The material is part of a series of texts about the structures of the pavilions of the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896 discovered at Strelka in Nizhny Novgorod. We have also published materials about the town-planning significance of Strelka and foreign experience of using such architectural monuments.
It is generally accepted that all the architectural monuments in Nizhny Novgorod have long been known. It turned out that not all. Recently, unique metal structures of particular value were discovered at Strelka. These are miraculously preserved parts of the pavilions that were part of the Main Building of the 16th All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, which took place in Nizhny Novgorod in the summer of 1896. In 2016 we will celebrate its 120th anniversary. These structures were created fifteen years earlier, and were also intended for the Main Building, but the previous, 15th All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, held in Moscow in 1882. They were produced at the St. Petersburg Metal Plant.
Famous Russian architects and engineers worked on the project of the Main Building. Thus, the general plan of the building and the projects of its facades were carried out with the participation of the outstanding architect A. I. Rezanov. An associate of K. A. Ton, he built the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. It is inextricably linked with the Nizhny Novgorod land - according to the project of A. I. Rezanov, the Trinity Cathedral of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery was erected. The metal supporting frame of the Main Building was developed by the designers G. E. Pauker and I. A. Vyshnegradsky It is interesting that both of them became Russian ministers: Pauker became the Minister of Railways, and Vyshnegradsky became the Minister of Finance. The final design of the Main Building and working drawings were made by architects A. G. Weber and A. S. Kaminsky, they also supervised the construction of this structure. And again the connection with the Nizhny Novgorod land opens - in the creative list of A. S. Kaminsky is the temple of St. Seraphim of Sarov consecrated in 1903 in Sarov.
To see the unique structures preserved on Strelka, you need to get to the port. There are two huge warehouses along the Volga. From the outside, there is nothing attractive about them - typical storage facilities. But when you go inside, you will experience both amazement and delight. This is a must see. The steel skeleton of the warehouse, its supporting frame form the rows of the column. And these are not powerful channels and I-beams that are familiar to us. The columns are through, openwork. Collected from corners and metal strips connected by rivets, they resemble the trunks of palm trees, the huge leaves of which, somehow imperceptibly for the eye, turn into the same openwork arches and roof trusses. The impression of amazing lightness and harmony is created. As strange as it may seem, the intersections of the constituent elements of the frame resemble lace - lace woven from steel rods. We have never seen such a thing. The unique structures on Strelka have incorporated a forgotten, or, more correctly, an unknown engineering culture that emerged in the middle of the 19th century. And what is important, they convey to us information about the methods of creating large-span metal structures.
Large spans were required for the exhibition pavilions. The best engineers have tackled this daunting task. New designs were in demand and were quickly implemented. The 19th century was the century of exhibitions. National and worldwide, sectoral and thematic, artisanal and artistic, they were organized in different countries, one after the other. Russia was “embedded” in this process, demonstrating its achievements at foreign exhibitions and organizing its own. The first all-Russian exhibition was held in 1829 in St. Petersburg. Subsequent ones were held alternately in two capitals - in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, only three exhibitions worked in Warsaw.
The 15th All-Russian Exhibition, namely for it the Main Building in question was created, reflected the achievements of Russia during the reign of Alexander II. It took place in Moscow on the Khodynskoye field. The main building, made of metal and glass, was its main attraction and served as a kind of visiting card. It stood in the center of the field, dominating the entire exhibition complex. It consisted of eight identical three-aisled pavilions arranged in a star-like manner and interconnected by two concentric passages. This is a huge building by today's standards with an exhibition area of 35 thousand square meters. (7 675 sq. Sazh.) Absorbed 2/3 of all exhibits. In plan it had the shape of a huge ring, similar to a spoked wheel, the outer diameter of which was 298 m, and the inner diameter was 170.4 m. In the center of the ring there was a music pavilion where the orchestra was located. A garden was laid out inside the ring.
The rational architecture of the Main Building was progressive for its time. The composition was based on a functional idea, close to that realized at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867. This was the first experience of using the techniques of functionalism in the practice of Russian exhibition architecture. Despite the new constructive solution underlying the project, stable architectural traditions were manifested in the design of the facades. Small stucco painted ornament, made according to the sketches of the artist A. K. Malov, came into conflict with the impetuous half-oval of a large glass stained-glass window inherent in the new architecture.
After the closure of the Moscow exhibition, and it worked only in the summer of 1882, the main building remained to stand on the Khodynskoye field. From time to time it was used for various exhibitions. The largest event was the French Trade and Industrial Exhibition, which opened in 1891, which became the first foreign show in Russia.
Ten years have passed since the All-Russian Exhibition in Moscow. The time has come again to look back at the path traversed by the country and "show the world the great successes of Russian creativity and labor" achieved under the new emperor. Alexander III, wishing to demonstrate the growth and power of Russian industry, agriculture and trade, as well as to show the achievements of science and culture, the venue of the exhibition on the advice of the Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte chose Nizhny Novgorod - "in tribute to the memory of the glorious days of service of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod and taking into account the commercial importance of the city." “The beauty of the Volga region, a city famous for its historical past, is destined to attract the attention of all Russia again. Military squads do not gather in it for feats of arms and militia banners erected by civic courage do not flutter, as in the old days: now, under the battlements of its Kremlin, a quiet and peaceful triumph of industry is taking place ", - these words began one of the guidebooks on the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition.
On August 13, 1893, the Minister of Finance of Russia Sergei Yulievich Witte arrived in the city to announce the opening of the All-Russian Exhibition in the Nizhny Novgorod in the summer of 1896 to the Nizhny Novgorodians and the fair merchants of the "Highest Will" of Emperor Alexander III. He called himself the king's messenger. This day - August 13 - can be considered the start of preparatory work. Under the chairmanship of Witte himself, a Special Commission was created. He also headed it. The government took upon itself all the costs of organizing the exhibition: according to a preliminary estimate, they amounted to 4,321,200 rubles, which at that time was a lot of money.
Since that time, Nizhny Novgorod has become almost the most important city in Russia, the center of universal attraction. And they began to build here as it should be in the capitals - majestically and soundly. It was for the exhibition that the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod received a magnificent city theater and the building of the District Court on Bolshaya Pokrovka, and a new Exchange was built on the banks of the Volga. Preparing for the exhibition, the city was asserting itself, directing upward the domes, tents and spiers of its buildings. In 1896 even the ancient Dmitrov tower "grew up": according to the project of the St. Petersburg architect N. V. Sultanov, they built it on, adding a tent with a light lantern. Thanks to the reconstruction carried out inside the tower, a large three-height hall with balconies has turned out; where the Kunsthistorisches Museum is located.
By the opening of the exhibition, a tram, the first in Russia, also appeared in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1896, an electric station for the Nizhny Novgorod tram was built opposite the pontoon bridge across the Oka. The list of acquisitions of the city was supplemented by two elevators-elevators: Pokhvalinsky and Kremlin.
A vacant lot in Kanavino was chosen to host the future exhibition, today in its place is the May 1 park with the surrounding residential quarters. The Nizhny Novgorod exhibition in its area (more than 80 hectares) exceeded the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889 and was three times larger than the previous All-Russian Exhibition in Moscow.
The best Russian engineers, architects and artists were invited to design and build the exhibition pavilions. Note, according to the regulations on the Exhibition, no foreign specialists - only our own, domestic ones. We can say that all Russian architecture of the end of the century before last, with its styles and directions, was reflected here. A total of 55 so-called "state" pavilions and 117 private pavilions were built at the exhibition. All of them were erected in a fantastic period, and by today's standards, in less than two construction seasons.
The exhibition pavilions were built from scratch, with the exception of one - the Main Building. It was the only one that was not new, it "worked" before at the previous 15th All-Russian Exhibition. To save money, and it amounted to 300 thousand rubles, it was considered expedient to disassemble this huge building with a metal frame, the total weight of which is 115 thousand poods (1840 tons), transport it to Nizhny Novgorod and reassemble it here. The laying of the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny took place on May 16, 1894. In May of the same year, the main building began to be dismantled in Moscow. All dismantling work, as well as the subsequent assembly in Nizhny Novgorod, was carried out by the St. Petersburg Metal Plant, the same one that manufactured the structures of this structure. The dismantling in Moscow was supervised by the architect, academician F. O. Bogdanovich, and the assembly in Nizhny was carried out by the architect F. O. Stanek, by the way, he assembled the Main Building twice, in Moscow and in Nizhny. “Dismantling a building in Moscow, laying it down, transporting it, unloading it on site, re-assembling it all required work, the size of which can be judged by the volume of the building. With a careful bulkhead of the building, which had stood in Moscow for more than ten years, up to 2% of the metal material had to be discarded. It also took a rather significant expense to build a new foundation in Nizhny Novgorod and to replace the old ties in the roof with new ones; but nevertheless, thanks to the finished material, we managed to save up to 300 thousand rubles on this building,”- this is a quote from one of the exhibition publications.
It was decided to leave the architectural style of the building, including the design of its facades, in the same, Moscow, form, i.e. the way the architects A. I. Rezanov, Kaminsky and Weber. The supporting frame was almost completely preserved, only the main entrance to the building, and this pavilion from the side of the main entrance to the exhibition, was raised by almost three meters (10 feet), making it more attractive in artistic terms. Its facade was renovated by the architect Professor A. N. Pomerantsev (at the exhibition in Nizhny, according to his project, the pavilions of Tsarsky and Central Asia, as well as the building of the Art Department were built).
In Nizhny Novgorod, the original function of the Main Building has been fully preserved. Its eight radially located pavilions house exhibits of the following departments: Mining, Fiber Products, Artistic and Industrial, Factory Products, Factory and Crafts. Inside the ring, as in Moscow, there was a garden, in the center - the Music Pavilion. All celebrations at the exhibition, its opening and closing, were held in this garden. The Russian emperor and the empress were here, S. Yu. Witte and other dignitaries, solemn prayers were served here. In this garden, the audience gathered for musical concerts.
Here is an eyewitness description of the Main Building. “There is no way for a viewer outside of him to judge him in all his integrity; this is prevented by the figure of the building running away from the eye along the entire endless circular line. The top view from a distance is also incomplete due to the perspective of the circular figure. Wherever the viewer stops, walking around the building, he sees in front of him only one of the eight pavilion facades and adjacent walls leaving in a circle. The overall impression is obtained in its entirety only when viewing the building from the inner round courtyard. Here the eye sequentially passes from one pavilion to another along the entire spacious circle of the garden. All eight pavilions of the Main Building are exactly the same in size, shape and decoration. Their facades are gracefully variegated, covered with a whole pattern of ornaments. The entire courtyard is an almost solid lawn carpet dotted with flower beds. Near the Music Pavilion, which is excellently arranged in acoustics, there is a huge lawn-flower plateau; the pavilion itself is somewhat raised and surrounded by rows of benches on which the audience sits …"
The constructions found today on the Strelka “remember” all this. How did they end up in the port on Strelka? This is the question we will try to answer. Recall that the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny was seasonal. After its closure, it disappeared like a mirage. Today, perhaps, only a pond in the May 1 park reminds of her. All pavilions with a metal frame were collapsible. After the exhibition was closed, they were sold and dispersed to different parts of Russia. We do not know for sure yet, but there is reason to assume that the pavilions of the Main Building were bought by D. V. Sirotkin. They were transported to the territory of the Siberian wharves. Two of them have survived there.
These pavilions stand quietly on the territory of the port, which is closed to visitors. They do not attract attention, they do not arouse interest. Warehouses and warehouses. They can be demolished, making room for the architects' imagination to come true. And no one would have wavered from such a decision if the architectural critic Marina Ignatushko had not organized an inspection of these warehouses by a group of architects. One can imagine everyone's delight at the sight of unique designs. All were unanimous in their assessment: “this is steel lace!”. Someone began to express ideas on how to preserve the load-bearing frames of warehouses, breathing "new life" into them. Everyone agreed on the idea that the structures should be “opened” using light-transparent fences.
The very next day, beautiful photographs made by the architect Nadezhda Schema appeared on the Internet. And then a sensation: the architect Denis Plekhanov made a discovery. He not only suggested that the structures of the pavilions of the Main Building of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896 were preserved in the port on Strelka, but he professionally proved this and established their authenticity. The architect's discovery, which became a notable event on a Russian scale, served as the basis for this article. It is symbolic that the structures on the Strelka "opened" for the anniversary of the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition - its 120th anniversary. The All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896 was the last in the pre-revolutionary history of Russia and received the official title "Great".
The author is a professor at NNGASU, UNESCO Chair.
