Stormy and disturbing for Russia was the beginning of the 19th century. The people's liberation war with the Napoleonic army, the emerging progressive moods in the midst of the masses and among the nobility, Russia's desire to exalt its position, the development of economic and cultural ties with countries around the world; - all this gave a dynamic movement towards the development of architecture, construction from more durable materials.

But, before talking about architecture, a few words about the economy of the Nizhny Novgorod province. The dominant form of industry in the first half of the 19th century was manufactory, but it is gradually turning into a factory.

Nizhny Novgorod- 19th century.

The industrial revolution begins in the country. In 1827, more than 2,000 industrial establishments were operating in the province, including 74 manufactories (metallurgical, rope-spinning, hat-felting, leather, and many others). Nizhny Novgorod remained the most significant industrial and commercial city of the province. In the first half of the 19th century, crafts were further developed in the city. 3000 people are engaged in the craft. Blacksmithing is done by residents of the Kunavinskaya Sloboda. They make small nails of various grades, they sell iron at the fair. Among the Nizhny Novgorod craftsmen there were many whose products were highly appreciated at Russian and foreign exhibitions. Pupils of I. P. Kulibin: - F. Volkov, F. Vyesovshchikov, I. Tikhanovsky - demonstrated tower clocks, clocks with a monthly winding, turning and drilling machines. Rope and spinning production was a traditional branch of Nizhny Novgorod industrialists at the beginning of the 19th century, but by the fifties it was gradually declining. With the development of the steam fleet, metallurgical plants are growing in Nizhny Novgorod and its environs. Merchants of the first guild: Shepelev, Pyatov, Rukavishnikov, who smelted high-quality steel; sold it to Persia, to Bukhara. In 1849, workshops were built on the banks of the Volga, called at that time the "Factory of the Towing and Import Shipping Company", where new ships were repaired and even built. From these workshops, the famous Sormovo plant grew. But the largest enterprises of the Nizhny Novgorod province continued to be the Vyksa ironworks and iron foundries. The production of factories is expanding, the Sormovo plant becomes the largest in Russia, tugboats, tanker barges, sea schooners are built here, cars, ship boilers are manufactured. In 1870, the first open-hearth furnace in Russia was launched at the Sormovo plant, and the following year, the first double-deck passenger steamer was launched from the stocks.

Nizhny Novgorod becomes a "flour-grinding" city - at the end of the century, mills belonging to the Bashkirovs, Bugrov and Degtyarev operate in it. thoughts.

Trade played an important role in the city's economy. The general economic recovery in the country was reflected in all aspects of the life of Nizhny Novgorod.

Plan of Nizhny Novgorod, 19th century.

The disintegration of the feudal-serf system in Russia in the 30s-40s of the 19th century contributed to the growth of cities and their economic specialization. At this time, the views of the city changed. If earlier urban planners focused on its size and problems of architectural style, now the city was considered taking into account a complex of social and natural factors. The first regular plan of Nizhny Novgorod was made in the traditions of Russian classicism of the 18th century and was approved by the highest in 1770. However, at that time there were neither material means nor qualified specialists for its implementation.

Subsequently, it was repeatedly remade, approaching the real needs of the city's development. In 1779 - 1796, large allocations were allocated for the construction of administrative buildings and dwellings for dignitaries, which made it possible to reconstruct and build up the central part of the city.

An even larger event was the construction in the 1820s under the leadership of A.A. Betancourt of a huge fair complex, reconstruction of the Lower Bazaar area and development of Kanavin. This required the creation and approval of a new plan in 1824, which included beyond the river territories in the city limits. The city developed rapidly, but appearance and the landscaping left much to be desired, almost all the buildings were wooden, there were no convenient roads, which was caused by insufficient consideration of the complex terrain in the plans. To carry out measures for the reconstruction of Nizhny Novgorod in 1836, a Special Committee was created, the activities of which were regulated by the “Regulations on the organization of the provincial city of Nizhny Novgorod”. It, in particular, stated that “.. all newly built buildings should be erected on stone foundations so that the facades for decorating the external views of these buildings are consistent with the general plans approved by the Highest ... and that they are beautiful, durable and their decorations are not polysyllabic ... Build stone structures within five years…”.

Along the outer side of the Kremlin walls, a recreation area for citizens was arranged with walking paths lined with trees and shrubs. In the north-eastern part of the Kremlin, it was planned to build a vast complex of the military-governor's house - a palace with services and an arsenal. The Zelensky congress was dug near the Kremlin. For the convoys arriving in the city along the Kazan pillar road, the Kazan and Georgievsky congresses were created. The Moscow-Murom ancient tract connected with the bridge across the Pokhvalinsky congress, which was laid along the bottom of the monastery ravine. The main streets of the city were improved. The ravines that crossed them were filled in, rivers and channels were enclosed in collectors, and dams were built over them: Pokrovskaya, A.M. Gorky Square, Varvarskaya, Svoboda Square.

Along the Oka and the Volga, embankments were designed with slopes to the piers, paving them with cobblestones. The Volga slope was transformed. It leveled off, in its central part a public Alexander Garden was laid out with a picturesque layout, which in the middle of the 19th century became a favorite vacation spot for Nizhny Novgorod residents, the Upper - Volzhskaya embankment was formed.

The development of trade contributed to the rapid growth of the city and its improvement. Engineer A.I. Delvig in 1847, thanks to research, identified the most powerful currents of groundwater, collected them in a huge concrete pool and, using steam engines, raised them to the square in front of the Kremlin - in the fall he scored the first fountain in the city, then on Markin Square, in front of the pontoon bridge, and on fair. A page was opened in the history of the city - water supply.

In the period 1841-1855 the population of the city was 30,790 people. Of the 2,343 residential buildings - 254 (more than - 10%) were already made of stone, there were 8 large and several small squares in the city, 128 streets, 41 of them were paved with cobblestones. They were illuminated by about 400 kerosene lanterns.

The development of capitalist relations led to further social transformations, which were reflected in urban construction. Large buildings of industrial enterprises, banks, hotels, clubs are being built. Technological progress required the development of education, and consequently, the construction of special educational institutions. In 1885, telephone communication appeared in the city.

Widow's House (Lyadova Square).

Despite the rapid development of Nizhny Novgorod, the problem of communication between the upland and riverside parts of the city was solved only in 1934 - a bridge was built across the Oka.

Plow bridge across the Oka.

City Council building. State Bank on the street. Pokrovka.

Nizhny Novgorod is the administrative center of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the center and largest city Volga Federal District. It is located 439 km from Moscow. The city is located in the center of the East European Plain at the confluence of the Oka and Volga. Oka divides the city into two parts - upper and lower. The upper part is located on the Dyatlovy mountains, the lower part is on its left bank. The mouth of the river is the geographical center of the East European Plain.

The length of the city along the Oka is 20 km, along the Volga - about 30 km. There are more than 30 lakes and 12 rivers on the territory of the city. Most big lake city ​​- Meshcherskoye, located in the Kanavinsky district, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bits water surface is about 14 hectares. From 1932 to 1990 the city was called Gorky - in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky.

Nizhny Novgorod is an important economic, transport and cultural center Russian Federation, the center of shipbuilding, aircraft building, automotive and information technology, as well as the largest center of river cruise tourism in Russia and the venue for international exhibitions of various profiles on the basis of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. Population - 1,255,159 people - the fifth largest city in Russia.

Nizhny Novgorod is a major transport hub. The railroad appeared in 1862, the first automobile in 1896. The city has: a railway station, a river station, a cargo port, a backwater, several berths for transshipment of goods. The city is home to the management of the Gorky railway, the Nizhny Novgorod-Sorting station and the largest station on Gorkovskaya railway container terminal Kostarikh. Passes a new passenger course of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Since July 2010, high-speed Sapsan trains have been running on the route Nizhny Novgorod - Moscow - St. Petersburg.

Highways of federal and regional significance pass through the city.

Strigino International Airport is located on the territory of the Avtozavodsky district. Customs clearance of goods is carried out by the department at the Kostarikha station and at the GAZ customs post.

History, architectural monuments and sights of Nizhny Novgorod.

Nizhny Novgorod was founded in 1221 by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir as a fortress. In the documents, the name "Nizhny" and "Novgrad Nizovsky lands" appeared in the XIV century as a designation of the center of a vast area lying downstream of the Volga and Oka rivers with their tributaries. During the period of feudal fragmentation, Nizhny Novgorod was alternately the lot of Suzdal and Vladimir principalities.

Since 1350, Nizhny Novgorod has been the capital of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal principality, created in 1341, which occupied a vast territory and competed with Moscow. Thanks to the advantageous geographic location Nizhny Novgorod has become a major commercial and cultural center. In the Pechersky Monastery, founded in 1328-30, chronicles were kept.

The territory on which the city of Nizhny Novgorod is located, from ancient times, lay on the border of the settlement of Slavic tribes. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Vladimir-Suzdal princes finally secured for themselves the confluence of the Oka with the Volga.

The founder of Nizhny Novgorod, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, attached great importance to his new city, constantly took care of it and strengthened it. Already in 1225, the first stone Church of the Savior was built, and in 1227 the Archangel Church, erected simultaneously with the laying of the city, was replaced by a stone one.

The remains of the oldest stone structures of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin speak of the high level of Russian art of the 13th century, which created monumental structures richly decorated with skillful carvings on the outskirts of the country. Under Ivan III and Vasily III, the city was an important guard post, had a permanent army and was a gathering place for troops during campaigns against the Kazan Khanate.

Having survived the invasion of the Mongol hordes, Nizhny Novgorod quickly grew and rose. In the XIV century it was the largest trade and economic point on the eastern border of the Russian land. Nizhny Novgorod was the first to take the blows of the enemies, but in Peaceful time enjoyed all the benefits of its location at the intersection of the main trade routes from Russia to the East.

In the middle of the XIV century, Nizhny Novgorod became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Novgorod. In this relatively short period of the life of the city, the princes of Nizhny Novgorod are fighting Moscow, thinking little about the interests of the entire Russian land, which urgently demanded the formation of a single state.

Nizhny Novgorod at that time was a fairly large cultural center. In 1377, one of the oldest chronicles that has come down to us, the Lavrentiev Chronicle, was written here for Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich.

The princes of Nizhny Novgorod tried by all means to make their capital city beautiful. Stone buildings reappear in it, the stone churches of the Savior (1352) and Michael the Archangel, built in 1359 by Prince Andrei Konstantinovich, are being restored. The churches of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (1371) and the Church of the Annunciation in the Annunciation Monastery (1370) were rebuilt.

Particular attention was paid to the decoration of the Cathedral Church of the Savior. Prince Konstantin Vasilyevich transferred from Suzdal the image of the Savior, taken from Greece. The transfer of the glorified icon to Nizhny Novgorod meant that the center of the Suzdal land moved to the Volga. Monumental doors, richly decorated with gilded copper, were placed in the cathedral. Perhaps it was this temple that was painted by the famous Theophanes the Greek, who worked in the city at the end of the 14th century.

At that time, work on the construction of a stone fortress was begun and partially completed. From the entire Nizhny Novgorod construction of the XIV century, almost no material remains have been preserved to this day, therefore, the few images of buildings of that time are all the more interesting. So, for example, in the manuscript of the end of the 16th century "The Facial Vault" there are several rather conditional miniatures relating to Nizhny Novgorod of the 14th century.

More interesting is the image of the stone church of the Annunciation Monastery, painted on the casement of the icon case of the icon of Metropolitan Alexei, which was located in the Annunciation Monastery. Researchers attributed it to the XV-XVI centuries. Judging by the accuracy of the drawing, we can assume that the author saw this church in real life, which probably existed until the middle of the 17th century. New stone structures appeared in Nizhny Novgorod only with the construction of the Kremlin, during the period of unification and strengthening of the Russian state.

Kremlin

At the beginning of the 16th century, Nizhny Novgorod was surrounded by wooden oak walls. Only the stone Dmitrovskaya tower reminded of the short period of independence of the Nizhny Novgorod Grand Duchy.

The interests of the growing Moscow state required the creation of powerful strongholds and reliable protection of the most significant cities. Therefore, after the completion of the main work to strengthen Moscow (1485) and the construction of the Kremlin in Novgorod (1490), the construction of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, the third stone fortress built by Moscow, began.

The construction of the Kremlin in Nizhny Novgorod began in 1500, when, on the orders of Ivan III, the Tverskaya (now Ivanovskaya) tower was erected, covering the coastal part of the city and the approaches to the Volga. Less than two years after the completion of construction, the new stone walls had to successfully withstand the first siege. After that, the city was attacked by the Tatars in 1520, 1536 and 1574, and each time the enemies retreated. The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was never taken by the enemy.

The fortress was located on top of the Volga mountain coast, partly descending along its steep slopes, and dominated the Volga. With great skill, the builders found the direction of the walls and chose the places for the towers, creating an outstanding work of architectural and military applied art. At the same time, they perfectly solved the complex technical problem of erecting monumental walls on landslide slopes.

The then Kremlin was a closed irregular polygon. The walls were flanked by 13 towers located 50-300 m apart. Large towers were placed at the corners of the fortress, in its especially critical areas, and in places that had weak natural protection. Between big towers there were small towers. This was the period during which the widespread use of firearms began, which was taken into account when building the fortress.

High walls rose above the steep slopes, requiring a small number of defenders for defense. Out of the blue, the walls were low, with the expectation of greater use of manpower. In the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, firing from squeakers of various calibers was carried out only from the towers. The towers were square and usually had gates from which drawbridges ran across the ditches.

From the end of the 17th century, the Kremlin lost its importance as a fortress and began to fall into decay. As a result of the lack of systematic observation for more than two hundred years, episodic repairs of dubious quality did not save the Kremlin of those times, and it has come down to us in a greatly distorted form.

Deprived of decorative elements, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin stands before us in the harsh guise of antiquity. Its powerful walls affect the viewer with their strict, clear forms, the ratio of ledges and towers, and their excellent location on the complex relief of the Volga coast.

Near the Kremlin, on the coastal slope, the Annunciation Monastery founded in the 13th century is located: the five-domed Annunciation Cathedral (1649) surrounded by a low gallery with the attached one-domed Sergius Church (late 17th - early 18th centuries), a refectory with a 2-tent Assumption Church (1678) , bell tower and cells (XVII century).

Downstream of the Volga, not far from the Kremlin, is the Pechersky Monastery, founded in the 14th century: five-domed, on a white stone basement, the Ascension Cathedral (1632), with a bell tower (1632); gate tent church of Efimy of Suzdal (1645, architect Konstantinov); a refectory with a tented Assumption Church (1648); Peter and Paul Church (1638, architect Konstantinov, Bishops' Chambers (XVII - XVIII centuries).

Historical monuments and sights of Nizhny Novgorod of the 17th - 18th centuries

Cathedral of the Archangel

At the beginning of the 17th century, most of the urban population lived outside the Kremlin, in the Upper and Lower Posad, which were protected by wooden walls and earthen ramparts. Nizhny Novgorod, which played an important role in the liberation of the country from foreign intervention at the beginning of the 17th century, was at that time one of the most important cities in the Muscovite state. However, despite this, there were very few monumental buildings in the city.

In the scribe book of 1662 in Nizhny Novgorod, in addition to the Kremlin walls and towers, only two stone buildings were indicated: the Spassky Cathedral and the church in the Annunciation Monastery. Other buildings erected in the 14th century turned into ruins by the 17th century.

New monumental construction began with the restoration of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin. It was at this time that the cathedral tent, which has survived to this day, was erected.

It was no coincidence that the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel became the first major building after the expulsion of the invaders. And although the choice of the saint could be determined by dynastic considerations, the construction of the cathedral dedicated to the patron saint of the army, first of all, marked the victorious end of the war of liberation.

The work on the construction of the cathedral was carried out under the guidance of master Lavreny Vazoulin and his stepson Antipas and was completed in 1631. The tent of the cathedral is open inside. The tripartite division of the cubic base is repeated by three kokoshniks, completing each of the faces of the figure eight. Heavy and crushed details of cornices, deep niches and wide profiled frames of zakomar and kokoshniks are very typical details of Russian architecture of the 17th century.

Assumption Church

Among the monuments of the 17th century, which were affected by the influence of wooden architecture, a special place is occupied by the Assumption Church, built on a hill above the Postal (former Assumption) congress.

The stone building of the church was built in 1672. Based on the surviving remains and old photographs, the original appearance of this heavily rebuilt structure was partially restored.

The main part of the church consisted of a quarter, the walls of which ended in barrel-shaped pediments. Near the central dome, four smaller ones were placed in a cruciform manner, each of which rested on kokoshniks cut into the ridge of an eight-slope roof. Thus, in the church, the type of ceiling "cross barrel, four faces" was repeated, a type very common in wooden architecture, especially for the completion of porches.

Reproduction of barrel shapes in brick is known in the monuments of ancient Russian architecture only in the porches and above the entrance. The only example of the use of the so-called "barrel" in a stone building is the Assumption Church in Nizhny Novgorod.

Annunciation Monastery

In addition to separate works of old architecture scattered in different parts of the city, two ensembles of the 17th century have been preserved in Nizhny Novgorod - the Annunciation and Pechersky monasteries. A characteristic feature of both monasteries is their location on the slope of the river bank, thanks to which the buildings stand out with a white three-dimensional pattern against the background of green slopes and trees of a high bank. Groups of monastic buildings stretched along the river are inextricably linked with the nature around them. Architectural forms are organically combined with the majestic panorama of a wide, powerful river.

The foundation of the Annunciation Monastery goes back to ancient times. The first news about him refers to 1229. However, to date, not a single building older than the 17th century has survived.

The central place is occupied by the five-domed cathedral, built in 1649. The low, once open gallery surrounding it brings the cathedral closer to the Upper Volga churches. The covering by zakomaras, the shape of the domes and domes are archaic for this time. Living quarters close the monastery courtyard from the west. Some of them with a built-in graceful bell tower have been preserved from the 17th century.

The most interesting building of the monastery is the two-hipped Assumption Church. It is remarkable for its silhouette, elegance, elegance of skillfully executed brick details.

Pechersky Monastery

The Caves Monastery was founded in 1328-1330 by the monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery Dionysius, who later became one of the most prominent figures in the Nizhny Novgorod Grand Duchy. In the XVI-XVII centuries the influence of the monastery spread far beyond the Nizhny Novgorod region.

In 1597, a very large landslide occurred, which destroyed the monastery and the six stone churches that were attached to it. The masters called from Moscow came to the conclusion that it was impossible to restore the buildings in their original place, and the monastery was moved a kilometer closer to the city, to a more stable site, where the buildings are still located.

It is possible that the architecture of the monastery complex owes its simplicity to the desire to repeat the nature and forms of buildings that existed before the catastrophe and consecrated by time. This was especially true in the bell tower (1632). Its rectangular main array only under the tent itself passes into an octahedron. The Ascension Cathedral, completed in the same 1632 by the master Antipas Vazoulin, is distinguished by the same rigor. A covered arched passage connects the cathedral with the Assumption Church (1648), whose closed vault ends with a small decorative tent.

In front of the western entrance to the Ascension Cathedral, above the gates of the old monastery fence (the existing walls were built in 1765), there is the tent church of Euthymius (1642 - 1645). By its similarity with the architecture of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, it can be assumed that Vasoulin was also the author of the building.

Bishops' chambers were built according to the type usual for residential buildings of the 17th century. In the 18th century, a second floor was added above the central part of the building, surrounded by a gallery on stone columns.

"Strogon" churches

Church in Gordeevka. Strogonovs, whose surname gave the name to several architectural monuments late XVII - early XVIII century in Nizhny Novgorod and Solvychegodsk, got rich on salt mining in Solvychegodsk and the Perm Territory. At the end of the 17th century, all the possessions of the Strogon family were united in the hands of Grigory Dmitrievich Strogonov. He was close to Peter I, who was in correspondence with him and baptized his son.

Since the 16th century, Nizhny Novgorod has been the center of the salt trade, and the Strogonovs, like other salt producers, had lands, houses, offices and warehouses in it. Until 1703, Grigory Stroganov lived in the village of Gordeevka, now included in the city, in his suburban estate. Here in 1694-1697 the Church of Our Lady of Smolensk was built. The architect achieved in it a great integrity of the architectural image. The main volume, completed with five domes, is much higher than the bell tower and the chapel attached from the north (the height of the chapel is equal to the height of the lower order of the main temple).

All domes of the church and the chapel are made in two tiers, as is also the case in Moscow churches of the nineties of the 17th century. The domes of the Gordeevskaya Church are distinguished by the organicity with which the upper tier grows out of the lower one. The old helmet-shaped domes covered with scaly green tiles are well preserved.

The walls end with stepped pediments of a complex pattern. They are displayed as decorative walls rising above the roof. The shape of the pediments is determined only by the architectural design of the facades and is not connected either with the vault that covers the main volume, or with the structure of the roof.

The top of the pediments ends with a white-stone finish, decorated with a flat “applied” ornament. Along with details of white stone, patterned bricks are also widely used in the construction of the church. Columns, twisted columns on the bell tower, architraves and friezes of both entablature and various profiles, often made of stone, are laid out of brick. The bell tower is distinguished by the Baroque character, especially its upper tiers.

Entirely from the methods of wooden carving go through slots of the volutes of stone Corinthian capitals; holes between individual acanthus leaves seem to be drilled with a brace. The craftsmen who built the Gordeevskaya Church discovered an familiarity with the order system based on engraved tables or carved samples of wood. Corinthian columns entwined with grapes, used in Gordeevka and decorating the Nativity Stronovskaya Church in even greater numbers, become at this time a characteristic feature that distinguishes the work of Russian masters.

Christmas Church

The beginning of the construction of the Nativity Church dates back to the end of the 17th century. The building was very rich. The construction and decoration of the temple, almost entirely covered with busy stone carvings, took a lot of time, so during the fire of 1715 the church was still unfinished. After the fire, the temple was put in order for four years. In 1719 it was consecrated.

The white-stone details almost supplanted the patterned brick, which was used in the decoration of Gordeevka. The walls of the Nativity Church are full of various reliefs and decorations. Twisted vines wrap around twisted columns framed by windows and in the order of the third tier. Pomegranates, pears, apples and other fruits, surrounded by flowers, protrude from the ornament.

Garlands of flowers border the window openings. Numerous cartouches, shells and scrolls create a transition from pictorial to purely architectural elements. The whole appearance of this church building is saturated with motifs of joyful abundance, sharply distinguishing it from the harsh simplicity of churches of the 16th century. Covered with a vault, with windows in lunettes, the top of the Nativity Church resembles a wooden structure with its external forms.

Stroganovskaya Nativity Church rises on the slope of a steep mountain. Initially, there were one or two staircases leading from the ground to the open gallery of the porch, later laid down and connected to the same room with the refectory.

Outside, the church is a two-tiered building with a pronounced number of storeys: one half is built on with a third tier, with a center elevated by one more tier. Such a composition gives the side facade a kind of smooth movement, corresponding to the location of the building along the river bank. The entire façade seems to be assembled from almost identical rectangles arranged in rows horizontally or stacked on top of each other. The core of each element is a rich window frame.

The whole composition gives a gradual complication and refinement of the forms as you move upward. Narrow protrusions of the loosened frieze of the lower tiers support the pedestals under the upper columns, the width of which is the entire extension of the cornice. The drawing combines beauty, as well as a sober consideration of harsh climatic conditions and the desire to protect the white stone finish from rain and melting snow.

One can only judge what the interior of the church was like from two iconostases: a stone one located in the refectory and a wooden one located in a cold temple. The existing stucco ornaments and paintings were made during repairs in the 19th century.

Historical monuments of the XVIII century

Despite the decree of 1714, which prohibited stone construction everywhere, except for St. Petersburg, the construction of stone churches continued in Nizhny Novgorod. So, in 1700-1715, 3 churches were built, and from 1715 to 1725, 6 churches were built. Most of them did not last long and were rebuilt at the end of the 18th or 19th century.

In Nizhny Novgorod, the church architecture of the early 18th century was quite diverse. Along with the Stroganov churches, five-domed or small single-domed churches were erected with details that differed little from the style of the 17th century. No less favorite type of temples of this time were tiered ones, the St. George Church, built in 1702, belonged to the best of them.

The church was decorated with details made of white stone; the main element of the ornament was numerous shells, similar to the stone shells of Strogonov's churches.

The tiered type of churches, having lost their original patterned decoration, lasted in Nizhny Novgorod throughout the 18th century and was supplanted by empire-style domed buildings. In addition to St. George's, the Spiritual Church (1703), Odigitrievskaya on the Gryada (1715 - 1719) and all 7 churches built in the period from 1725 to the beginning of the 19th century were tiered.

Classicism was not reflected in Nizhny Novgorod churches. Built in 1782, the Peter and Paul Church, as well as the Kazan cemetery (1794 - 1798), retain baroque features in details.

Historical monuments XIX century. In 1817, the largest fair in Russia was moved to the left bank of the Oka from the city of Makariev. In 1825, the population of Nizhny Novgorod was 16,000. After the transfer of the fair, the economic development of the city began faster, it began to grow faster, and by 1841 the number of inhabitants doubled, reaching 32 thousand people. Arrangement of a fair town on the low bank of the Oka became an outstanding urban development project: an artificial canal was dug and a sewer system was created.

In 1824 it is approved new project planning, supplementing and correcting the project of 1770. The entire residential building is finally taken out of the Kremlin. The largest of the city's buildings - government offices - turns into barracks, and the city square - into a parade ground (1834 - 1835). The integrity of its architectural and planning concept was violated even earlier, in 1827, when the single-domed Assumption Church (1827) was built instead of the second building. In addition to it, several other Empire churches were built in the 1820s, of which the bell tower of the Intercession Church (1824) was the most successful.

In 1825, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky (architect Melnikov) was erected in the Kremlin in the form of an obelisk made of pink granite. In the lower part of the monument there were gilded bronze plaques with busts of the leaders of the Nizhny Novgorod militia and winged goddesses of victory. In the same period, the building of the Noble Assembly (architect Korinfsky) and the Lutheran Church (1828) were built.

In the first half of the 19th century, such well-known buildings were built in Nizhny Novgorod as the tea house "Pillars" (architect Kizevetter), associated with the social activities of M. Gorky. According to the Kizevetter project, the former Niklaus house (1841) was built, where V.I. lived in 1900. Lenin, as well as the house on the Lykova dam (1838), in which the parents of N.A. Dobrolyubova.

On the outskirts modern city, which were formerly suburbs and settlements, villages, houses decorated with carvings and paintings are still preserved. Carved details penetrate the architecture of city houses, sometimes covering the walls with rich carvings.

Fair. At the end of the 16th - 17th, the planning structure of Nizhny Novgorod consisted in the Nagorny part of the City (i.e. the Kremlin), surrounding its Upper and Lower (under the high bank) settlements, scattered settlements on the neighboring hills (Kanavinskaya settlement was included in Zaochye). The line of defensive walls of the Kremlin (1500 - 1512) with numerous towers (there were originally 13; large square towers with gates alternate with smaller round ones; restoration - 1960-1970 under the leadership of S.A. Agafonov), outlines the territory in the form of an irregular triangle; in the Kremlin - a cubic, completed with an 8-sided tent on a low octagon, the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral (built in 1631, in honor of the victory of the Nizhny Novgorod militia in 1612, architects L. Vozoulin and L. Konstantinov; since 1962, the ashes of Kuzma Minin have been in the cathedral) .

Above the bank of the Oka, between the Kremlin and the Pokhvalinsky ravine, the buildings of the settlement have been preserved. Churches: Myrrh-bearing women (1649, five-domed on a high basement, the appearance was changed by alterations of the 20th century, the roof is 4-pitched, devoid of chapters); Assumption on Ilyinskaya Gora (1672), crowned with 5 tiled domes on high drums, with kokoshniks at the base), as well as the famous architectural monument of Nizhny Novgorod - the Nativity Church at the Stroganovs' estate in the so-called Stroganov style, completed with 5 domes with patterned crosses, with an extensive 2-tier refectory, on the facades - a rich decoration of bricks in the form of motifs of fruits, cartouches, scrolls (1719); in the interior of the refectory - white-stone carving, in the interior of the church - an iconostasis with fine wooden carvings, icons of the 18th century, picturesque panels; now a museum).

Preserved houses of the 17th - early 18th centuries, mostly 2-story, made of brick, with windows decorated with figured frames, kokoshniks, with wooden outbuildings, porches, high roofs: Chatygin (the so-called house of Peter I, who stopped here in 1695, heading in the Azov campaign), Pushnikov's chambers, consisting of two connected buildings built at different times, Olisov's house. On the left bank of the Oka there is a five-domed church of Our Lady of Smolensk with a rich decor in the Stroganov style at the estate in the Stroganovs in Gordeevka (1697).

For the Nagornaya part of the city in 1770, a radial-circular plan was developed with a system of streets radiating from the trapezoidal square at the outer gates of the Kremlin. According to the revised plan, along with the Kanavinskaya Sloboda, the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair was included in the city on the left bank of the Oka.

According to the plan of 1838, the Verkhnevolzhskaya embankment was built (Georgievsky and Kazan congresses from both ends of it), on the slope - the Alexander Garden.

At the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th centuries, buildings here were built in the style of classicism, in the second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries - in the style of eclecticism, stylization and modernity. In the Nagornaya part, the former house of the vice-governor (1788), the house of the pharmacist G. Evenius (1799 - 1792, architect I. Nemeyer), the building of the seminary (1823 - 1829), architects I.I. Mezhetsky, A.L. Leer), the Nobility Assembly (1826, architect I.E. Efimov; in the interior - a small columned hall; an additional building was built in the 1860s - 1870s, the Noble Institute (1840s, architect A.A. Pakhomov; on the main on the facade - a frieze in the form of a floral ornament depicting the coats of arms of the cities of the Nizhny Novgorod province, now the regional library) with a house for living (1836, architect I.E. Efimov), the house of Z. Dobrolyubova (1840s, architect G.I. Kizevetter, now - the House-Museum of N.A. Dobrolyubov), the governor's house in the Kremlin (1841, architect P.D. Gotman), the house of S. Niklaus (1841, architect Kizevetter), the Drama Theater (1896, architect V.A. Schreter) ; the building of the City Duma (1902), architect V.P. Zeidler; the main facade with three small windows, completed with a parapet with the Nizhny Novgorod coat of arms and a steep globular roof), the State Bank in the neo-Russian style (1913, architect V.A. Pokrovsky; consists of several volumes, covered with roofs of various shapes; in the interior - paintings on the walls and vaults according to sketches by I.Ya. Bilibin, chandeliers, lanterns, iron gratings, majolica railings on the stairs), the church at the New (now Old) Cemetery (1916, architect Pokrovsky).

Below, along the banks of the Volga and Oka, the estates of the Stroganovs (from the 1870s - the Golitsyns; 1827, architect P. Ivanov) and the Golitsyns (1821 - 1837), the former Blinovsky passage in the spirit of Russian architecture of the 17th century (the last third XIX century), the Volga-Kama Bank in the eclectic style (1894 - 1898, architect V.P. Zeidler), the bank of the Rukavishnikov brothers in the Art Nouveau style (1908 - 1912, architect F.O. Shekhtel; sculptures above the entrance, personifying industry and agriculture , sculptor S.T. Konenkov).

On the Verkhnevolzhskaya embankment is the former house of S.M. Rukavishnikov in the spirit of neo-baroque (1877, architect P.S. Boitsov; at the entrance - a sculpture of Atlanteans and caryatids, sculptor M.O. Mikeshin); house of D. V. Sirotkin in the neoclassical style (1914 - 1916, architects - brothers L. A. and V. A. Vesnin Museum).

On the left bank of the Oka, on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, the centric 5-domed Spassky Old Fair Cathedral (1817 - 1822, architect O. Montferrand) has not been lost, on the Strelka - the Alexander Nevsky Fair Cathedral (1881, architect R.Ya. Kilevein, L.V. Dal; restoration work has been going on since the beginning of 1990), the Main House of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair (1890; since the beginning of the 1990s - the center of renewed exchange and fair activities.

By the beginning of the XVII century. the history of Nizhny Novgorod has already spanned four centuries, so an appeal to its prehistory is necessary in order to understand the architectural and planning features of the city that had developed by that time.

Founded in 1221, Nizhny Novgorod occupied a strategically advantageous place, dominating the confluence of the two great rivers of Russia - the Volga and the Oka, which made it possible to keep them under the constant control of Russian squads. The center of the city was a cape on the high right bank of the Volga at the confluence of the Pochaina River, which flowed along the bottom of a deep ravine that jutted far into the mainland.

Within the boundaries of the wood-and-earth Kremlin fortifications already in the 13th century. The white-stone Cathedrals of the Transfiguration of the Savior (1225) and Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk (1227) were erected, which testified to the special significance of Nizhny Novgorod as an outpost on the outlying lands of Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. At the same time, the construction of the suburbs began. On the upland side, Verkhny Posad adjoined the fortified citadel, and along the Volga coast, under the Kremlin hill, Nizhny Posad stretched with its marinas, warehouses, trade and huts of working people.

In the second half of the 14th century, during the short-term heyday of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal Grand Duchy, the dilapidated Spassky (1352) and Archangel (1359) cathedrals were rebuilt, an attempt was made to replace the wooden and earthen fortifications of the Kremlin with stone ones (1374). The overgrown Upper Posad was delineated from the floor side by bulky ramparts, resting their ends on the steep slopes of the Volga coast. Ilyinskaya Gora behind the Pochainsky ravine was also occupied with development. The approaches to the city from the lower reaches of the Volga were guarded by the Pechersky monasteries, and at the mouth of the Oka, by the Annunciation monasteries.

* (This is confirmed by archaeological excavations in the area of ​​the Mironositskaya Church, and historical evidence of the birth in its parish of major figures of that time, Nizhny Novgorod residents Macarius Zheltovodsky and Evfimy of Suzdal.)

Thus, the city-forming elements of Nizhny Novy Gorod - the fortified Kremlin with two stone cathedrals, the Upper and Lower Posadas, the complexes of the Pechersky and Blagoveshchensky monasteries, flanking the city, were formed already in the 14th century. and remained as the main ones until the 19th century, changing in different historical epochs only the appearance and nature of buildings.

At the beginning of the 16th century, during the final stage of the liberation of the Russian land from the constant threats of the khan's military parishes, a stone Kremlin was erected in Nizhny Novgorod, and the third line of fortifications was cut down to protect the overgrown settlements - the Great Fort, which is a giant arc (1639 sazhens). ), resting its ends against the banks of the Volga and Oka.

Urban buildings were predominantly wooden. This is how Nizhny Novgorod entered the 17th century, and the secretary of the Persian embassy, ​​Don Juan of Persia, who visited the city in 1600, wrote in his diary: “The houses in it are wooden, like in other cities; however, it is surrounded by a stone wall .. ."*.

* (CHOYDR. Book. 1. - M., 1899, p. ten.)

Nizhny Novgorod retained its importance as a large "sovereign" fortress with a significant garrison of 500-800 people throughout the 17th century. Even in the difficult years of "troubled times of trouble" the government looked for ways to maintain the city's defensive system in proper order. In 1618-1619. wood-and-earth fortifications of the suburbs were refurbished "along the old screes". Around the Small prison with eight passable and three blind towers, starting from the chopped St. The large prison, "standing oak", also had deaf and passing towers, connected by walls and a moat on the floor side. The fortifications of the Bolshoy Ostrog continued along the coastal edge. But already by 1622, "in the lower settlement, the prison from the Church of the Nativity of Ivan the Baptist down along the banks of the Oka River to the Church of Peter and Paul was completely washed out with large hollow water" **.

* ()

** (RIB. T. 17. - St. Petersburg, 1898, p. sixteen.)

The administrative and spiritual center of Nizhny Novgorod and the entire vast region in the 17th century. there remained a stone Kremlin, on the territory of which the sloping and mouth huts, the mansions of the governor and the sovereign's clerk, the courtyards "for the siege seat" of the tsar and the boyars, the courtyards of monasteries, two stone cathedrals, five churches, three monasteries with numerous temple, residential and outbuildings were concentrated , the sovereign's corn yard, a small food market at the Dmitrievsky Gate and about 400 yards of service archers, boyar children, clerks, church clergy, merchant guests and the hut of working people.

If the development of the Kremlin territory was dense, then in the Upper Posad, the courtyards of Nizhny Novgorod residents were interspersed with wastelands, which remained for a long time after two fires in 1617, in which, as it was reported to Moscow, “853 families of townspeople dispersed from the city, and impoverished ... 540 people” *. The loss of such a significant number of hard-working people delayed the development of Nizhny Novgorod for many years.

* (CHOYDR. Book. 1. - M., 1909, p. 180.)

Dense, albeit with breaks, at the beginning of the 17th century. Nizhny Posad was built up. Residential buildings here were grouped together near the churches. Only bargaining under the Kremlin walls with then indispensable churches in honor of Poraskeva-Pyatnitsa and Nikola, customs, important places, taverns, taverns, a guest yard for visiting merchants and rows with more than 550 trading places - shops, shelves, huts, cages, barns - was built up extremely densely and was distinguished by its special restless, noisy life.

Here, along the Volga-Oka coast, along the sandy shallows, the burlatskaya path - "tow line" - ran. In addition, crossing the entire Nizhny Posad and the market, the winding cobbled Kozmodemyanskaya Street went from the Annunciation Monastery. Through the Ivanovsky Kremlin Gates, it arced up the slope to the Dmitrievsky Gates and, continuing further along the stone bridge of the diversion archer, passed into Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street, connecting the settlements of the Annunciation and Pechersky monasteries, separated by almost five kilometers. Thus, one main intracity highway, consisting of three components, connected all the main parts of the city.

In addition to it, there were a number of main streets, diverging in radius from the Dmitrievsky gates of the Kremlin to the chopped traffic towers of the Small and Big prisons. Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street led to the Pechersk guarded gates, continuing further along the road to Kazan. Varvarskaya, skirting the Kovalikhinsky ravine, led to the villages of Berezopolye. Bolshaya Pokrovskaya and Ilyinskaya - Yamskaya streets went at a converging angle along the sides of the deep Pochainsky ravine and, merging behind the Bolshoy prison, continued on the road to Moscow. All these streets ran along the lines of the watersheds of the urban relief, thereby revealing the basic principle of laying the main streets, common to the planning structures of all ancient Russian cities.

Thus, the planning of Nizhny Novgorod in the 17th century. It was a radial-concentric system typical of medieval Russian cities, in which the relationship between the lines of fortifications and the tracing of the main streets was clearly traced. The Kremlin, surrounded by suburbs, occupied a central position in this system.

A special role in the development of Nizhny Novgorod at the beginning of the 17th century. high-rise, often tented temples played. In a complex network of streets, they marked city squares, to which lanes and cul-de-sacs ran down. Especially many temple buildings stood along the edge of the Oka-Volga coast. The high-rise dominants of their hipped roofs brought rhythmic diversity to the silhouette of the city and gave it a unique picturesqueness. An analysis of the placement of hipped temples on the urban landscape of Nizhny Novgorod allows us to conclude that they were built taking into account the architectural and natural environment, focusing on view areas. The Nativity Church "gathered" buildings along the Volga bank around itself and "raised" them to the terrace. The Church of the Dormition, erected on the highest point of the Ilyinsky Mountain, dominated this part of the city and served as a high-altitude landmark, visible from the most remote approaches to Nizhny Novgorod. Mironositskaya and Nikolskaya churches with their confrontation on the edges of different sides of the Pochainsky ravine not only brought variety to the inner-city development, but were also viewed from a picturesque perspective from the Lower and Upper suburbs. Churches of George, Boris and Gleb, Peter and Paul, St. Nicholas near Starye Pechery, cut down on small terraced sites along the Volga coast, breaking the extended urban development into separate zones, created its peculiar rhythm. Double rises of temple tents and chopped bell towers, surrounded by all kinds of buildings of the Pechersk and Annunciation monasteries, seemed to flank the city from the east and west.

But the most picturesque sight was presented by the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, the silhouette of which was created by numerous tents of towers, temples, bell towers and towers of boyars' courts of various shapes and heights. To some extent, the complexity of the silhouette of the city, which opened from the Volga, conveys an engraving from a drawing by A. Olearius, published in 1647. In the later editions of this engraving, which for some reason are published most often, the image becomes more conditional (despite the attractiveness of the drawing ), which have lost their typology, proportionality and scale.

Wooden buildings of various purposes throughout the 17th century. remained the main building of the city. But it was stone construction, which was rare at first, and then became widespread by the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. significantly changed the architectural image of Nizhny Novgorod.

Stone work at the beginning of the 17th century. in Nizhny Novgorod began with the repair of the walls and towers of the Kremlin. In 1620-1624. The work was supervised by apprentice Pervusha Danilov sent from Moscow. Nizhny Novgorod builders went through a school of skill with him. Prior to this, significant stone work in the city had not been carried out for several decades.

The stone work that began then in the Kremlin became, as it were, the initial stage and since then has not been interrupted throughout the 17th century. Moreover, in the first half of the century, stone construction, not counting the monastery, in Nizhny Novgorod was carried out exclusively at the initiative of the central government - the "sovereign treasury". Following the repair of the stone Kremlin in 1628-1631. a new Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky was erected, and in 1647-1652. - Transfiguration Cathedral. This marked not only the merit of Nizhny Novgorod in the liberation of the Russian state from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders, but also the growing importance of the city as a commercial and industrial center of the Volga region.

Simultaneously with the construction of the "sovereign treasury", stone work was launched on their territories by the Nizhny Novgorod Pechersky and Annunciation monasteries, wealthy and powerful feudal lords of the region. Of particular historical and artistic value is the ensemble of the Pechersk Monastery, which preserves a number of buildings rare in Russian architecture of the 17th century. monuments.

In general, a distinctive feature of the Nizhny Novgorod stone architecture of the first half of the 17th century. is that mainly tented temples were erected here. With their aspiration upwards and at the same time proportionality to the person himself, they most of all corresponded to the aesthetic ideas of the Russian people. At the same time, in each building, the architects created a new kind of constructive and artistic solution - one-tent, two-tent compositions. The builders paid special attention to the development of the silhouette and decorative decoration of the top of the buildings, so they look like they were created by the hand of a sculptor rather than an architect.

Until now, four tented temple buildings have been preserved in the city - the Archangel Cathedral, the churches of the Assumption and Evfimievskaya in the Caves and the Assumption in the Annunciation monasteries. Such a number of stone hipped temples of the XVII century. at present, besides Moscow, only the city of Gorky has. This makes the Nizhny Novgorod monuments especially important for studying the origins of Russian architecture.

Some stabilization of domestic political life in the country by the middle of the 17th century, the remoteness of Nizhny Novgorod from the border regions, the natural resources of the region and the availability of convenient means of communication made it possible to develop crafts and trade in the city under peaceful conditions. Nizhny Novgorod products made of iron, wood, leather, building timber, bread, salt, fish were transported to many cities of Russia.

The famous Makariev Fair, officially established in 1641, had a special impact on the development of the region's economy: local artisans received a stable base for the wholesale sale of their goods, and merchants received extremely favorable conditions for trading activities. A new social stratum - wealthy trade and craft people - became the master of the economic life of the city. Huge wealth was concentrated in the hands of merchants, part of which they invested in the construction of stone chambers, barns, shops and churches, thus wishing to establish their new position in the public life of the Russian state.

The Church strongly encouraged merchants investing in temple construction, teaching in sermons: "Prefer the building of the church of this most holy god of yours over the buildings of your brownies, but you will be preferred in glorification ..." * . In return, they promised patronage. And it was extremely necessary for the merchant and artisan people, since in social terms they remained the same peasants and townspeople, deprived of rights in comparison with the serving sovereign people, nobles and boyars.

* (GPB RO, Q XVII, 60, Sat. 17th century, l. 42.)

Merchants settled mainly on the Volga-Oka coast and in the area of ​​the Ilyinskaya mountain, which dominated trade and marinas. Therefore, it is no coincidence that stone construction began here, and first of all with the replacement of the most revered parish, previously chopped churches, with more durable brick temple buildings that were not afraid of fire.

A prominent place in the history of Nizhny Novgorod is occupied by the stone church of the Myrrh-bearing Women in 1649. In it, Russian architecture, apparently, for the first time created a temple of the "ship" type with the association strictly along the east - west axis of the prayer hall with an altar, a refectory and a hipped bell tower above the entrance. It was a utilitarianly convenient type of temple that immediately satisfied many of the social needs of the townspeople of that time.

Both warm and cold churches were located on different floors of the same building. Both had spacious refectory chambers (10.6 × 8.6 m) for public gatherings, and the documents that were usually kept in town churches - letters of the cross, bills of sale, contract agreements, chroniclers - were more secure in a stone building. The inclusion of the bell tower in the temple complex created convenience for the service.

The artistic image of the building was beautifully developed. From the lower "rest" of the portable porch, the barrel covering of which was supported by octagonal pillars with hanging weights, the shoot led to a small open porch on the second floor. The high rise of the slender five domes and the tent of the bell tower adequately completed the building, which was distinguished by the perfectly found proportions of its parts, and the good drawing of decorative elements.

The Mironositskaya stone church was the first built on the territory of Nizhny Novgorod Posad in the 17th century. With its internal dimensions, it surpassed the old Kremlin cathedrals, which clearly testified to the increased role of the settlement.

The temple type with an axial construction of volumes, developed in the stone building of the Mironositskaya Church in 1649, became the most common among the township churches not only in Nizhny Novgorod, but also in many regions of the country.

In the second half of the XVII century. all the former wooden churches of Nizhny Posad and Ilyinskaya Gora were rebuilt one by one into stone ones, which testified to the special importance of bargaining, the Oka and the Volga in the life of the city. Nikolskaya at the auction (1656), Kozmodemyanskaya, by the "care" of Nizhny Novgorod townsman Ivan Yazykov - Trinity (1663), at the expense of Gavrila Dranizhnikov - the Church of John the Baptist (1683) were rebuilt by the "merchant treasury". Many stone works were financed by Afanasy Firsovich Olisov, who built three churches and several chambers.

The influence of Russian wooden architecture on stone architecture was most clearly manifested in the architecture of the Assumption Church on Ilinskaya Gora in 1672, the only temple stone building in the country that has survived to this day, completed with a "crossed barrel in four faces." The shape of the groin barrel has long been known to Russian carpenters, who often completed porches, monastery and manor gates, log cabins and churches with it. Barrel roofs in Nizhny Novgorod in the 17th century. had the porch of the cathedral and the rector's chambers of the Annunciation Monastery, the lower locker of the shoot of the Mironositskaya Church, etc.

Elongated along the north-south axis, the volume of the Assumption Church (9.5 × 7.1 m) is covered with a four-tray closed vault. Outside, it is hidden by keel-shaped pediments, on the skates of which round drums with elongated onion cupolas are placed on small crossed barrels around the cardinal points. The use of one architectural form in solving different parts of the building, apparently, is explained by the builders' enthusiasm for the barrel, which has streamlined, upwardly directed lines that visually increase the height of the building.

In the decoration of the top of the Church of the Assumption on Ilinskaya Gora, the builders apparently used polychrome tiles for the first time in Nizhny Novgorod. With its unusual appearance for stone churches, the multicolored decoration of the new township church, undoubtedly, became the subject of special pride of the parishioners and the vanity of the ktitor, then just a townsman A.F. Olisov, at whose expense it was built.

Color generally began to play in the stone township buildings of Nizhny Novgorod in the 17th century. special role. Polychrome tiles, gilded forged or perforated crosses, ridges, valances covered with green, yellow and blue glazed tiles and roofs, multi-colored architectural profiles against the background of bleached walls created a major sound and distinguished stone buildings against the background of less conspicuous, gray wooden buildings.

It should be noted that the stone architecture of Nizhny Novgorod in the 17th century, while maintaining its individuality, kept pace with the all-Russian architecture. There was a close connection between the leading Moscow school and the remote city of the Volga region. It is no coincidence that it was the Nizhny Novgorod people who created the most notable monuments of Moscow of that time: Pavel Sidorovich Potekhin, a peasant from the Volga village of Kadnitsy, erected the Trinity Church in Ostankino, which is one of the best monuments of the "Russian pattern", Terenty Makarov, a Nizhny Novgorod peasant, built the Church of Joasaph in 1678 -prince in the Izmailovo estate near Moscow, which opened a special direction in Russian architecture of the late 17th century.

From the middle of the XVII century. wealthy townspeople led stone residential construction. It is generally accepted that there were few brick buildings in Nizhny Novgorod at that time * , but recent studies have revealed in the settlements of the second half of the 17th century. many stone storerooms, barns, winter yards, shops, a guest yard for visiting merchants, industrial buildings, basements under chopped mansions, chambers and entire ensembles with numerous residential, utility and temple buildings.

* (From the history of building II. Novgorod - Gorky. - In the book: Streets of the city of Gorky. Gorky, 1972, p. 12.)

Scribe book 1621-1622 has not yet recorded a single stone residential or economic building in Nizhny Novgorod. At that time, only hearths and kitchens were laid out of bricks in the depths of the yards for summer time, and brick tents "for fire time" and stone exits near storerooms and cellars were built in government and merchant yards *.

* (TsGADA, f. 137, op. 1, N. Novgorod, d. 25, l. 351.)

But from the middle of the century, the number of stone buildings in the settlements grew every year, and already in 1665 in Nizhny Novgorod 12 stone barns and shops, a stone customs building, "living hundreds of Ofonasius Zadorin against the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker under the stone chamber 4 shops" were named * , "stone yards and huts for the tannery guest Semyon Zadorin" ** .

* (TsGADA, f. 137, op. 1, N. Novgorod, d. 25, l. 364.)

** (TsGADA, f. 137, op. 1, N. Novgorod, d. 25, l. 282.)

Some of the guests settled in Nizhny Posad, near the piers, in order to be closer to the Volga, along which caravans of ships with goods constantly arrived. However, the noisy bustle of close bargaining forced them sometimes to choose places on the mountain, where it was both more spacious and the air cleaner. The connection between Ilyinskaya Gora and the administrative center of the city (Kremlin) and Verkhniy Posad via a wide bridge across the Pochainsky ravine was also convenient. Therefore, it is no coincidence that three stone residential buildings of the 17th century are still preserved in this part of the city.

But most of them still stood along the Volga-Oka coast. Stone residential chambers were erected not only by Nizhny Novgorod residents, but also by visiting merchants who had permanent shop places in Nizhny Novgorod, for example, Yaroslavl Mikhail Guryev, who had a "stone yard and winter quarters" in Nizhny Posad in 1674 * .

* (TsGADA, f. 137, op. 1, II. Novgorod, d. 32, l. 67 vol.)

On the Volga bank stood the stone chambers of the patriarch, behind which was the yard of the shell trade, "there are stone chambers, and the patriarchs of the shell industrialists live in them" * . Here were the stone barns of the sovereign's salt mines. Many stone buildings "for their own needs" in different parts of the city in the 17th century. rebuilt and eminent man G. D. Stroganov.

* (RIB. T. 17. - St. Petersburg, 1898, p. 400.)

Sometimes stone chambers were erected by the church clergy on "mug collections and donations." Then the chambers, together with the stone church, created entire ensembles, and the descriptions read: "... a stone church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, on it there are stone ceilings, the same church sexton lives in those ceilings ..." * .

* (RIB. T. 17. - St. Petersburg, 1898, p. 432.)

After the establishment in 1672 of the Metropolis in the Nizhny Novgorod Territory, Metropolitan Filaret began the stone construction of his residence. By the end of the 17th century, it was already a complex ensemble with residential, utility and temple buildings, about which in 1702 the traveler Cornelius de Bruin reported that in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin near the cathedral he saw "a large stone, well-built palace of the Metropolitan, in the middle of which ( towered. - N. F.) an elegant small church with a bell tower, and then two more churches, one wooden, the other stone" * .

* (Journey through Muscovy Cornelius de Bruin. - M., 1873, p. 160.)

According to tradition, it was believed that living in stone chambers was "unhealthy from lime", so wooden residential parts were cut on the brick first floors. Here, for example, is a record of those years: "... wooden cells were built on the stone hierarchal ceilings and with roofs in a tent ..." * .

* (GIM RO, f. 182, d. 47, l. thirteen.)

Most of the stone residential buildings of Nizhny Novgorod of the 17th century. are known from inventories, references in documents and old drawings, but we can still see some of them today, restored in their original form by the painstaking, many years of work of Gorky's restorers.

The brick house of the 17th century is close to the most common type of two-part "choir". on Pochainskaya street, the so-called House of Peter I, where, according to legend, he stayed during the Azov campaign of 1695. The house is two-story, with spacious basements under the residential part, where a cargo inclined descent leads.

Pushnikov's stone chambers belong to another type of buildings, consisting of two volumes of different times: one-story XVII and two-story - the beginning of the XVIII century. The ancient part of the chambers is a four-part scheme with two living rooms and their corresponding spacious vestibules. The main, front room, located in the southwestern part of the chambers, is distinguished from the outside by the special decoration of windows in the form of keel-shaped frames made of specially molded figured bricks, and inside - by a closed vault with beautifully shaped strips. Each volume-spatial cell of the plan corresponds to vaulted cellars. The basement was intended for merchant goods, into which an inclined descent-ramp leads from the south side. Under the main, master's quarters there is a basement with a hole through the arch directly from the upper room, in which, apparently, a particularly valuable tribal "junk" was formed.

House of the 17th century in Krutoy Lane, the so-called Olisov's chambers, is a more rational solution for the interior space with a four-part plan scheme: one cell, united by an interior space with an elongated corridor, became a vestibule, and the other three became residential. At the same time, one room (17 sq. m.) was isolated from the others by a corridor, which created additional amenities for the owners. All living quarters were illuminated by six windows, three from each facade, since with such a layout they all turned out to be corner (in Pushnikov's chambers, only one room had such lighting).

Stone, both residential and temple construction in Nizhny Novgorod continued at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, when the Annunciation Cathedral (1697), Stroganov's Gordeev (1697) and Rozhdestvenskaya (1719?) Churches, Sergius on Petushki (1702) and Georgievsky tiered with white stone carved details (1702).

So, for a little over 50 years, a large number of residential, commercial, economic and administrative (customs, washing yard) stone buildings appeared in the city.

All this radically changed the appearance of all the main city-forming elements of Nizhny Novgorod: the Kremlin, suburbs and monasteries, in which stone buildings of various purposes began to play a dominant role, distinguished by a wide variety of forms, mastery of design, plan and artistic image.

Most of the names of the masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, ceramists and masters of other building trades who erected all this are still unknown. Nevertheless, today we can name the apprentice Antipa Konstantinov, the merchant-architect Semyon Zadorin, G. D. Stroganov, who had a special influence on the architectural transformation of Nizhny Novgorod in the 17th century.

At the beginning of the 17th century, most of the urban population lived outside the Kremlin, in the Upper and Lower Posad, which were protected by wooden walls and earthen ramparts. Nizhny Novgorod, which played an important role in the liberation of the country from foreign intervention at the beginning of the 17th century, was at that time one of the most important cities in the Muscovite state. However, despite this, there were very few monumental buildings in the city.

In the scribe book of 1662 in Nizhny Novgorod, in addition to the Kremlin walls and towers, only two stone buildings were indicated: the Spassky Cathedral and the church in the Annunciation Monastery. Other buildings erected in the 14th century turned into ruins by the 17th century.

New monumental construction began with the restoration of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin. It was at this time that the cathedral tent, which has survived to this day, was erected.

It was no coincidence that the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel became the first major building after the expulsion of the invaders. And although the choice of the saint could be determined by dynastic considerations, the construction of the cathedral dedicated to the patron saint of the army, first of all, marked the victorious end of the war of liberation.

The work on the construction of the cathedral was carried out under the guidance of master Lavreny Vazoulin and his stepson Antipas and was completed in 1631. The tent of the cathedral is open inside. The tripartite division of the cubic base is repeated by three kokoshniks, completing each of the faces of the figure eight. Heavy and crushed details of cornices, deep niches and wide profiled frames of zakomar and kokoshniks are very typical details of Russian architecture of the 17th century.

Assumption Church

Among the monuments of the 17th century, which were affected by the influence of wooden architecture, a special place is occupied by the Assumption Church, built on a hill above the Postal (former Assumption) congress.

The stone building of the church was built in 1672. Based on the surviving remains and old photographs, the original appearance of this heavily rebuilt structure was partially restored.

The main part of the church consisted of a quarter, the walls of which ended in barrel-shaped pediments. Near the central dome, four smaller ones were placed in a cruciform manner, each of which rested on kokoshniks cut into the ridge of an eight-slope roof. Thus, in the church, the type of ceiling "cross barrel, four faces" was repeated, a type very common in wooden architecture, especially for the completion of porches.

Reproduction of barrel shapes in brick is known in the monuments of ancient Russian architecture only in the porches and above the entrance. The only example of the use of the so-called "barrel" in a stone building is the Assumption Church in Nizhny Novgorod.

Annunciation Monastery

In addition to separate works of old architecture scattered in different parts of the city, two ensembles of the 17th century have been preserved in Nizhny Novgorod - the Annunciation and Pechersky monasteries. A characteristic feature of both monasteries is their location on the slope of the river bank, thanks to which the buildings stand out with a white three-dimensional pattern against the background of green slopes and trees of a high bank. Groups of monastic buildings stretched along the river are inextricably linked with the nature around them. Architectural forms are organically combined with the majestic panorama of a wide, powerful river.

The foundation of the Annunciation Monastery goes back to ancient times. The first news about him refers to 1229. However, to date, not a single building older than the 17th century has survived.

The central place is occupied by the five-domed cathedral, built in 1649. The low, once open gallery surrounding it brings the cathedral closer to the Upper Volga churches. The covering by zakomaras, the shape of the domes and domes are archaic for this time. Living quarters close the monastery courtyard from the west. Some of them with a built-in graceful bell tower have been preserved from the 17th century.

The most interesting building of the monastery is the two-hipped Assumption Church. It is remarkable for its silhouette, elegance, elegance of skillfully executed brick details.

Pechersky Monastery

The Caves Monastery was founded in 1328-1330 by the monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery Dionysius, who later became one of the most prominent figures in the Nizhny Novgorod Grand Duchy. In the XVI-XVII centuries the influence of the monastery spread far beyond the Nizhny Novgorod region.

In 1597, a very large landslide occurred, which destroyed the monastery and the six stone churches that were attached to it. The masters called from Moscow came to the conclusion that it was impossible to restore the buildings in their original place, and the monastery was moved a kilometer closer to the city, to a more stable site, where the buildings are still located.

It is possible that the architecture of the monastery complex owes its simplicity to the desire to repeat the nature and forms of buildings that existed before the catastrophe and consecrated by time. This was especially true in the bell tower (1632). Its rectangular main array only under the tent itself passes into an octahedron. The Ascension Cathedral, completed in the same 1632 by the master Antipas Vazoulin, is distinguished by the same rigor. A covered arched passage connects the cathedral with the Assumption Church (1648), whose closed vault ends with a small decorative tent.

In front of the western entrance to the Ascension Cathedral, above the gates of the old monastery fence (the existing walls were built in 1765), there is the tent church of Euthymius (1642 - 1645). By its similarity with the architecture of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, it can be assumed that Vasoulin was also the author of the building.

Bishops' chambers were built according to the type usual for residential buildings of the 17th century. In the 18th century, a second floor was added above the central part of the building, surrounded by a gallery on stone columns.

"Strogon" churches

Church in Gordeevka. The Strogonovs, whose surname gave the name to several architectural monuments of the late 17th - early 18th centuries in Nizhny Novgorod and Solvychegodsk, got rich on salt mining in Solvychegodsk and the Perm Territory. At the end of the 17th century, all the possessions of the Strogon family were united in the hands of Grigory Dmitrievich Strogonov. He was close to Peter I, who was in correspondence with him and baptized his son.

Since the 16th century, Nizhny Novgorod has been the center of the salt trade, and the Strogonovs, like other salt producers, had lands, houses, offices and warehouses in it. Until 1703, Grigory Stroganov lived in the village of Gordeevka, now included in the city, in his suburban estate. Here in 1694-1697 the Church of Our Lady of Smolensk was built. The architect achieved in it a great integrity of the architectural image. The main volume, completed with five domes, is much higher than the bell tower and the chapel attached from the north (the height of the chapel is equal to the height of the lower order of the main temple).

All domes of the church and the chapel are made in two tiers, as is also the case in Moscow churches of the nineties of the 17th century. The domes of the Gordeevskaya Church are distinguished by the organicity with which the upper tier grows out of the lower one. The old helmet-shaped domes covered with scaly green tiles are well preserved.

The walls end with stepped pediments of a complex pattern. They are displayed as decorative walls rising above the roof. The shape of the pediments is determined only by the architectural design of the facades and is not connected either with the vault that covers the main volume, or with the structure of the roof.

The top of the pediments ends with a white-stone finish, decorated with a flat “applied” ornament. Along with details of white stone, patterned bricks are also widely used in the construction of the church. Columns, twisted columns on the bell tower, architraves and friezes of both entablature and various profiles, often made of stone, are laid out of brick. The bell tower is distinguished by the Baroque character, especially its upper tiers.

Entirely from the methods of wooden carving go through slots of the volutes of stone Corinthian capitals; holes between individual acanthus leaves seem to be drilled with a brace. The craftsmen who built the Gordeevskaya Church discovered an familiarity with the order system based on engraved tables or carved samples of wood. Corinthian columns entwined with grapes, used in Gordeevka and decorating the Nativity Stronovskaya Church in even greater numbers, become at this time a characteristic feature that distinguishes the work of Russian masters.

Christmas Church

The beginning of the construction of the Nativity Church dates back to the end of the 17th century. The building was very rich. The construction and decoration of the temple, almost entirely covered with busy stone carvings, took a lot of time, so during the fire of 1715 the church was still unfinished. After the fire, the temple was put in order for four years. In 1719 it was consecrated.

The white-stone details almost supplanted the patterned brick, which was used in the decoration of Gordeevka. The walls of the Nativity Church are full of various reliefs and decorations. Twisted vines wrap around twisted columns framed by windows and in the order of the third tier. Pomegranates, pears, apples and other fruits, surrounded by flowers, protrude from the ornament.

Garlands of flowers border the window openings. Numerous cartouches, shells and scrolls create a transition from pictorial to purely architectural elements. The whole appearance of this church building is saturated with motifs of joyful abundance, sharply distinguishing it from the harsh simplicity of churches of the 16th century. Covered with a vault, with windows in lunettes, the top of the Nativity Church resembles a wooden structure with its external forms.

Stroganovskaya Nativity Church rises on the slope of a steep mountain. Initially, there were one or two staircases leading from the ground to the open gallery of the porch, later laid down and connected to the same room with the refectory.

Outside, the church is a two-tiered building with a pronounced number of storeys: one half is built on with a third tier, with a center elevated by one more tier. Such a composition gives the side facade a kind of smooth movement, corresponding to the location of the building along the river bank. The entire façade seems to be assembled from almost identical rectangles arranged in rows horizontally or stacked on top of each other. The core of each element is a rich window frame.

The whole composition gives a gradual complication and refinement of the forms as you move upward. Narrow protrusions of the loosened frieze of the lower tiers support the pedestals under the upper columns, the width of which is the entire extension of the cornice. The drawing combines beauty, as well as a sober consideration of harsh climatic conditions and the desire to protect the white stone finish from rain and melting snow.

One can only judge what the interior of the church was like from two iconostases: a stone one located in the refectory and a wooden one located in a cold temple. The existing stucco ornaments and paintings were made during repairs in the 19th century.

Historical monuments of the XVIII century

Despite the decree of 1714, which prohibited stone construction everywhere, except for St. Petersburg, the construction of stone churches continued in Nizhny Novgorod. So, in 1700-1715, 3 churches were built, and from 1715 to 1725, 6 churches were built. Most of them did not last long and were rebuilt at the end of the 18th or 19th century.

In Nizhny Novgorod, the church architecture of the early 18th century was quite diverse. Along with the Stroganov churches, five-domed or small single-domed churches were erected with details that differed little from the style of the 17th century. No less favorite type of temples of this time were tiered ones, the St. George Church, built in 1702, belonged to the best of them.

The church was decorated with details made of white stone; the main element of the ornament was numerous shells, similar to the stone shells of Strogonov's churches.

The tiered type of churches, having lost their original patterned decoration, lasted in Nizhny Novgorod throughout the 18th century and was supplanted by empire-style domed buildings. In addition to St. George's, the Spiritual Church (1703), Odigitrievskaya on the Gryada (1715 - 1719) and all 7 churches built in the period from 1725 to the beginning of the 19th century were tiered.

Classicism was not reflected in Nizhny Novgorod churches. Built in 1782, the Peter and Paul Church, as well as the Kazan cemetery (1794 - 1798), retain baroque features in details.

Historical monuments of the XIX century. In 1817, the largest fair in Russia was moved to the left bank of the Oka from the city of Makariev. In 1825, the population of Nizhny Novgorod was 16,000. After the transfer of the fair, the economic development of the city began faster, it began to grow faster, and by 1841 the number of inhabitants doubled, reaching 32 thousand people. Arrangement of a fair town on the low bank of the Oka became an outstanding urban development project: an artificial canal was dug and a sewer system was created.

In 1824, a new planning project was approved, supplementing and correcting the draft of 1770. The entire residential building is finally taken out of the Kremlin. The largest of the city's buildings - government offices - turns into barracks, and the city square - into a parade ground (1834 - 1835). The integrity of its architectural and planning concept was violated even earlier, in 1827, when the single-domed Assumption Church (1827) was built instead of the second building. In addition to it, several other Empire churches were built in the 1820s, of which the bell tower of the Intercession Church (1824) was the most successful.

In 1825, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky (architect Melnikov) was erected in the Kremlin in the form of an obelisk made of pink granite. In the lower part of the monument there were gilded bronze plaques with busts of the leaders of the Nizhny Novgorod militia and winged goddesses of victory. In the same period, the building of the Noble Assembly (architect Korinfsky) and the Lutheran Church (1828) were built.

In the first half of the 19th century, such well-known buildings were built in Nizhny Novgorod as the tea house "Pillars" (architect Kizevetter), associated with the social activities of M. Gorky. According to the Kizevetter project, the former Niklaus house (1841) was built, where V.I. lived in 1900. Lenin, as well as the house on the Lykova dam (1838), in which the parents of N.A. Dobrolyubova.

On the outskirts of the modern city, which used to be suburbs and settlements, villages, houses decorated with carvings and paintings are still preserved. Carved details penetrate the architecture of city houses, sometimes covering the walls with rich carvings.

Fair. At the end of the 16th - 17th, the planning structure of Nizhny Novgorod consisted in the Nagorny part of the City (i.e. the Kremlin), surrounding its Upper and Lower (under the high bank) settlements, scattered settlements on the neighboring hills (Kanavinskaya settlement was included in Zaochye). The line of defensive walls of the Kremlin (1500 - 1512) with numerous towers (there were originally 13; large square towers with gates alternate with smaller round ones; restoration - 1960-1970 under the leadership of S.A. Agafonov), outlines the territory in the form of an irregular triangle; in the Kremlin - a cubic, completed with an 8-sided tent on a low octagon, the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral (built in 1631, in honor of the victory of the Nizhny Novgorod militia in 1612, architects L. Vozoulin and L. Konstantinov; since 1962, the ashes of Kuzma Minin have been in the cathedral) .

Above the bank of the Oka, between the Kremlin and the Pokhvalinsky ravine, the buildings of the settlement have been preserved. Churches: Myrrh-bearing women (1649, five-domed on a high basement, the appearance was changed by alterations of the 20th century, the roof is 4-pitched, devoid of chapters); Assumption on Ilyinskaya Gora (1672), crowned with 5 tiled domes on high drums, with kokoshniks at the base), as well as the famous architectural monument of Nizhny Novgorod - the Nativity Church at the Stroganovs' estate in the so-called Stroganov style, completed with 5 domes with patterned crosses, with an extensive 2-tier refectory, on the facades - a rich decoration of bricks in the form of motifs of fruits, cartouches, scrolls (1719); in the interior of the refectory - white-stone carving, in the interior of the church - an iconostasis with fine wooden carvings, icons of the 18th century, picturesque panels; now a museum).

Preserved houses of the 17th - early 18th centuries, mostly 2-story, made of brick, with windows decorated with figured frames, kokoshniks, with wooden outbuildings, porches, high roofs: Chatygin (the so-called house of Peter I, who stopped here in 1695, heading in the Azov campaign), Pushnikov's chambers, consisting of two connected buildings built at different times, Olisov's house. On the left bank of the Oka there is a five-domed church of Our Lady of Smolensk with a rich decor in the Stroganov style at the estate in the Stroganovs in Gordeevka (1697).

For the Nagornaya part of the city in 1770, a radial-circular plan was developed with a system of streets radiating from the trapezoidal square at the outer gates of the Kremlin. According to the revised plan, along with the Kanavinskaya Sloboda, the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair was included in the city on the left bank of the Oka.

According to the plan of 1838, the Verkhnevolzhskaya embankment was built (Georgievsky and Kazan congresses from both ends of it), on the slope - the Alexander Garden.

At the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th centuries, buildings here were built in the style of classicism, in the second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries - in the style of eclecticism, stylization and modernity. In the Nagornaya part, the former house of the vice-governor (1788), the house of the pharmacist G. Evenius (1799 - 1792, architect I. Nemeyer), the building of the seminary (1823 - 1829), architects I.I. Mezhetsky, A.L. Leer), the Nobility Assembly (1826, architect I.E. Efimov; in the interior - a small columned hall; an additional building was built in the 1860s - 1870s, the Noble Institute (1840s, architect A.A. Pakhomov; on the main on the facade - a frieze in the form of a floral ornament depicting the coats of arms of the cities of the Nizhny Novgorod province, now the regional library) with a house for living (1836, architect I.E. Efimov), the house of Z. Dobrolyubova (1840s, architect G.I. Kizevetter, now - the House-Museum of N.A. Dobrolyubov), the governor's house in the Kremlin (1841, architect P.D. Gotman), the house of S. Niklaus (1841, architect Kizevetter), the Drama Theater (1896, architect V.A. Schreter) ; the building of the City Duma (1902), architect V.P. Zeidler; the main facade with three small windows, completed with a parapet with the Nizhny Novgorod coat of arms and a steep globular roof), the State Bank in the neo-Russian style (1913, architect V.A. Pokrovsky; consists of several volumes, covered with roofs of various shapes; in the interior - paintings on the walls and vaults according to sketches by I.Ya. Bilibin, chandeliers, lanterns, iron gratings, majolica railings on the stairs), the church at the New (now Old) Cemetery (1916, architect Pokrovsky).

Below, along the banks of the Volga and Oka, the estates of the Stroganovs (from the 1870s - the Golitsyns; 1827, architect P. Ivanov) and the Golitsyns (1821 - 1837), the former Blinovsky passage in the spirit of Russian architecture of the 17th century (the last third XIX century), the Volga-Kama Bank in the eclectic style (1894 - 1898, architect V.P. Zeidler), the bank of the Rukavishnikov brothers in the Art Nouveau style (1908 - 1912, architect F.O. Shekhtel; sculptures above the entrance, personifying industry and agriculture , sculptor S.T. Konenkov).

On the Verkhnevolzhskaya embankment is the former house of S.M. Rukavishnikov in the spirit of neo-baroque (1877, architect P.S. Boitsov; at the entrance - a sculpture of Atlanteans and caryatids, sculptor M.O. Mikeshin); house of D. V. Sirotkin in the neoclassical style (1914 - 1916, architects - brothers L. A. and V. A. Vesnin Museum).

On the left bank of the Oka, on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, the centric 5-domed Spassky Old Fair Cathedral (1817 - 1822, architect O. Montferrand) has not been lost, on the Strelka - the Alexander Nevsky Fair Cathedral (1881, architect R.Ya. Kilevein, L.V. Dal; restoration work has been going on since the beginning of 1990), the Main House of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair (1890; since the beginning of the 1990s - the center of renewed exchange and fair activities.

• Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (early 16th century)
  One of the oldest monuments of architecture, the historical center, the place from which the history of Nizhny Novgorod began. The Kremlin system includes thirteen towers - five square ones with gates and eight round ones. The height of the towers is from 18 to 30 meters. The towers are connected by powerful (up to 5 meters wide) walls with battlements from 12 to 22 meters high.
• Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Cathedral (1631)
  One of the unique monuments of tent architecture of the early 17th century is the heart of an ancient Russian city. The cathedral was built to commemorate the victory of the people's militia led by K. Minin and D. Pozharsky. In 1962, after the restoration, the ashes of the great patriot Kozma Minin were transferred to the cathedral.
• Governor's Palace (1841)
  The building is associated with the name of famous people: A.N. Muravieva, I.A. Annenkov, A. Dumas and others. After the revolution, the governor's palace became known as the Palace of Freedom, later this building became the city committee of the Communist Party. Today it houses the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum, which has a rich collection of works of art - more than 12 thousand exhibits.
• The building of the former City Duma - the Palace of Labor (1899 - 1904)
  The building was designed by the academician of architecture Zeidler. Styled like Ancient Russia and is a vivid example of Art Nouveau style; located on main square the cities of Nizhny Novgorod - Minin and Pozharsky squares.
• D. Sirotkin's mansion (1914 - 1916)
  The building is located on the Upper Volga embankment. This is the first independent work of the subsequently famous masters - the architects of the Vesnin brothers. The building was built in the traditions of Russian classicism, although the lightness of proportions and the rationality of the plans are reminiscent of both Art Nouveau and constructivism. Here is a museum of one painting - "The Appeal of K. Minin" by K. Makovsky.
• The Rukavishnikov Mansion - Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (1877)
  The building, located on the Upper Volga embankment, was built by Moscow masters - architect P. Boitsov and sculptor A. Mikeshin. The richly decorated building was supposed to resemble an Italian palazzo and speak of the wealth and artistic predilections of S. Rukavishnikov, the largest Nizhny Novgorod industrialist and trader. It was one of the first residential buildings in the city to be lit by electricity and equipped with an elevator.
• Church of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow Joy (1894 - 1896)
  The church is located at the intersection of Minin and Nesterov streets. Architect V. Bryukhatov. The architecture of the church is unusual - the three-domed instead of the five-domed completion of the temple and the same completion of the bell tower. The facades are stylized as ancient Russian architecture.
• Nativity (Stroganov) Church (1719)
  The main attraction of Rozhdestvenskaya Street is the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God. The temple is the best embodiment of the Russian Baroque style. The church was erected by serf masters G.D. Stroganov. Particularly impressive is the light-filled interior of the church with an iconostasis richly decorated with carvings and paintings by Stroganov's iconographers.
• Passage of merchants Blinovs (70s of the 19th century)
  Architects L. Dahl and D. Eshevsky stylized an impressive building with hewn brick decor and wrought-iron weathercocks on spiers, located on Rozhdestvenskaya Street, under wooden Russia. There were once hotels, restaurants, shops, post office, telegraph. Opposite the building there is a square, which is still called the Blinovsky garden.
• The building of the Rukavishnikovs' bank (1908 - 1916)
  The building belonged to a famous merchant dynasty and is one of the most remarkable architectural complexes of the city. Large Gothic forms of one of the facades face the river. Another façade is designed in a calm spirit of rational modernity.
• Caves Monastery (XIV-XVII centuries)
  The monastery was founded by a native of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Dionysius and was located on the top of the coastal slope. The monastery played a significant role in the cultural life of Russia; it was here that the famous Laurentian Chronicle was written. The ensemble of the monastery is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the Volga region. The center of the ensemble is the Ascension Cathedral. This is currently active monastery, there is also a museum of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.
• Annunciation Monastery (XIII-XX centuries)
  The monastery was built on the slope of the Dyatlovs at the same time as the city was founded; it protected the crossing over the Oka. The heart of the monastery ensemble is the Cathedral of the Annunciation. Currently, there is a functioning male monastery.
• Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1881)
  The temple, erected on the Strelka, at the confluence of the Oka with the Volga, is designed in emphasized enlarged forms, as it is designed for viewing from afar, from the open spaces of the river or from the hills of the upper part of the city. It defines the view of the river part of the city. The building was built in the forms of ancient Russian architecture at the expense of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.
• Main Fair House (1889)
  The building is very reminiscent of the New Gostiny Dvor on Red Square in Moscow. The house had to meet the then new artistic taste. Hipped roofs and a stepped three-dimensional solution resemble an ancient Russian city, where the role of the city gate was played by the main entrance with a large arched window. Separate interiors of the building have been preserved, including the Armorial Hall (decorated in the French Renaissance style), designed for the arrival of Nicholas II in 1896.
• Spassky (Old Fair) Cathedral (1817 - 1822)
  The Spassky (Staroyarmarochny) Cathedral was built according to the design of the famous architect O. Montferrand, who is the architect of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which led to the similarity of the Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg cathedrals.
• Church of the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women (1649)
  The first of the city's stone churches is located on Dobrolyubov Street. The temple occupies a special place in the history of Russian architecture. It is an example of a “ship” type temple, where above the main entrance, strictly along the east-west axis, an altar, a prayer hall, a refectory and a hipped bell tower are united by an internal space. A particle of the relics of St. Macarius is kept here.
• The house of the merchant Chatygin - the house of Peter I (XVII century)
  The building is located at the beginning of Pochainskaya Street, it is an example of a stone residential building of the 17th century. According to legend, Peter I stayed here in 1695. At the end of the 19th century, the first historical museum in the city was located in this building.
• Assumption Church (1672)
  The temple, built at the expense of the merchant Olisov, is located next to his house (an architectural monument of the 17th-18th centuries) on Ilyinskaya Hill. A unique monument of ancient Russian architecture.
• Chambers of Pushnikov (1698)
  In Gogol Lane, the only industrial building of the 17th century has been preserved. According to legend, here in 1722, going on a Persian campaign, Peter I celebrated his 50th birthday.
• Resurrection Church (1875)
  The temple is located on Ilyinskaya Street, is a typical example of the official Russian-Byzantine style. Silent volumes and inexpressive domes - all this characterizes the Tonovsky (K. Ton, famous architect of the capital) architecture.
• Chapel of the Ascension Church (XIX century)
  The chapel is stylized in the spirit of the ancient Russian Novgorod-Pskov school. The building is located on Ilinskaya Street on the site of a wooden chapel that existed since ancient times and marked the border of the city.
• Drama theater building A.M. Gorky (1894 - 1896)
  The construction of the building on B. Pokrovskaya Street was timed to coincide with the All-Russian Trade, Industrial and Art Exhibition. The theater opened with the premiere of M. Glinka's opera, the main part in the performance was performed by F. Chaliapin. The building is richly decorated with stucco and artistic casting (in the forms of the late revival).
• The building of the former district court (1889 - 1896)
  The building is stylized as Russian classicism and fits well into the development of the main street of the city. In October 1902, the trial of the leader of the labor movement and the prototype of the hero of the novel, A.M. Gorky "Mother" - Zalomov.
• House of the noble assembly (1822 - 1826)
  A characteristic monument of Russian classicism. The building is decorated with a four-column portico of the Ionic order at the main entrance and a six-column loggia along B. Pokrovskaya Street. The columned hall with choirs and the main staircase have been preserved to this day.
• Building of the State Bank (1911-1913)
  A grandiose architectural and artistic ensemble, which is one of the symbols of the city. The architecture of the building has no analogues in the history of Russian architecture. Semicircular towers, a ledge on the northern facade are associated with a defensive structure such as a fortress or a castle, and the main volume of the building is associated with huge boyar chambers. The interiors are painted with frescoes based on sketches by I. Bilibin.
• Church of the Savior (1888-1902)
  The temple is located on Gorky Street. The reason for the construction of the church was the rescue of the royal family during a train crash on the Kursk-Kharkov railway in 1888. The building was built in the forms of pre-Petrine architecture.
• Ensemble of the peasant land bank (1913 - 1916)
  The building is located on Piskunova Street on the site of a 18th-century building. ramparts of the Small Fort. The bank has been operating since 1897, serving not only the Nizhny Novgorod, but also the Vladimir provinces.