The houses of the 19th century are a characteristic feature of the new era of developing capitalism. At this time, the appearance of large cities in Russia changed greatly. Technological progress and a growing new class - large merchants, owners of factories and factories set new tasks for architects. New types of buildings were built, stations, large shops, entertainment facilities: theaters, circuses. Capitalism in architecture was also characterized by the appearance of tenement houses in cities.
19th century houses
Russian society of the 19th century was class-based, this influenced the houses in which their representatives lived. A lot depended on where you lived. The main categories of residential buildings of this time can be distinguished:
- Noble.
- Merchant.
- Meshchanskaya.
- Peasant.
- Profitable.
Each one was differentfeatures that depended on the life of the representatives of the estate, on prosperity and purpose. So, there were urban, rural houses and mansions, country estates. New was the appearance in the vicinity of the cities of country houses, where they traveled in the summer season. The number of inhabitants in cities has been constantly increasing. This is connected with the appearance at the end of the 18th century of tenement houses, the construction of which in the 19th century was rapidly developed.
Russia is a country with a huge amount of forests. Therefore, most of the houses were wooden. This was also due to the cold climate. Wooden houses were warm and solid. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities in southern Russia, 19th-century housing was built from stone.
Features of Russian architecture of the 19th century
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 rigor, order and clear planning. He embodied the ideas of antiquity, the severity of the 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 applied both to urban planning in general and to individual buildings. It was replaced by eclecticism - a mixture of elements of different styles.
Noble Mansion
The highest nobility in the cities built luxurious mansions, the construction of which attracted famous architects. Numerous family members and servants lived in them. On the ground floor were the economicquarters and servants' quarters. The second was occupied by several large living rooms, boudoirs and bedrooms. The third floor housed living quarters with low ceilings.
Special rooms were obligatory attributes of mansions and estates, the purpose of some of them is not entirely clear to modern people:
- Hallway. These premises could only be found in Russian mansions and houses. In cold winters, there was a large amount of outer clothing, which had to be removed and placed at the entrance to a warm room. There are no hallways in European houses. The place where fur coats, coats, caps, hats, warm shoes were hung was fenced off with railings. There were mirrors and chairs here.
- Valet, named so due to the fact that it was the valet on duty. It was furnished with solid mahogany furniture. Paintings adorned the walls.
- Portrait room. Here, portraits of family members or ancestors hung on the walls. The furniture was mahogany. The walls were painted in natural colors or covered with wallpaper. Often they were applied drawings imitating wallpaper.
- Cabinet. It was mandatory in 19th century noble houses or estates. As was customary, furniture was made from Karelian birch, poplar or mahogany. The walls were covered with wallpaper or painted under them.
- Dining room. A large room where the hosts dined and treated guests. It was decorated with a large oval table, expensive furniture and paintings on the walls, which were painted in natural colors.
- Bedroom with boudoir. Here the hostess rested. Bedwas covered with a screen, in the corner there was usually a shrine with icons where one could pray. The boudoir was separated from the bedroom. In it, the hostess could take care of her toilet and business: embroider, correspond. As a rule, there were other bedrooms for family members and guests in the house.
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 dominant style. It was the time of classicism with a clear rhythm and a unified style of furniture and art objects placement. Mahogany furniture was decorated with chased products made of gilded bronze or brass. The French fashion for antique products suggested the presence of statues that were located in the living rooms. The decor of the room matched this. A we althy 19th-century nobleman's home that hosted many guests had several living rooms
Foreigners were surprised by the double frames on the windows, large stoves up to the ceiling, decorated with beautiful tiles. Fireplaces were not heated in winter. Since cold air penetrated through them. They were closed for the winter and decorated with flowers. Foreign guests were surprised by the huge number of flowers in the houses, they were everywhere.
Noble Manor
The estate is a complex that included a residential building and various buildings: utility, landscape gardening, stables, human and others. They harmoniously fit into the manor park. If athere 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. We althy estates had a church. The master's houses were arranged according to the principle of city mansions.
There is such a thing as the Russian estate style. It is quite peculiar, it was difficult to see anything like it outside of Russia, the specifics of this style were determined by serfdom and long distances from large cities. There were many workers in the estate who lived here. Isolation from the city left its mark, as the nobles had to take care of the household, 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. News of fashion, styles came here late. But there were estates that were built by famous architects, some of them have survived to this day. These are real monuments of Russian architecture.
Merchant's House
The development of capitalism has led to the fact that there is free capital that requires investment. The rapid construction of houses by large merchants and manufacturers begins. Merchant houses of the 19th century, owned by very we althy representatives of this class, were mostly similar to palaces. Famous architects were often invited to the construction.
But for the most part, merchant houses were solid wooden, wood-stone and stone, whichout into the orchard. The courtyards were adapted for storing goods, the furnishings were very different, there is no need to talk about any style here. Along with the paintings bought for the occasion, there were many icons. They tried to imitate the representatives of the upper classes in everything. But for the most part, only a few succeeded, those who received a decent education.
The nobility slowly went bankrupt, selling their estates. The merchant class grew rich and bought them, adapting them to their own way of life. But most of the nouveaux riches taught their children not only in Russia, but also abroad. Well-educated merchant children were already difficult to distinguish from representatives of the upper class. They arranged their 19th century homes in Russia differently than their fathers. They knew several languages, understood painting, architecture, literature.
Russian merchant style
In small provincial towns, merchants built simpler houses. A merchant style appeared, in which the house in plan was a large square or rectangular shape. It mostly consisted of two floors. The first one was massive, made of stone, with a large cellar. The upper floor is a hewn frame, lined with wood, with a rich carved finish. Inside, such houses were mostly plastered.
Petty-bourgeois house
The philistine class included teachers, day laborers and hired workers. They made up the majority of the population of cities, especially after 1861, when serfdom was abolished. Housing of the townspeoplewas a rented or modest home of its own. Most often they were small, built according to the example of rural houses. Their styles corresponded to the area where they lived.
Apartment houses
The development of cities, the growth of industrial enterprises, educational institutions, led to the emergence of a large number of people who cannot 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 the cities, especially in St. Petersburg, Moscow, city authorities were building infrastructure. The construction of buildings where apartments were rented out 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 constructed buildings were profitable. The owners of the houses tried to attract notable tenants. This was done for the purpose of advertising. Buildings used for renting apartments were built around the university. Here, his professors and teachers rented excellent apartments.
Besides them, employees, young families, specialists, doctors settled in tenement houses. Houses were also built for the less we althy segments 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 doss houses, where housing was rented - a room or a bed for the night.
Russian rural style
Country houses of the 19th century had their own styles and features. Until our time, they can be found in rural areas and small towns. They were built in one, less often in two floors. Traditionally, these were four- or five-wall log cabins with a two-pitched or three-pitched roof, but in the eastern or southern regions one can find a four-pitched roof. A distinctive detail of the Russian rural style was the light room, which was arranged in the attic.
The house was built in two versions. The first consisted of one hut with a large entrance hall. The second - from two huts, which were called the front and back, interconnected by a wide povet and porch. All this was under one roof. The area around the house was not fenced off with a blank fence, only front gardens were arranged. Carved architraves served as decoration of such buildings. Also, Russian-style houses were built of brick and could be two-story.
Siberian peasant style
19th century houses of this style are typical for Siberian regions. They had minor differences from the houses of the Russian style. They were large, had a hipped roof without a light. Fenced off with a deaf high fence. Decorated with carved platbands.
Russian dacha style
From the stuffy cities in the summer, the townspeople traveled to nearby settlements, where entire holiday villages grew up. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that many houses of the Russian country style began to be built. Dachas were both summer buildings without heating, and capital houses with stove heating and fireplaces. Tradition althe form of such a house was wooden log cabins, sheathed with clapboard, with a mezzanine and an obligatory veranda. We althier people built stone houses that were used as summer cottages.
Ingrian style
This type of houses was common on the territory of the modern Leningrad region. Its characteristic feature is the imposing brick or stone walls, where one type of masonry is intertwined with another. A house with outbuildings and a stone fence forms a closed courtyard space.
Vologda style
The Vologda house was built elongated inside the courtyard, it was one-story or two-story. An obligatory element was a device in the corner of the porch facade. And if the house is two-story, then a balcony was made above the porch. But the main feature of the Vologda style was the decoration of the house with wooden carved elements, similar to lace. The abundance of it is the main difference.
