From Neuschwanstein to merchant mansions: the architectural diversity of Yoshkar-Ola
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************In 2024, Yoshkar-Ola celebrated its 440th anniversary. During this time, the architecture of the capital has gone from small huts to pompous ensembles in the European style. We invite you to get acquainted with the most interesting buildings of the city.********
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************Pchelin's House******************** **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The oldest surviving stone building in the city is considered to be the Pchelin House. A small two-story building is located in the city center - on Voznesenskaya Street, not far from the church of the same name. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The mansion was built in the middle of the 18th century and belonged to Ivan Pchelin, the famous Tsarevokokshay merchant. The opinions of local residents differed: some considered him a sorcerer, others a robber, others were sure that in his house there were secret rooms filled to the brim with treasures. Of all the secrets and legends shrouding Pchelin’s home, only one has been revealed: in the last century, a secret passage was found under the mansion, which led to the neighboring Church of the Ascension. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The architecture of the house is laconic and simple, alternating small and large arched windows. In 1825, one of the first two-class district schools in the region was located in the building. After the revolution, in 1921, the Mari RCP(b) and the regional executive committee were located here. Later, the mansion was occupied by various institutions until the Pchelin House was transferred to the Mari diocese. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************House of the merchant Naumov******************** **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ At the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, at the intersection of modern Kremlin and Sovetskaya streets, the merchant of the second guild Grigory Pavlovich Naumov built a house. On the ground floor there was a shop, and on the second floor there were living rooms for the owner and his family. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ A special feature of the building is the combination of materials: the first floor is built of stone and complemented by large arched windows, and the second floor is made of wood. The residential tier is richly decorated with carvings. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ During the October Revolution of 1917, the Naumov House was nationalized and the first Mari printing house was located there. Afterwards, the “owners” of the premises were various organizations, and currently the Museum of Ceramics and Pottery Art is located here. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************House of Merchant Bulygin******************** **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ Across the road from the Naumov House is another merchant mansion. In 1835 it was built by M.M. Talantsev. The architectural feature of the building is a portico with four columns. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ In 1888, the house was sold to the Bulygin merchants, owners of the Bulygin and Son trading house. There was a pub on the ground floor, and the second floor was rented out as apartments. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ A year after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Council of Tsarevokokshai district moved into the building, then the military commissariat, the executive committee and the GPU. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ Until recently, the Bulygin House was occupied by the Gulag Museum. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************House of Soviets******************** **** ****
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The House of Soviets (now building “A” of the Mari State University) was built in 1937 according to the design of the constructivist architect A.Z. Greenberg. At that time, domestic architecture was moving towards Soviet classicism, so the project, shaped like an airplane, contains features of this style.********
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************ **** ************ ************ A year after its construction, the House of Soviets became the site for the first session of the Supreme Council of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Currently, students of the Faculty of Law of MarSU study here. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************National Art Gallery ******************** **** ****
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************ ******************** ******************** **** ************ ************ One of the most striking buildings in Yoshkar-Ola. From the first day of construction, the gallery attracted attention. Its architectural style refers to the Renaissance: red brick, columns, facade decoration, clock on the tower. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ It was the decoration of the main tower of the gallery that became one of the most famous attractions of the capital of Mari El. Every hour, a mechanical donkey appears from the doors, carrying an icon of the Mother of God on its back. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************Bruges Quay******************** **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The embankment appeared in Yoshkar-Ola in 2010. It was inspired by the architecture of the Belgian city of the same name. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The gingerbread houses stretching along Malaya Kokshaga are built in the Northern Gothic style with a predominance of Flemish architecture. In 2011, a statue of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna appeared on the embankment, and a year later - the building of the Wedding Palace in the Gothic style. Next to it is the Spasskaya Tower, inspired by the Borovitskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ A monument to Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco was later erected opposite the Wedding Palace. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ ********************Republican Puppet Theater******************** **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The building with an area of 10 thousand square meters is located on Patriarchal Square - in the tourist heart of Yoshkar-Ola. **** ****
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************ **** ************ ************ The Republican Puppet Theater has become an addition to the “gingerbread” embankment of Bruges. It was inspired by the German Neuschwanstein Castle - the prototype of the famous symbol of the Disney studio.**** ****