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Mysteries of St. Petersburg: How courtyards-wells appeared in the northern capital
Mysteries of St. Petersburg: How courtyards-wells appeared in the northern capital

Video: Mysteries of St. Petersburg: How courtyards-wells appeared in the northern capital

Video: Mysteries of St. Petersburg: How courtyards-wells appeared in the northern capital
Video: Russian folk art - YouTube 2024, November
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House-well on Maly Avenue of the Petrogradskaya Side. Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk
House-well on Maly Avenue of the Petrogradskaya Side. Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk

Petersburg is a real city-museum. There are simply a huge number of attractions in the northern capital: magnificent palaces, and royal park complexes, buildings graceful in their architecture, which are reflected in canals and rivers, monuments and fountains. And also mysterious courtyards-wells, which you will not see in all Russian cities. Today the story is about how they appeared in St. Petersburg and why they were built.

Yard-well in St. Petersburg (4th Line of Vasilievsky Island)
Yard-well in St. Petersburg (4th Line of Vasilievsky Island)

Yards-wells are one of the mysteries of St. Petersburg, which gives this city an inexplicable charm of gloomy aesthetics. There are several versions of the appearance of these courtyards.

1. Yard as a warehouse

Classic St. Petersburg courtyard-well
Classic St. Petersburg courtyard-well

There is a version that the courtyards-wells appeared in the city as warehouses. It is very convenient - I threw coal-firewood into the courtyard, and on the front street - beauty, only horse dung, mixed with mud, then with snow, remove.

A traditional St. Petersburg courtyard-well
A traditional St. Petersburg courtyard-well

But in fairness it is worth saying that this version, although viable, is clearly adjusted to the circumstances. After all, they began to hide various garbage in St. Petersburg courtyards even when the courtyards appeared.

The courtyard is an angel
The courtyard is an angel

But such a version is only a theory adjusted to the circumstances, and they began to hide various garbage in the courtyards, and what was necessary for the economy, only after the construction of such courtyards.

Dutch motives

Well yard on Kirochnaya street. Photo by Alexander Demyanchuk
Well yard on Kirochnaya street. Photo by Alexander Demyanchuk

At one time, Peter I himself gave a personal order to build houses in the Dutch style with "solid" facades "for the sake of beauty and convenience." After all, looking at all these magnificent architectural delights, at the Atlanteans, the ubiquitous baroque and rococo in the stone appearance of the imperial capital, one cannot dare say that they were saving on the imperial capital. But still…

House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24
House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24
House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24
House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24

It was very expensive to drain the soil for construction, and it was also necessary to invite architects from abroad and collect serfs. Therefore, they tried to save money on something.

House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24
House of Yu. B. Bak. Escher's maze. Kirochnaya street, 24

The construction of the usual L and U-shaped houses for the northern capital would be a real waste. So “connected” buildings appeared in the center of the city.

We will fight for every ruble

Profitable house A. N. Grabbe. Mokhovaya, 26
Profitable house A. N. Grabbe. Mokhovaya, 26

Together with the imperials, the courtiers, as well as merchants and respected wealthy families, fought in the northern capital. And each of the "come in large numbers" dreamed of conquering the capital. Therefore, it is not surprising that the popularity of apartment buildings began to grow.

Profitable house A. N. Grabbe. Mokhovaya, 26
Profitable house A. N. Grabbe. Mokhovaya, 26
The facade of the former apartment building on Mokhovaya
The facade of the former apartment building on Mokhovaya

Every meter of swampy soil counts. Therefore, in order to generate income, they tried to build up the territory as tightly as possible, and the buildings grew upward by five, or even WHOLE six floors!

To dizziness …
To dizziness …

They attract tourists and everyone who is not indifferent to the northern capital and 9 Egyptian sights of St. Petersburg and their mystical stories.

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