19th century houses are a characteristic feature of a new era of developing capitalism. At this time, the appearance of the large cities of Russia changed greatly. Technological progress and a growing new class - the big merchants, the owners of factories and plants posed new challenges for architects. New types of buildings were built, train stations, large shops, spectacular structures: theaters, circuses. Capitalism in architecture was also characterized by the appearance in the city of profitable apartment buildings.
19th century houses
Russian society of the XIX century was class, it affected the houses in which their representatives lived. Much depended on the area of residence. We can distinguish the main categories of residential buildings of this time:
- Noble.
- Merchant.
- Meshchanskaya.
- Peasant.
- Profitable.
Each differed in its features, which depended on the life of representatives of the estate, on prosperity and purpose. So, there were city, rural houses and mansions, country estates. New was the appearance in the vicinity of cities of country houses, where they traveled in the summer season. The number of residents in cities has been constantly increasing. The appearance of tenement houses at the end of the 18th century, the construction of which in the 19th century received rapid development, is connected with this.
Russia is a country with a huge number of forests. Therefore, most of the houses were wooden. This was also due to the cold climate. The wooden houses were warm and solid. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities, in the south of Russia, 19th-century housing was built of stone.
Features of 19th century Russian architecture
Russian architecture of houses of the 19th century predetermined the appearance of modern cities. In the first half of the century, the dominant trend was classicism with its severity, order and a clear layout. He embodied the ideas of antiquity, the severity of canons and logic. Its main feature is the Tuscan order, which is enlarged and emphasized by the severity of massive walls, colonnades and arches. This concerned both urban development as a whole and individual buildings. He was replaced by eclecticism - a mixture of elements of various styles.
Noble mansion
The higher nobility in the cities built luxurious mansions, the construction of which attracted famous architects. They were inhabited by numerous family members and servants. On the ground floor there were utility rooms and rooms for servants. The second was occupied by several large living rooms, boudoirs and bedrooms. The third floor housed living quarters with low ceilings.
Mandatory attributes of mansions and estates were special rooms, the purpose of some of them is not entirely clear to modern people:
- Hallway These premises could be found exclusively in Russian mansions and houses. In cold winters there was a large amount of outer clothing, which at the entrance to a warm room had to be removed and placed. There are no hallways in European homes. The place where fur coats, coats, hats, hats, warm shoes were hung up was fenced with a railing. There were mirrors and chairs.
- The valet, so named due to the fact that it contained a valet on duty. It was furnished with solid red wood furniture. The walls were decorated with paintings.
- Portrait room. Here on the walls hung portraits of family members or ancestors. The furniture was mahogany. The walls were painted in natural colors or glued with wallpaper. Often they were applied drawings that mimic the wallpaper.
- Cabinet. He was obligatory in the noble houses of the 19th century or estates. As was customary, the furniture was made from Karelian birch, poplar or mahogany. The walls were wallpapered or painted under them.
- Canteen. A large room where the owners dined and treated guests. Its decoration was a large oval table, expensive furniture and paintings on the walls, which were painted in natural colors.
- Bedroom with boudoir. The hostess rested here. The bed was covered by a screen, in the corner there was usually an icon case with icons where one could pray. The boudoir was separated from the bedroom. In it, the hostess could take care of her toilet and affairs: embroider, correspond. As a rule, in the house there were other bedrooms for family members and for guests.
- Living room. The front room where guests were received. It was richly furnished, paintings hung on the walls, upholstered furniture was installed for relaxation and conversation. The living room in the house of a nobleman of the 19th century was arranged in accordance with the prevailing style. It was a time of classicism with a clear rhythm and a unified style of placement of furniture and art objects. Mahogany furniture was decorated with hammered gilded bronze or brass. The French fashion for antique products implied the presence of statues, which were located in the living rooms. The decor of the room corresponded to this. In the rich house of a nobleman in the 19th century, where many guests received, there were several living rooms.
Double frames on the windows, large stoves to the ceiling, decorated with beautiful tiles, surprised foreigners. Fireplaces were not heated in winter. Since cold air penetrated through them. They were closed for the winter and decorated with flowers. The huge number of flowers in the houses surprised foreign visitors, they were everywhere.
Noble estate
The estate is a complex, which included a residential building and various buildings: household, gardening, stables, people and others. They harmoniously fit into the manor park. If there was no river nearby, then a lake with an island was arranged, alleys were laid, rotundas were set up, ruins and grottoes were laid out. The rich estates had a church. The manor houses were arranged on the principle of urban mansions.
There is such a thing as a Russian estate style. It is quite peculiar, it was difficult to see such a thing outside of Russia, the specifics of this style were determined by serfdom and large distances from large cities. There were many workers in the estate who lived here. Separation from the city left its mark, as the nobles had to farm, constantly communicate with the peasants.
Rare trips to county or provincial cities were a real event. Other estates were tens of kilometers away, so guests did not come often. Furniture purchased after the construction of the house was transferred to the heirs. Fashion news, styles arrived here late. But there were estates built by famous architects, some of which have survived to this day. These are real monuments of Russian architecture.
Merchant House
The development of capitalism has led to the emergence of free capital, which requires investment. The rapid construction of houses by large merchants and manufacturers begins. Merchant houses of the 19th century, belonging to the very wealthy representatives of this estate, were mostly similar to palaces. Often famous architects were invited to the construction.
But for the most part, merchants' houses were solid wooden, half-stone and stone, which overlooked the garden and vegetable garden. The courtyards were adapted for storing goods, the atmosphere was very different, there was no need to talk about any style. Along with paintings purchased on occasion, there were many icons. They strove to imitate representatives of the upper classes in everything. But in the majority it was possible to units, those who received worthy education.
The nobility slowly went bankrupt, selling their estates. The merchant estate was rich and bought them, adapting to their own life. But most nouveau riche taught their children not only in Russia, but also abroad. Merchants with a good education were already difficult to distinguish from the upper class. They arranged their 19th century houses in Russia differently, not like their fathers. Knew several languages, versed in painting, architecture, literature.
Russian merchant style
In small provincial cities, merchants built houses more simply. A merchant style appeared, in which the house in the plan represented a large square or rectangular shape. It mostly consisted of two floors. The first was massive, stone, with a large basement. Upper floor - hewn log cabin, sheathed in wood, with rich carved finish. Inside, such houses were mostly plastered.
Meshchansky house
The middle class included teachers, day laborers and employees. They made up the majority of the urban population, especially after 1861, when serfdom was abolished. The bourgeois housing was a rented or modest own home. Most often they were small, built following the example of rural houses. Their styles corresponded to the area where they lived.
Apartment buildings
The development of cities, the growth of industrial enterprises, educational institutions, led to the emergence of a large number of people who could not afford to build or buy a house. This category includes teachers, doctors, bankers, civil servants, engineers, teachers, students. They needed comfortable comfortable apartments that could be rented.
In cities, especially in St. Petersburg, Moscow, the city authorities were building infrastructure. The construction of buildings where apartments were rented was carried out according to the projects of famous architects. At the end of the 19th century, there were more than 550 such houses in Moscow alone. In St. Petersburg, 80% of the buildings built were profitable. The owners of the houses tried to attract notable tenants. This was done for the purpose of advertising. The buildings used to rent apartments were built around the university. Here, excellent apartments were rented by his professors and teachers.
In addition to them, employees, young families, specialists, and doctors settled in apartment buildings. Houses were also built for the poorer sections of the population: small employees, workers, students. Where it was possible to rent a room or a small apartment, in which the cost was much less. There were also so-called lodging houses where housing was rented - a room or a bed for the night.
Russian rural style
Village houses of the 19th century had their own styles and features. They can still be found in rural areas and small towns. They were built in one, rarely two floors. Traditionally, these were four- or five-walled log houses with a gable or three-gable roof, but in the eastern or southern regions, a four-gable roof can be found. A distinctive detail of the Russian rural style was the little lamp, which was arranged in the attic.
The house was built in two versions. The first consisted of a single hut with large canopies. The second - of the two huts, which were called the front and back, interconnected by a wide area and a canopy. All this was under one roof. The area around the house was not fenced with a blank fence, only the front gardens were arranged. The decoration of such buildings was carved platbands. Also, houses in the Russian style were built of brick and could be two-story.
Siberian peasant style
Houses of the 19th century of this style are characteristic of Siberian regions. They had slight differences from Russian-style houses. They were large, had a gable roof without a light. Fenced with a dull high fence. Decorated with carved platbands.
Russian country style
In the summertime, townspeople traveled from stuffy cities to nearby settlements, where whole summer villages grew. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that a lot of houses began to be built in the Russian country style. The summer cottages were both summer buildings without heating, and capital houses with stove heating and fireplaces. The traditional form of such a house was wooden log houses sheathed with lining, with a mezzanine and a mandatory veranda. More prosperous people built stone houses, which were used as summer cottages.
Ingermanland style
This type of house was distributed in the territory of modern Leningrad region. Its characteristic feature is impressive brick or stone walls, where one type of masonry is intertwined with another. The house with outbuildings and a stone fence forms an enclosed space of the courtyard.
Vologda style
The Vologda house was built elongated inside the courtyard, it was one-story or two-story. A mandatory element was the device in the corner of the porch facade. And if the house is two-story, then a balcony was made over the porch. But the main feature of the Vologda style was the decoration of the house with wooden carved elements similar to lace. Its abundance is the main difference.