Fyodor Osipovich Schechtel (1859–1926) was a Russian architect, one of the foremost masters of the Art Nouveau style in Russia. His connection to Nizhny Novgorod rests chiefly on the bank complex he built Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment, which became one of the notable examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the city at the turn of the 20th century.
Buildings in Nizhny Novgorod
In 1913, the Rukavishnikov bank complex on the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment was built to Schechtel's design — a building in the Neo-Gothic style that is now a cultural heritage site. The building fit organically into the city's ceremonial "riverfront facade," which took shape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: standing nearby are Bugrov Income House with Volga-Kama Bank Branch), the ensemble of buildings belonging to a Finnish steamship company, and other imposing buildings of the same period. After nationalization the building stood empty for a long time; in the Soviet period it was used as a production facility and was known to residents of Nizhny Novgorod by a popular nickname. For the city's 800th anniversary in 2021, the complex was restored.
Schechtel's name also comes up in studies of the Markov merchant mansion on Ilyinskaya Street: the researcher O. V. Orelskaya allows for a connection between the building and his work, while A. A. Khudin supports this hypothesis by pointing to the mansion's resemblance to the Moscow house of S. P. von Derviz, designed by the same architect. At the same time, S. M. Shumilkin leans toward the hypothesis of a Saint Petersburg architect — there is no documentary confirmation of Schechtel's authorship in this case.
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Rukavishnikov Bank Complex, Golitsyn Estate), The Markov Merchant Mansion on Ilyinskaya), Rukavishnikovs