The Skvortsova House — a regional architectural heritage monument at Korolenko Street in Nizhny Novgorod, a two-story wooden building on a stone foundation, constructed in 1891.[3] It forms part of the Church of the Three Hierarchs, also known as the Heritage Quarters.[1] Following the completion of restoration in 2025, the mansion reopened as a cultural center.

History of the Building

The house was built in 1891 for Avdotya Skvortsova, widow of a titular councillor, as a rental property.[3] Originally, the estate comprised the main house, two outbuildings, and a garden; the outbuildings have since been lost.[4] According to one source, the estate's first owner was Lyubov Dudina, widow of a lieutenant, after whom the property passed to Avdotya Skvortsova.[2] In 1907 Skvortsova sold the house to Nikolay Okhotin, who owned it until the Revolution; under the new owner, a glass lantern skylight with stained-glass glazing was added to the roof.[1] During the Soviet period and after 1991, the house was used as communal apartments.[1]

Role in the Tom Sawyer Fest Movement

In 2018, when Nizhny Novgorod hosted Tom Sawyer Fest — a festival dedicated to restoring the historic urban environment — for the first time, the Skvortsova House had already been vacated and became the first property taken on by volunteers. At that stage, work was limited to cosmetic repairs of the façade and a general clean-up. Upon completion, the city authorities ceremonially handed the festival team the keys to the mansion, and the house became the movement's headquarters.[1] Through the efforts of heritage preservationists, the building, along with neighboring structures in the block, was granted architectural heritage status, and the surrounding area began to transform into an open-air museum of old Nizhny Novgorod.[1]

Restoration and Current Use

In March 2023, the State Heritage Protection Authority of the Nizhny Novgorod Region issued a restoration permit. The project provided for work on the façade, roof, window and door infills, the attic floor, the exposed brickwork of the basement, as well as the entrance vestibule with its foundation and staircase; additionally, restoration of the stoves and installation of cut-off damp-proofing for the foundation were planned.[4] The restoration work was organized by ANO ASIRIS.[2]

On 21 April 2025 the building reopened following a full cycle of professional restoration works. The ground floor houses a tourist information center, the Tom Sawyer Fest headquarters, and a coffee shop; the upper floor features a historic drawing room styled in the spirit of the 19th century and an exhibition space for cultural events.[1]

Skvortsova Zhanna Aleksandrovna

Skvortsova Zhanna Aleksandrovna is a deputy of the Nizhny Novgorod City and Regional Deputies, seventh convocation, representing constituency no. 25.

Sources

  1. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — The architectural heritage site "Skvortsova Residential House" is to be restored on Korolenko Street in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  2. GIPERNN — The Revival of the Skvortsova House: how a 19th-century mansion became a cultural center — The Revival of the Skvortsova House: a Nizhny Novgorod 19th-century mansion became a cultural… (archive)
  3. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — The 132-year-old Skvortsova House to be restored in the Heritage Trekhsvyatsky Quarter (archive)
  4. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — "Modny Gorky" and a historic café-confectionery: what Nizhny Novgorod's "Heritage Quarters" will look like by 2026 (archive)
  5. GIPERNN — Search through articles and news (archive)