What does it mean to love a city? Well, probably to know its history. To appreciate its architecture. Several years ago, volunteers in Astrakhan, aiming to preserve the memory of the vanishing beauty of their native city, which does not fit into the standards of modern concrete jungles, created the project “Museum of Wooden Architecture.”
Astrakhan Uniqueness
The project “Museum of Wooden Architecture” was born in 2018 within the walls of the Astrakhan Architectural and Construction University. Its founder is the dean of the architecture faculty, Tatiana Tzitman. The plan was to create a historical space that would allow preserving fragments of the unique Astrakhan wooden architecture – first on the university campus, and then possibly open an exhibition beyond its borders.
Why choose this particular style? In Astrakhan, entire quarters of historical wooden buildings still exist. True, there are no buildings from the 17th-18th centuries left; the surviving buildings belong to a later period. There was no dreary barrack construction in the city, except for workers’ settlements. And in private estates, one could always see beauty: even if small, but skillfully decorated windows with carvings.
Astrakhan wooden architecture has a unique southern multinational color, just like the city itself. Speaking of window moldings, each detail, each curl was created by hand, and each pattern carries its own meaning.
“Reading” such patterns makes it possible to feel the past and appreciate the skill and creativity of the creators. Wood is not just a building material but a kind of witness to a long history, preserving the knowledge and traditions of previous generations.
Not Just “Woodworks”
The first participants in the project were students. They organized expeditions around the city and rural areas in search of unique wooden elements. This led to the collection of an impressive array of carved window moldings, which were essentially saved from destruction during the demolition of houses.
But, after graduating from the university, students left the project, they had new business, and there was no longer enough time for expeditions.
From the once-large team, only Svetlana Gaifitdinova remained – she continued the work, giving it a new impetus. Then her sister Valentina Kuznetsova began to help. Though not immediately. If you are in love with “woodworks,” it doesn’t mean that your relatives will love them too.
Valentina Kuznetsova is a teacher-researcher at the V.N. Tatishchev AGU, a candidate of technical sciences. Well, admit it – where are the window moldings, and where are the digital technologies she teaches students? But over time, she got drawn into this hobby – so much so that she started studying the history of houses, befriended local historians, unearthed amazing facts in archives, and went to sites with her sister.
The collection of enthusiasts includes more than 100 platbands with various types of ornaments and patterns / Photo from the personal archive of S. Gaifitdinova
They collect wooden treasures in different ways. Sometimes they manage to remove them from abandoned housing; sometimes they have to negotiate with buyers who don’t need the house itself but the land it stands on; often they simply find them in materials left after dismantling old buildings. Recently, for two consecutive days, Svetlana kept an eye on window moldings on a street where a house was demolished, and they were neatly stacked. They interviewed neighbors to understand whose decorations they were, who removed them. They found the workers, contacted the foreman. They made an agreement with him, and he handed over the carved elements.
By the way, the girls’ father, Yuri Kharisovich, sometimes helps transport window moldings in his car. This is also love. Not for history, but for his daughters.
They store the window moldings in a specially rented warehouse for this purpose.
All to the Marathon!
To engage as many people as possible and introduce them to the unique wooden heritage of Astrakhan, within the project, several years ago, they came up with a photo marathon. Free walks with a camera for those who want to see the city through the prism of its historical architecture.
The format is quite simple: choose a route, throw a call on the Internet. There is no need to sign up – everyone interested just meets at the specified time in a certain place and walks to places where perhaps no one from the locals would ever have looked. Participants in such meetings are people of all ages and professions, often whole families come, and sometimes visitors from other cities join the locals.
Excursion within the framework of the project “Museum of Wooden Architecture” to the Astrakhan resort of Tinaki / Photo from the personal archive of S. Gaifitdinova
All photo walks are accompanied by fascinating stories about the places visited. Not all participants know how to or want to take pictures, but that’s not necessary. You can just listen and watch.
The result of several years of work was the creation of a virtual photo book “Astrakhan Lace.” And based on the results of last year’s photo walks, attended by two thousand people, an exhibition of the best works was held at the Regional Scientific Library. In these photographs – Astrakhan, which is impossible not to love. And which, unfortunately, will soon be lost to the ages.
In Good Memory
The tours are conducted by Svetlana herself. She is an amazing person – she possesses a wealth of information that makes her tours unlike any other. It’s hard to imagine that when she started studying at the architecture faculty, she was not at all inspired by the historical past of the city.
Once she was doing a homework assignment: she had to draw a building in a certain format, make its plan. She got a military hospital – one of the most beautiful buildings in Astrakhan, built in 1909. It is located on an old street in the city, where architectural masterpieces, each more beautiful than the last, always attract the attention of tourists – they are truly breathtaking.
“I didn’t notice any beauty at all,” says Svetlana. “I needed to complete a difficult task, it didn’t work out, I was angry. And only when the teacher began to discuss my work, and, in fact, talk about architecture, something in me seemed to awaken. I wanted to learn more about the history of city houses. And now I understand my personal task as a necessity to preserve something from this history for other people who will no longer see it firsthand.”
Svetlana Gaifitdinova (left) with her sister Valentina / Photo: M. Parenskaya
You can’t make someone fall in love with an ancient city with just words. That’s why the idea arose to organize master classes and quizzes for children, to have their own page on social networks, to shoot stories about historical objects for it, and to post interesting facts.
Over the years, many volunteers have joined the urban photo marathon. They help collect window moldings and carved elements from houses that have outlived their usefulness. Today, the wooden collection includes over 100 exhibits with various types of ornaments and patterns, which were not allowed to disappear. They reflect the originality of Astrakhan’s wooden architecture.
There is also quite practical benefit from volunteering: clean-up days are held at cultural heritage sites of regional significance, which the authorities do not reach. Under the wing of voluntary care are the Persian mosque, the complex of gunpowder warehouses, the hospital complex of the Public Welfare Department, the Annunciation Novodevichy Monastery, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Cleanup day on the territory of the Annunciation Novodevichy Convent / Photo from the personal archive of S. Gaifitdinova
One of the clean-up days last year was held at the wooden church of St. Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, built over a hundred years ago in the ancient, now abandoned resort of Tinaki. The same fate threatened the church. But many public figures, including Svetlana and Valentina, rose to its defense. Now they monitor the condition of the old church, trying to stop its destruction.
Wooden Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon / Photo from the personal archive of S. Gaifitdinova
The museum, however, remains a dream. It has not been possible to create a large-scale exhibition in Astrakhan dedicated to wooden architecture.
“The idea of creating a museum of wooden architecture in Astrakhan was voiced back in the 1970s,” says Raisa Zakharova, an Astrakhan art historian, a member of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture. “But it didn’t work out. And over the decades, so much has changed in the cityscape! Many unique houses have simply disappeared. Astrakhan residents and tourists alike love Astrakhan very much, but neither group has ever had effective mechanisms of love. Preserving Astrakhan’s antiquity has always been difficult, but today, as sad as it sounds, it’s simply impossible. Only recording, describing, photographing. Therefore, the work of volunteers, especially those who are professionally knowledgeable in this area, deserves the deepest respect. They do what they can, guided above all by love for the city, which is gradually slipping away from us.”
The project “Museum of Wooden Architecture” continues to develop, and Svetlana still hopes that the collection of window moldings, which is now carefully stored in the warehouse, will someday be exhibited in a more suitable space. And everyone will be able to admire the work of the masters who created the unique appearance of wooden Astrakhan.
By Marina Parenskaya