, the territory of Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. The most outstanding attraction is the Ekaterinental (Kadriorg) palace and park ensemble, created in 1723 by order of the Russian Emperor Peter I, architect Niccolò Michetti. The style is close to the then St. Petersburg architecture, rather restrained in the use of expressive means, including decor. Another significant baroque example is the residence of the governor of the Estland province, built in 1773 on the site of the destroyed eastern wall of the Toompea castle. The building with side risalits, painted pink, still attracts attention with its beauty and nobility. Initially, the palace was built on two floors, the third floor and portico were added in 1935.
Classicism: 1745-1840
Classicist style is represented mainly in the university city of Tartu and in Tallinn. Town Hall in Tartu, built in 1789, still contains echoes of the late Baroque and the overall composition is somewhat reminiscent of the town hall in Narva.
The largest monument of classicism is the complex of the University of Tartu, the main building of which was built in strict and monumental order forms in 1803 according to the project of the German architect I. Krause, who was a professor of economics, technology and civil architecture at this university. The classical ensemble is complemented by other university buildings, among which the anatomical theater is the most significant.
Examples of classicism in Tallinn: the house of Pontus Stenbock, the palace of Kaulbars-Benckendorff on Toompea.
In Tallinn, the belt of bastion fortifications around the Old Town was eliminated, and a park ring was created instead. Country manor houses of order architecture became a characteristic phenomenon. For example, Saku Manor, Riisipere Manor, Kernu Manor, Kirnu Manor, Kolga Manor, Raikküla Manor, Udriku Manor, Aaspere Manor, Hireda Manor, Pirgu Manor, Vohnia Manor, Uhtna Manor, Massu Manor, Härgla Manor, Räpina Manor, Penijõe Manor, Lihula , Kasti manor , Triigi manor , Putkaste manor , Kurisoo manor , Tori manor , Orina manor , Vyhmuta manor , Caravete manor .
Historicism: 1840-1900
The dominant direction of historicism in Estonian architecture is neo-Gothic, an example of which is the Kaarli Church in Tallinn (1870, architect A. Gippius). The Ungern-Sternberg Palace (1865, architect Groppius), inspired by the Florentine Palazzo Strozzi, also complemented by neo-Gothic chimney towers and made of brick, makes a very vivid impression and remains in memory. The facade of the building of the Guild of St. Canute was built in the English Tudor style (English pseudo-Gothic). An example of the Neo-Renaissance is the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Toomkololi Street.
Modern: 1900-1920
Estonian modern belongs to the so-called northern modern. In Tallinn, it was formed under the influence of St. Petersburg, Finland and Riga. Close to rational modernity, but with motifs of national-romantic stylizations. In this stylization, tenement houses in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, as well as villas of that time, are solved.
The most public buildings include the Tallinn theater "Estonia" (now the National Opera) 1910-1913 (architect A. Lindgren) and the German Theater (now the Estonian Drama Theater) 1910 (St. Petersburg architects A. F. Bubyr and N. V. Vasiliev) ; the Endla Theater in Pärnu in 1911 (architects G. Hellat and E. Wolfeldt); student society building in Tartu, 1902.
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An excerpt characterizing the architecture of Estonia
About two years ago, in 1808, returning to St. Petersburg from his trip to the estates, Pierre involuntarily became the head of St. Petersburg Freemasonry. He set up dining and funeral lodges, recruited new members, took care of uniting various lodges and acquiring genuine acts. He gave his money for the construction of temples and replenished, as far as he could, almsgiving, for which most of the members were stingy and sloppy. He almost alone at his own expense supported the house of the poor, arranged by the order in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, his life went on as before, with the same hobbies and licentiousness. He liked to dine and drink well, and although he considered it immoral and humiliating, he could not refrain from the amusements of bachelor societies in which he participated.In the wake of his studies and hobbies, Pierre, however, after a year, began to feel how the soil of Freemasonry on which he stood, the more he left under his feet, the more firmly he tried to stand on it. At the same time, he felt that the deeper the soil on which he stood went under his feet, the more involuntarily he was connected with it. When he began Freemasonry, he experienced the feeling of a man trustingly placing his foot on the flat surface of a swamp. Putting his foot down, he fell. In order to fully assure himself of the firmness of the ground on which he stood, he put his other foot on and sank even more, got stuck and already involuntarily walked knee-deep in the swamp.
Iosif Alekseevich was not in Petersburg. (He has recently retired from the affairs of St. Petersburg lodges and lived without a break in Moscow.) All the brothers, members of the lodges, were people familiar to Pierre in life, and it was difficult for him to see in them only brothers in stoneworking, and not Prince B., not Ivan Vasilyevich D., whom he knew in life for the most part as weak and insignificant people. From under the Masonic aprons and signs, he saw on them uniforms and crosses, which they had achieved in life. Often, collecting alms and counting 20-30 rubles written down for the parish, and mostly in debt from ten members, of whom half were as rich as he was, Pierre recalled the Masonic oath that each brother promises to give all his property for a neighbor; and doubts arose in his soul, on which he tried not to dwell.
He divided all the brothers he knew into four categories. In the first category, he ranked brothers who do not take an active part either in the affairs of lodges or in human affairs, but are exclusively occupied with the sacraments of the science of the order, occupied with questions about the triple name of God, or about the three principles of things, sulfur, mercury and salt, or about the meaning square and all the figures of Solomon's temple. Pierre respected this category of Masonic brothers, to which the old brothers mostly belonged, and Joseph Alekseevich himself, according to Pierre, did not share their interests. His heart did not lie to the mystical side of Freemasonry.
In the second category, Pierre included himself and brothers like himself, who are searching, hesitating, who have not yet found a direct and understandable path in Freemasonry, but hoping to find it.
To the third category, he ranked the brothers (there were the largest number of them), who did not see anything in Freemasonry except for the external form and rituals and valued the strict execution of this external form, not caring about its content and meaning. Such were Vilarsky and even the great master of the main lodge.
Finally, a large number of brothers were included in the fourth category, especially those who had recently joined the brotherhood. These were people, according to Pierre's observations, who did not believe in anything, who did not want anything, and who entered Freemasonry only to get closer to young rich and strong brothers in connections and nobility, of whom there were a lot in the box.
Pierre began to feel dissatisfied with his activities. Freemasonry, at least the Freemasonry he knew here, sometimes seemed to him to be based on appearance alone. He did not even think of doubting Freemasonry itself, but he suspected that Russian Freemasonry had taken the wrong path and deviated from its source. And therefore, at the end of the year, Pierre went abroad to initiate himself into the highest secrets of the order.
In the summer back in 1809, Pierre returned to St. Petersburg. According to the correspondence of our Freemasons with foreign ones, it was known that Bezuhiy managed to gain the trust of many high-ranking officials abroad, penetrated many secrets, was elevated to the highest degree, and was carrying with him a lot for the common good of the masonry business in Russia. Petersburg Freemasons all came to him, currying favor with him, and it seemed to everyone that he was hiding something and preparing something.
A solemn meeting of the lodge of the 2nd degree was appointed, in which Pierre promised to inform what he had to convey to the St. Petersburg brothers from the highest leaders of the order. The meeting was full. After the usual rituals, Pierre got up and began his speech.
“Dear brothers,” he began, blushing and stammering, and holding a written speech in his hand. – It is not enough to observe our sacraments in the quiet of the lodge – you need to act… act. We are in stupor, and we need to act. Pierre took his notebook and began to read.
“In order to spread pure truth and bring the triumph of virtue,” he read, we must cleanse people of prejudices, spread rules that are consistent with the spirit of the times, take upon ourselves the education of youth, unite with inseparable ties with the most intelligent people, boldly and together prudently overcome superstition, unbelief and stupidity, to form from people devoted to us, connected with each other by a unity of purpose and having power and strength.
“To achieve this goal, virtue must be given a preponderance over vice, one must strive so that an honest person gains an eternal reward for his virtues in this world. But in these great intentions we are hindered by quite a lot - the current political institutions. What to do in such a state of affairs? Shall we favor revolutions, overthrow everything, expel force by force?... No, we are very far from that. Every violent reform is reprehensible, because it will do nothing to correct evil as long as people remain as they are, and because wisdom has no need for violence.
“The entire plan of the order should be based on educating people who are firm, virtuous and bound by the unity of conviction, a conviction consisting in pursuing vice and stupidity everywhere and with all your might and patronizing talents and virtue: to extract worthy people from the dust, joining them to our brotherhood. Then only our order will have the power to insensitively bind the hands of the patrons of disorder and control them so that they do not notice it. In a word, it is necessary to establish a universal dominating form of government, which would extend over the whole world without destroying civil bonds, and under which all other governments could continue in their usual order and do everything except that only that hinders the great goal of our order, then is the delivery of virtue triumph over vice. Christianity itself presupposed this goal. It taught people to be wise and kind, and for their own benefit to follow the example and instructions of the best and wisest people.
“Then, when everything was immersed in darkness, of course, one sermon was enough: the news of the truth gave it special power, but now much stronger means are needed for us. Now it is necessary that a person, guided by his feelings, find sensual charms in virtue. It is impossible to eradicate passions; we must only try to direct them to a noble goal, and therefore it is necessary that everyone be able to satisfy his passions within the limits of virtue, and that our order should provide means for this.
“As soon as we have a certain number of worthy people in each state, each of them again forms two others, and they all closely unite with each other - then everything will be possible for the order, which has already secretly managed to do a lot for the good of mankind.”
This speech made not only a strong impression, but also excitement in the box. The majority of the brothers, who saw in this speech the dangerous plans of the Illuminati, accepted his speech with coldness that surprised Pierre. The great master began to object to Pierre. Pierre began to develop his thoughts with great and great fervor. There hasn't been such a stormy meeting for a long time. Parties were formed: some accused Pierre, condemning him for the Illuminati; others supported him. For the first time at this meeting, Pierre was struck by the infinite diversity of human minds, which makes it so that no truth is equally presented to two people. Even those of the members who seemed to be on his side understood him in their own way, with limitations, changes that he could not agree to, since Pierre's main need was precisely to convey his thought to another exactly as he himself understood her.
At the end of the meeting, the great master, with hostility and irony, made a remark to Bezukhoi about his ardor and that not only love for virtue, but also the enthusiasm for the struggle led him in the dispute. Pierre did not answer him and briefly asked if his proposal would be accepted. He was told that no, and Pierre, without waiting for the usual formalities, left the box and went home.
Pierre again found that longing that he was so afraid of. For three days after delivering his speech in the box, he lay at home on the sofa, receiving no one and not leaving anywhere.
At this time, he received a letter from his wife, who begged him for a date, wrote about her sadness for him and about her desire to devote her whole life to him.
At the end of the letter, she informed him that one of these days she would come to St. Petersburg from abroad.
Following the letter, one of the Masonic brothers, less respected by him, burst into Pierre’s solitude and, having brought the conversation to Pierre’s marital relations, in the form of fraternal advice, expressed to him the idea that his strictness towards his wife was unfair, and that Pierre deviates from the first rules of the Mason. not forgiving the penitent.
At the same time, his mother-in-law, the wife of Prince Vasily, sent for him, begging him to visit her at least for a few minutes to negotiate a very important matter. Pierre saw that there was a conspiracy against him, that they wanted to unite him with his wife, and this was not even unpleasant for him in the state in which he was. He did not care: Pierre did not consider anything in life a matter of great importance, and under the influence of the longing that now took possession of him, he did not value either his freedom or his persistence in punishing his wife.
"No one is right, no one is to blame, so she is not to blame either," he thought. - If Pierre did not immediately express his consent to union with his wife, it was only because in the state of anguish in which he was, he was not able to do anything. If his wife came to him, he would not drive her away now. Was it not all the same, in comparison with what occupied Pierre, to live or not to live with his wife?
Without answering anything to his wife or mother-in-law, Pierre once got ready for the road late in the evening and left for Moscow to see Iosif Alekseevich. Here is what Pierre wrote in his diary.
Moscow, November 17th.
I have just arrived from a benefactor, and I hasten to write down everything that I experienced at the same time. Iosif Alekseevich lives in poverty and suffers for the third year from a painful bladder disease. No one ever heard from him a groan, or a word of grumbling. From morning until late at night, with the exception of the hours in which he eats the simplest food, he works on science. He received me graciously and sat me down on the bed on which he was lying; I made him the sign of the knights of the East and Jerusalem, he answered me the same, and with a meek smile asked me about what I had learned and acquired in the Prussian and Scottish lodges. I told him everything as well as I could, conveying the grounds that I offered in our St. Petersburg box and reported on the bad reception that had been given to me, and about the rupture that had occurred between me and the brothers. Iosif Alekseevich, after a considerable pause and thought, presented to me his view of all this, which instantly illuminated for me everything that had passed and the whole future path that lay before me. He surprised me by asking me if I remember what the threefold purpose of the order is: 1) to keep and know the sacrament; 2) in the purification and correction of oneself for the perception of it, and 3) in the correction of the human race through the desire for such purification. What is the main and first goal of these three? Certainly own correction and purification. Only towards this goal can we always strive, regardless of all circumstances. But at the same time, this goal requires the most labor from us, and therefore, deluded by pride, we, missing this goal, either take on the sacrament that we are unworthy to receive because of our impurity, or take on the correction of the human race, when we ourselves are an example of abomination and depravity. Illuminism is not a pure doctrine precisely because it is carried away by social activities and is full of pride. On this basis, Iosif Alekseevich condemned my speech and all my activities. I agreed with him in the depths of my soul. On the occasion of our conversation about my family affairs, he said to me: - The main duty of a true Mason, as I told you, is to perfect himself. But often we think that by removing all the difficulties of our life from ourselves, we will more quickly achieve this goal; on the contrary, my lord, he told me, only in the midst of secular unrest can we achieve three main goals: 1) self-knowledge, for a person can know himself only through comparison, 2) improvement, only by struggle is it achieved, and 3) achieve the main virtue - love for death. Only the vicissitudes of life can show us the futility of it and can contribute to our innate love for death or rebirth into a new life. These words are all the more remarkable because Iosif Alekseevich, despite his severe physical suffering, is never burdened by life, but loves death, for which, despite all the purity and loftiness of his inner man, he still does not feel himself sufficiently prepared. Then the benefactor fully explained to me the meaning of the great square of the universe and pointed out that the triple and the seventh number are the foundation of everything. He advised me not to distance myself from communication with the St. Petersburg brothers and, occupying only positions of the 2nd degree in the lodge, to try, distracting the brothers from the hobbies of pride, to turn them to the true path of self-knowledge and improvement. In addition, for himself personally, he advised me first of all to take care of myself, and for this purpose he gave me a notebook, the same one in which I write and will continue to enter all my actions.
Petersburg, November 23rd.
“I live with my wife again. My mother-in-law came to me in tears and said that Helen was here and that she begged me to listen to her, that she was innocent, that she was unhappy at my abandonment, and much more. I knew that if I only allowed myself to see her, I would no longer be able to refuse her desire. In my doubt, I did not know whose help and advice to resort to. If the benefactor were here, he would tell me. I retired to my room, reread the letters of Joseph Alekseevich, remembered my conversations with him, and from everything I deduced that I should not refuse the one who asks and should give a helping hand to anyone, especially a person so connected with me, and should bear my cross. But if I forgave her for the sake of virtue, then let my union with her have one spiritual purpose. So I decided and so I wrote to Joseph Alekseevich. I told my wife that I ask her to forget everything old, I ask her to forgive me what I could be guilty of before her, and that I have nothing to forgive her. I was glad to tell her this. Let her not know how hard it was for me to see her again. Settled in a large house in the upper chambers and experiencing a happy feeling of renewal.
As always, even then, high society, uniting together at court and at big balls, was divided into several circles, each with its own shade. Among them, the most extensive was the French circle, the Napoleonic Union - Count Rumyantsev and Caulaincourt "a. In this circle, Helen occupied one of the most prominent places as soon as she and her husband settled in St. Petersburg. She visited the gentlemen of the French embassy and a large number of people, known for their intelligence and courtesy, who belonged to this direction.
Helen was in Erfurt during the famous meeting of the emperors, and from there she brought these connections with all the Napoleonic sights of Europe. In Erfurt, she had a brilliant success. Napoleon himself, noticing her in the theater, said about her: "C" est un superbe animal. "[This is a beautiful animal.] Her success as a beautiful and elegant woman did not surprise Pierre, because over the years she became even more beautiful than before But what surprised him was that in these two years his wife managed to acquire a reputation for herself
"d" une femme charmante, aussi spirituelle, que belle. "[A charming woman, as smart as beautiful.] The famous Prince de Ligne [Prince de Ligne] wrote letters to her on eight pages. Bilibin saved his mots [words], to say them for the first time in the presence of Countess Bezukhova.To be received in the salon of Countess Bezukhova was considered a diploma of the mind; young people read books before Helen's evening, so that there was something to talk about in her salon, and the secretaries of the embassy, and even envoys, confided diplomatic secrets to her, so that Helene was a force in some way. Pierre, who knew that she was very stupid, with a strange feeling of bewilderment and fear, sometimes attended her parties and dinners, where politics, poetry and philosophy were discussed. At these evenings he experienced a similar feeling which the conjurer must experience, expecting every time that his deceit is about to be revealed. not in this deceit, the deceit was not revealed, and the reputation of d "une femme charmante et spirituelle was so unshakably established for Elena Vasilyevna Bezukhova that she could speak the biggest vulgarities and stupidities, and yet everyone admired her every word and looked for deep meaning in it which she herself did not suspect.
