The history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair has five centuries. Even at the beginning of the 16th century, trade was conducted near Kazan. Then, by order of Vasily III, the fair was organized in Vasilsursk. Shopping arcade more than once transferred. The main events in the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair date back to the second half of the 19th century - it was then that a stone guest yard was built in the city, a similar one did not exist in Russia.
Background
Trade off the coast of the Volga began in the 13th century. However, merchants were chronically unlucky: they were plundered by the Tatars every now and then. An important event in the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair is the transfer of trading floors closer to the city. Later it was moved to the foot of the Makaryevsky monastery. This is where the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair begins. The description of that medieval site, however, suggests that initially it had little in common with the architectural complex built in the 19th century.
Makaryevskaya fair
Merchants from all over the country began to gather in Nizhny Novgorod . But in the XVII century, this trading platform was called differently. Namely Makarievskaya fair. In those days, it looked more like a booth: randomly established shops, base goods, broken sellers, inviting buyers. A turning point in the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair took place in 1755.
After new pavilions were built here, it became the center of international wholesale and retail trade. At the end of the 18th century, there were more than two thousand trading shops at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. It brought together Russian and overseas merchants.
The history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair is very eventful and joyful and sad. At the beginning of the XIX century there was a fire that destroyed most of the outlets. She was restored, and now she resembled the letter "T" in shape.
Start of construction
In the XIX century, the fair was moved to where it is today. This was due not so much to economic success as to lack of space. Large-scale construction began. Alexander I, realizing the economic value of this huge fair, even postponed the restoration of the Winter Palace.
A huge amount was allocated from the treasury for the construction of a new shopping complex. Then the fair got its modern name. However, the people still used the old name for a long time - Makaryevskaya.
At that time it was impossible to imagine a more suitable place for retail space than the confluence of two rivers. From here, goods could be sent to other Russian cities and abroad. New buildings appeared on the territory of the fair, created by the projects of the best architects of Russia.
Large-scale construction began in 1818. Andreyan Zakharov worked on the project. Construction lasted four years. The grand opening of the Stone Living Palace took place on July 15, 1822. Rough trade began in August. And in subsequent years, it was especially crowded at the end of summer.
Gostiny Dvor
The Nizhny Novgorod Fair occupied almost eight square kilometers. The central part was the Gostiny Dvor, designed by Augustine Betancourt. This building consisted of sixty buildings and more than two thousand shops. The architecture of the Gostiny Dvor was designed in the style of classicism. This house, together with the administrative buildings, formed a central point. Forty other stone buildings, intended for both trade and storage of goods, were built along the banks of the bypass channel.
Spassky Old Fair Cathedral
The history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair of the 19th century is interesting primarily to connoisseurs of works of Russian architecture. In 1818, construction began on the Spassky Old Fair Cathedral - one of the Nizhny Novgorod sights dating back to the 19th century. The cathedral was built by Auguste Montferrand. In the summer of 1822, the decoration was completed, on which the painter Alexander Stupin worked.
Behind the Cathedral, a tall bell tower designed by Anton Leer was erected. The height of this structure was 54 meters. The bell tower served as a guide for ships sailing to the fair. On the ground floor of the building were utility rooms. On the second lived the clergy. Most of the place on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair was occupied by the Kazan Church.
Other facilities at the fair
Representatives of different religions and nationalities came here. This was taken into account by the authors of the development plan. In the 19th century, the Armenian-Gregorian church and mosque were built. On the opposite side of the Cathedral were the Chinese ranks, which were four small buildings made in oriental style. These cases were intended for Asian merchants who brought many varieties of tea to Russia.
An underground vaulted sewage system was built here. For Russia, it was an almost unique case. Underground work at that time was carried out exclusively in Moscow. It is noteworthy that the first underground galleries in Paris appeared much later.
In 1833, Pushkin visited the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. He reflected his impressions in one of the chapters of Eugene Onegin.
Heyday of the fair
The peak of popularity of this trading platform was in the second half of the XIX century. After the Nikolaev railway was opened, merchants increased the prices several times. The fair has received international recognition. It attracted Armenians, Bukhara, Persians, Khiva and, of course, Europeans.
Only in 1946, goods worth 50 million rubles in silver were brought to the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. Among the products offered were woolen, silk, cotton, metals and tea. More than two hundred thousand people gathered here annually, while less than twenty thousand lived in the city itself.
The popularity of the fair has led to the development of infrastructure. New restaurants, a tavern, teahouses and hotels appeared. On the opposite bank of the Oka River, on Rozhdestvenskaya Street, brick buildings were erected. In 1852, the Holy Cross Exaltation Chapel was built on the fairground. The author of the project is Alexander Belov. In 1859, the Pechersk Chapel opened.
Nevsky Cathedral
In the fifties, the merchant class decided to erect a cathedral in memory of the visit to the Nizhny Novgorod Fair by Alexander II. The project was developed by Robert Kylevane. True, the cathedral could not be built quickly. At first, the merchants did not like the proposed project, then there was not enough finance. However, the cost of construction was reduced to one hundred thousand rubles. We considered the project of the young architect Leo Dahl. But he did not like the merchants.
Who owns the project is still unknown. The name Dahl is often mentioned in literature on the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. The photo below shows the Nevsky Cathedral.
In 1868, construction began. It lasted thirteen years. Around this time, one of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants installed six hundred and fifty lanterns here. In the 80s of the XIX century, electric lighting appeared at the fair.
In 2009, he received the status of a cathedral church. At the end of the 20s of the last century, the cathedral, like other Orthodox churches in Russia, was closed. The property was confiscated by the Bolsheviks. Recovery began in 1983.
As early as the middle of the 19th century, there were several wooden buildings in the fair. But frequent fires led to the fact that almost all of them by the end of the century were replaced by stone ones. This is the story of the creation of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair - an ancient marketplace that gained fame more than 150 years ago outside of Russia.
All-Russian Exhibition
This event was funded by Nicholas II. The exhibition opened in 1896. It was such a huge platform that it took the merchants and entrepreneurs at least a week to study it.
The exhibition was organized in connection with a decrease in the turnover of the fair, which caused considerable concern among the government. In addition, by the end of the century, bakery products were in less demand in European markets. Nizhny Novgorod was by then a major Russian trade center. The government did not consider other city candidates for the exhibition.
Fair after the revolution
So, by the end of the 19th century there was a need to organize a special event that could revive interest in domestic products abroad. This exhibition became the largest in pre-revolutionary Russia and would play a significant role in the further history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. Summary of the course of school history everyone remembers. Private trade and other types of entrepreneurship were banned in Russia after the revolution. However, there was a short period of prosperity in the late period of the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair - the period of NEP. Over seven years, trade has grown tenfold. At the fair in 1928, the products of more than two thousand companies were presented.
But soon the struggle against the new economic policy began. The fair was called a hostile event and closed in February 1930. The architectural complex fell into decay. For decades, it has been an urban slum. Until the beginning of the seventies, the government was not interested in the state of sights located on the fair territory, no events were held here.
Current state
Reconstruction of the end of the 20th century left little to the development plan of the 19th century. In the nineties, this historical monument turned into a large exhibition complex. Conferences, congresses are held here. A customs post operates on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.
The huge building includes six pavilions, five conference rooms and the Coat of Arms. On the territory of the fair there are hotels, a bank, several restaurants and a shopping arcade. The competitors of the Nizhny Novgorod enterprise are such giants as Expocenter, VDNH, Lenexpo. For twenty years, the fair has occupied its niche in the Russian exhibition business. She became the center of the business life of the region.
In 2011, the fair celebrated its anniversary - twenty years from the date of revival. In 2017, the celebration of the bicentennial took place. The foundation year is officially considered the 1817th. It was then that the decision was made to transfer retail outlets from the Makaryevsky monastery.
The history of the creation of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, a description of the main attractions located on its territory - Nikolay Filatov spoke in more detail about this in his book Three Centuries of the Makaryevsk-Nizhny Novgorod Fair. The first part is devoted to the origin, development and flowering of Russian bargaining. The second is a collection of essays, short stories and interesting facts from the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.