Lemke Manor is a historic manor complex from the second half of the 19th century on Korolenko Street), located in the so-called heritage quarter of the Church of the Three Hierarchs in the Upper Part. The complex includes the main house, an outbuilding, and a manor garden; all the structures are recognized cultural heritage sites.[3]

History and composition of the complex

The quarter where the manor stands took shape in the mid-19th century according to the general plan of Nizhny Novgorod architects: the street grid between what are now Gorky Street was laid out in the 1830s–1840s. It was originally settled by retired soldiers, redeemed peasants, and resettlers from the Kremlin; later, engineers, architects, merchants, and other townspeople moved in.[1] The manor took its name from one of its owners, V. M. Lemke.

The manor complex includes two residential outbuildings known as the "Gorky House" and the "Korolenko House": in the early 20th century, Maxim Gorky) in one of them, while the other was home to the writer and publicist Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko), who lived there for eight years.[3] Gorky's six-room apartment was on the second floor of the outbuilding; the room with a balcony served as a reception room and library. During his time there he wrote "The Song of the Stormy Petrel," the play "The Petty Bourgeois," began work on "The Lower Depths," and finished the novella "Three of Them." It was in the Korolenko House that the two writers first met; a diverse Nizhny Novgorod public — teachers, doctors, lawyers, zemstvo officials — gathered at Korolenko's home.[3] Fyodor Chaliapin, a guest of Gorky's, would come out onto the outbuilding's balcony and sing for the public.[3]

Present-day state and use

The manor is part of the "heritage quarter" — one of the few surviving fragments of Wooden Architecture of Nizhny Novgorod, surrounded by new construction.[1] For the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod (2021), an open public space was landscaped in the manor's courtyard: a green lawn was laid out with a round wooden stage, a gazebo was installed, and tall maples were planted. The space came to be used as an open-air concert venue — city projects have staged concerts there, including performances of Chaliapin's repertoire by opera singers from Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian theaters.[3] Entrance to the manor garden is from Korolenko Street; historical information about the architecture and features of the heritage quarter is posted at the entrance.[3]

Sources

  1. otzovik.com — Review of Lemke Manor Garden on Korolenko Street (Russia, Nizhny Novgorod) — a monument of old Nizhny's architecture, and now also an open-air concert venue…
  2. GiperNN — The Three Hierarchs Church quarter: what makes this corner of old Nizhny Novgorod notable? (archive)
  3. mapy.com
  4. anoasiris.ru — ASIRIS. Historic environment. Restoration of houses in the Three Hierarchs Church quarter (archive)