The history of Arkhangelsk, its buildings, streets, monuments

Arkhangelsk is the oldest city in the Russian North, an important port and cultural center. There were times when he was rightly considered one of the most important points of the country. But even now the Northern Sea Route has not been canceled, and the city continues to play a significant role in its development. The history of the creation of Arkhangelsk will be told in the article.

Monastery and Kholmogory

The history of Arkhangelsk tells that the monastery of Michael the Archangel, located on the cape Pur-Navolok, is officially considered the birthplace of the city. The first mention of him refers to 1419 (the reason is not from the merry - the message tells about the destruction of the monastery by the Swedes). Near the walls, as was customary at that time, there were several villages - peasants and monks, and in the case of which they used the protection of the monastery fortifications. But more noticeable and significant in those days was the village of Kholmogory (known as the birthplace of MV Lomonosov), located nearby. Until the middle of the XVI century it was a local shopping center.

The English, Ivan the Terrible, hemp, forest ...

The history of Arkhangelsk (a photo of this glorious city you see in the article) tells that in 1553 in the vicinity of Kholmogory the English navigators first arrived. The British primarily interested in the possibility of buying Russian drillwood, as well as canvas for sails and hemp for ropes - this was the era of rapid development of the British fleet. But Kholmogory was not suitable for this purpose - the shallow Northern Dvina did not miss large ships.

Therefore, the British chose a place near the monastery - it could be approached by sea. Demand gave birth to a proposal - the place of profitable sales of goods pulled Russian merchants. Settlement began to expand, there were foreign factories and merchant warehouses. The city was nicknamed the New Kholmogory, at that time it was the only full-fledged Russian seaport.

In view of this, Ivan the Terrible, whose relations with Sweden were not the best, was concerned with the strengthening of the new trade center. Two voevoda were ordered to "make a city", that is, to build in Novy Kholmogory fortifications that could provide protection against possible attacks by the Swedes. It was not recommended to argue with this tsar - the voevoda managed to manage for a year, and in 1584 at Cape Pur-Navolok a full-fledged fortress appeared with a rampart, a moat, towers, gates. Under its protection, foreign factories were transferred, and the local Russian population increased (sometimes voluntarily and compulsorily). Appeared Streltsky garrison, a full-fledged posad.

Active urban life was only in the period of navigation, when buyers from England and Holland came here and sellers from Vologda, Moscow, Kholmogory. The trade went briskly - even the legendary Francis Drake, pirate and admiral, expressed gratitude to the Russian merchants for supplying remarkable equipment to British ships. In 1596 it was the history of Arkhangelsk that began, for the first time the documents mentioned its name (by the name of the monastery, which gave the foundation to the city). In 1613 this name became official.

Window to Europe

Yes, it existed even before Peter the Great (which, rather, did not a window into this Europe, but a double-edged gate), and Arkhangelsk served them. In the XVII century, the city provided up to 60% of the external Russian trade turnover. Since the country pursued a policy of isolationism, in 1667 the city was declared the only point where foreign merchant ships were allowed to enter. So it was before the Peter's era.

The active king twice visited the city and stayed for a long time. In Arkhangelsk, Peter for the first time made an escape to the sea, here he initiated the creation of the first Russian commercial "kumpanstv." The Tsar is also the "father" of the Arkhangelsk shipbuilding - he was annoyed that all Russian exports go abroad on foreign ships. His efforts in the city first appeared state, and then the first in the country private shipyard. Ships also became an article of export - they were willingly and in considerable quantities acquired by foreigners. They also went to the needs of the young Baltic Fleet.

Through the newly-opened "doors to Europe" climbed and those who were not called to Russia, in particular, the Swedes. Beginning the Northern War, Peter took care of protecting the northern commercial port. So there was the first in the local places a stone regular Novodvinsk fortress. In 1708 Peter gave Arkhangelsk the status of a provincial center (and there were 8 provinces at that time for the whole country). However, in 1722, the tsar donated Arkhangelsk commerce for the sake of St. Petersburg - a number of goods were exported through Arkhangelsk.

The Northern Way

But the end was not a decision. The history of the city of Arkhangelsk has continued. Some goods could still be imported and exported. Petrovsky Solombala shipyard actively worked, building ships for the needs of the country, and for sale. In 1762, Catherine II lifted restrictions on trade. Along the way, timber industry and timber processing developed (without that at that time there was nothing to think about shipbuilding). It was also worthwhile to thank and Napoleon Bonaparte - the "continental blockade" of England, initiated by him, also contributed to the development of trade. Arkhangelsk was an important administrative center, it had a gymnasium, a theater and the country's first museum of local lore.

It was also a research center - from here the sailors who were searching for navigation opportunities along the Arctic coast of Russia went out on the expedition. Chichagov, Rusanov, Pakhtusov, Sedov - more than 200 expeditions were sent from Arkhangelsk to study the Russian North. Although since 1916 the importance of the port of Arkhangelsk has fallen (a new, more convenient non-freezing port - Murmansk), but from here in 1932 the icebreaker "A. Sibiryakov ", who managed to prove that the Northern Sea Route is going through one navigation season.

We appreciate Arkhangelsk, whose history is interesting to its inhabitants, and the allies of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. For quite a long time, the city was in fact the only (because of the most difficult Murmansk position) port capable of taking "Arctic convoys" - squadrons of cargo and warships delivering equipment and other military goods in the Lend-Lease in the USSR. One of the leaders of the preparation of the port for the reception of convoys was the famous polar explorer ID Papanin.

Arkhangelsk, whose history became the subject of our review, remains one of the most important centers of the Northern Sea Route to the present day. In Soviet times, the city was actively expanding, replenished with modern buildings, adapted to the conditions of the North.

Overcoming evil

Unfortunately, from an ancient building of a city remains very little. The reason is that they built here mainly from wood. The subject of the same trade in the first place was also a tree, as well as linen and hemp - things are very flammable. Therefore, devastating fires in Arkhangelsk were common. In particular, in 1667 the monastery, which gave the name to the city, completely burnt down. As his institution was later restored, but in a new place, away from the historic city center (now there is only a commemorative stele on the cape, recalling the place of the birth of the city).

Nevertheless, the monastery gave the city not only the name, the history of the arms of Arkhangelsk began with this. The monastery was dedicated to Michael the Archangel, famous for his victory over the devil. This plot is also depicted on the coat of arms. For the first time such a picture is found in Peter's personal records - from him it was a sketch of the standard of the Archangel Regiment. Since 1722, this coat of arms has been used by the city, but without official approval (at first Mikhail was portrayed as a horse, but later "hastened"). The official statement was made in the framework of Catherine's provincial reform in 1780.

In Soviet times, Arkhangelsk had a coat of arms with the image of the ship - the saints were not fit. But in 1989 the original coat of arms was restored. Michael in blue clothes and black defeated devil are depicted on a yellow field. The emblem symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.

Scientist and carpenter

The most famous monuments of Arkhangelsk are the images of MV Lomonosov and Tsar Peter. Both are works of the most famous authors (I. Martos and M. Antokolsky, respectively). They were established even before the revolution (in 1832 and 1914). Mikhail Vasilyevich is depicted in the classical spirit, almost a Roman poet. But the Archangel Peter differs dramatically from his "fellow". This is not an autocrat, not a winner, not the emperor who "lifted Russia on its hind legs", but "Peter, the carpenter of the Zaandam", with his own hands knocking out the supports from under the ready-made new ship.

Guests from the past

Roots in the Petrine era , and the history of the buildings of Arkhangelsk. The oldest of them is the wooden church in Zaostrovye (end of the XVII century), an unusual cubic construction. Now this object is on restoration; To summer work must be completed. You can see the remains of the Novodvinsk fortress, where in 1701 the garrison under the command of the young stout Sylvester Ievlev sustained the attack of the Swedes. This event in the Soviet era was devoted to a multi-series TV movie "Russia is young."

Several interesting buildings of a later time have survived: the Trinity Church (mid-18th century), the Admiralty building (1820), the Church of Martin the Confessor on the island of Solombala (1803). There are several ancient wooden houses in the city, in which people continue to live. Among the monuments of the history of Arkhangelsk is the Surskoye farmstead, the building of the Lutheran church and the wooden house of the merchant Shavrin, where the Youth Theater now stands. The cultural elite of Arkhangelsk reveres these buildings as an adornment of their city.

Visitors from the future

Modern buildings are less honored with compliments, but in vain. Yes, many townspeople are unhappy with the dominance of shopping centers of "screaming" appearance. But the wide streets with residential ensembles of the Soviet era have already turned into the same symbol of the city as the old buildings. In particular, we are talking about the ensemble of Voskresenskaya Street. Local residents say that one should not criticize Soviet architecture (white houses - "candles" have been nicknamed "city angels"), but to reinstall sidewalks, renovate public gardens, clean facades and throw unauthorized advertising banners into the garbage. Then the Soviet buildings will again become the object of pride of the townspeople.

Attraction of attention and the structure of the sea station - a modern white building in the traditional for this purpose, white and blue colors. But the most famous modern building of Arkhangelsk is a "skyscraper" in 24 floors. For New York or Chicago, this is ridiculously small, but they were not built on complex northern soils. They built a "skyscraper" in 1984, rather with advertising than with practical purposes. Nevertheless, it housed several design organizations, and now the building is used as an office center and the headquarters of Arkhangelsk radio stations.

By three names

Interesting story of the streets of Arkhangelsk. Some of them (or rather, their names) have a difficult fate. Historical denominations reflected either state imperial and religious ideology, or features of local life. Accordingly, in the city there were Voskresenskaya, Troitskaya, Policemanskaya, Khlebnaya streets. There were also French, Scottish, Lutheran, Norwegian, Kirochnaya (from the word "kirche") - these names recorded the existence of foreign merchant quarters in the city.

Very many streets of the city can boast a whole list of 4-5 names. They changed not only for ideological reasons (Voskresenskaya in the Soviet era bore the name of Engels, and Troitskaya was P. Vinogradov, the participant in the storming of Zimny, the commander of the Severodvinsk river flotilla), but also in connection with the restructuring and reconstruction (it is clear that the appearance of the chain Kuznechevskaya - Permskaya - Suvorov can not be explained by communist considerations).

After the collapse of the USSR, some streets received historical names back. Quite often there are voices of those who demand complete "decommunization" of the city, removal of Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Chelyuskintsev and Uritsky from Arkhangelsk. But most citizens are against it. For a long time there were no those for whom the old names are native, and modern Arkhangelsk citizens, accustomed to the Chumbarova-Luchinsky Avenue (by the way, it's a walking, pedestrian street) do not understand why it should turn into the Big Meshchanskaya or the Middle Avenue. And that's not to mention the fact that renaming introduces confusion in transport routes and the system of document processing (in particular, housing rights and registration documents of enterprises and organizations).

Reasonable initiative

In these conditions, the local historians of Arkhangelsk showed a worthy respect and imitation initiative. On some buildings standing on historic streets, they attached additional nameplates that these streets wore at different times. They do not require any administrative reaction, but they help to preserve and bring to the attention of the citizens the memory of the old Arkhangelsk toponymy.

And the bronze peacock Vinogradov still stands on Trinity Street ... Well, this is a smart modern street, and she would have liked the revolutionary sailor ...

So you have learned the history of the city of Arkhangelsk (briefly). And now you know that in all epochs this glorious city knew both troubles and great successes ...