The Golitsyn Estate is a historic mansion on the Nizhnevolzhskaya Embankment of Nizhny Novgorod, built in the last third of the 18th century. The building became the first stone structure erected on the embankment after the fire of 1768, which destroyed most of the earlier Historic Buildings, and it defined the appearance of all the subsequent grand development along the city's main riverfront.[1]

History of construction

Before 1768, the Nizhnevolzhskaya Embankment was built up with the wooden houses of merchants and artisans. The history of Golitsyn family ownership in this area goes back to the 18th century: their salt warehouses stood here, later demolished in connection with the relocation of the Makaryev Fair and a large-scale replanning of the city in the early 19th century.[2] After the devastating fire, the city authorities imposed a ban on erecting wooden structures: new buildings were permitted to be built only of stone and according to a pre-approved plan. Its development was undertaken by the architects Ivan Yefimov and Pyotr Gotman.[1] The Golitsyn Estate became the first house built as part of this urban-planning concept on the renewed embankment. The estate was commissioned by Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn, one of the wealthiest and most influential men of the Russian Empire of his time. The design of the estate was entrusted to the renowned Swiss architect Domenico Gilardi, known for his part in rebuilding Moscow after the fire of 1812.[2][1]

Role in shaping the embankment

The appearance of the estate set the tone for all subsequent development of the Nizhnevolzhskaya Embankment. Following it there arose the Rukavishnikov Bank Complex (built in 1913–1916 to a design by Schechtel Fyodor Osipovich)), the Bugrov (late 19th century, designed by architect Nikolai Grigoryev), the ensemble of buildings of the Finnish Steamship Company (1912) and other prestigious buildings, which turned the embankment into the city's main ceremonial façade.[1]

In the 20th century the embankment's buildings, including the estate, passed into state use — they housed hospitals, factories, and Soviet institutions.[1] The most difficult period in the street's history came in 2008–2018, when most of the embankment was closed for large-scale reconstruction; it reopened ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[1]

The estate is a rare example, for Nizhny Novgorod, of pure Russian Empire style.[2]

Sources

  1. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — The History of One Street: How the Nizhnevolzhskaya Embankment Became the City's Main Façade (archive)
  2. extour-skazka.ru — Landmark: Landmarks of Nizhny Novgorod on Excursions (archive)