The oldest cities of Mordovia

The oldest cities of Mordovia

Town-planning tradition originated in the Mordovian region at the end of the XVI - the beginning of the XVII century., During the founding of "new" fortresses. They were built in strategically important places on the forest-steppe patrol areas of the Russian state, which then intensively expanded in the southeast direction. Here the Russian town-planning tradition for several centuries interacted with the peasant - Mordovian and Russian construction practices.

The compositional center of the cities of that period was a fortress of regular geometric shape. Geometry emphasized the central position of the fortress in the natural landscape and symbolically likened it to the Heavenly City. Since the forms of structures were subject to relief, their geometry was partially distorted (which was a characteristic feature of medieval architectural aesthetics). The location and size of the individual elements of the structure were dictated, of course, not by compositional but by fortification requirements: the main gate was located where the road approached, the largest tower was placed in the most vulnerable place, etc. The size of the fortresses was also regulated - the perimeter of the walls of the rectangular supporting fortresses was laid in the range of 400 to 500 fathoms (in Saransk it was 470 fathoms.) In the guise of fortresses, impressiveness and inaccessibility were emphasized.

The standard volume-planning elements of the fortress were walls and towers of several types. For wall constructions of the XVI - XVII centuries. characterized by the so-called "Taras" and "Gorodni". The total height of the walls reached 8 - 10 m. The towers 15 - 20 m high (quatrels, sixes or octuplets) had a tiered volumetric composition with expressive plastic: the tower towers, as a rule, were in the lower part of the quadrangular with the gate, turning into octal , and were crowned with a high hipped roof with a small turret on top, also covered with a tent. The corner towers were built with high fours with a four-tented roof. Fortresses, almost devoid of decor, stood out with monumental forms and a large rhythm of the towers.

The main feature of the spatial organization of the provincial towns of Temnikov, Saransk, Krasnoslobodsk, Ardatov, Insara XVIII-XIX centuries. became a slow release from the features of the military, and then the rural settlement. The whole history of local cities clearly shows the dominant role of state power in the cultivation of space, its desire to form small towns as centers of the agrarian region, to give them a civilized look. Settled on the banks of small rivers, on the capes of the cape, the city centers were always turned to vast meadow floodplains, from which the most expressive urban panoramas opened. The initial town-planning structure of these settlements is "fortress - bargain - posad". Their architectural image was formed not so much by civil buildings, as by cathedrals, parish churches, city and suburban monasteries. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. the cities represented a compact rectangle of a wooden fortress on the edge of a hill and a posad with a sparse fractional layout. At the beginning of the XIX century. After the cardinal reconstruction of Russian cities, the planning unit of the settlement was a large block, and the city centers were freed from the remains of fortresses for the arrangement of rectangular areas with administrative buildings. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The urban environment is denser and socially differentiated, central streets and factory quarters appear. Socialist reconstruction in the XX century. noticeably violated the spatial structure and distorted the appearance of small towns.

Ardatov (founded in the XVII century.). Until the beginning of the XIX century. The village of Novonikolskoye had an ordinal layout and a small number of stone buildings. In 1804, the city received a regular master plan with a system of rectangular blocks, oriented along the river. Alatyr, and the central Cathedral Square.

To the beginning of XX century. in Ardatov were formed a wooden one-storey buildings of blocks and a panorama of the city center from the opposite bank of the river. In the XX century. the city lost the cult ensemble of the central part, but the city center remains in place of the Cathedral Square - at the intersection of ul. Lenin and Lunacharsky. A new type multi-storey residential construction was conducted on the eastern and northern outskirts of the city, on the southern outskirts an industrial zone was created.

The coat of arms of Ardatov. Approved August 16, 1781. Description of the arms: "In the upper part of the shield the Simbirsk coat of arms. In the bottom - two hay stumps in a silver field, as a sign of great abundance of hay. "

Insar (founded in 1648). The town-planning structure of Insara in the second half of the XVIIth - the middle of the XVIII century. - "Fortress - bargaining - Posad". A wooden fortress in the form of a rectangle with towers along the perimeter was built on a hill at the confluence of the river. Insarca and Issa. Posad with ordinal planning was located north-west of the fortress, between them a trading area arose.

In 1785 the city received a regular master plan with a rectangular system of large quarters and a central square. By the middle of the XIX century. The city expanded to the south, the suburbs of the lower part separated the river. Insarca. In the XX century. The city with the demolition of religious buildings has lost its historical appearance. Residential buildings remain a single-storey wooden manor house. According to the master plan of 1984 the city center was preserved at the intersection of ul. Gagarin and Moscow, a new model multi-storey residential development was conducted in the north-west, the industrial zone was created on the southeastern outskirts of the city.

Coat of arms of Insar. Approved on May 28, 1781. Description of the arms: "In the first part of the shield the coat of arms of Penza. In the second part, in a golden field, a large forest surrounded by a notch with holes and gates, signifying an abundance of forests and the old beacon located in the city. "

Krasnoslobodsk (founded between 1535 and 1627). The town-planning structure of Krasnoslobodsk of the second half of the XVIIth - the middle of the XVIII century. - "Fortress - bargaining - Posad". A wooden fortress in the form of a parallelogram with perimeter towers was built on the high bank of the river. Moksha, the posad had an ordinal layout. According to the general plan of the end of the XVIII century. the city received a quarterly layout, on the site of the fortress in the southern part a rectangular Cathedral Square arose, at the beginning of the 19th century. the trading area joined it. In the XIX century. The central square was built with 1-2-storey stone residential buildings, in the southern part of the city garden was broken. At the end of XIX century. there was a second ensemble - the Assumption Monastery in the northern part of the city. To the beginning of XX century. The city had expressive panoramas created by civil and religious buildings that opened from the floodplain of the river. Moksha from the southern and eastern suburbs.

In the XX century. the city, slightly outside the historically formed borders, with the demolition of the religious buildings lost its present appearance. At the end of XX century. It was divided into two parts - with a one-storey wooden manor and stone multi-storey building. According to the master plan of 1984 the main compositional axis is the st. Kirov, and the city center is located in the blocks along the street. Communist, International, Kalinin and Lenin. Two squares were formed - the Sovietskaya and Kommunarov.

A new typical five-story residential development is being conducted in the northern and north-western parts of the city.

Coat of arms of the city of Krasnoslobodsk. Approved on May 28, 1781. Description of the arms: "In the first part of the shield the coat of arms of Penza. In the second part in the silver field there are four drained branches with fruits, as a sign of the abundance of this fruit. "

Temnikov (founded in the XIV century.) Temnikov town-planning structure of the second half of the XVII-middle of the XVIII century. - "Fortress - bargaining - Posad". A wooden fortress in the form of a trapezoid with towers along the perimeter was built on the right bank of the river. Moksha. Posad with 6 settlements located south-west of the fortress in the bend of the river, in accordance with the rugged relief, he received a branched lay-out.

At the beginning of the XVIII century. The center of the city moved west to the river. Moksha. In general, the city was in a shallow bowl facing the river. According to the general plan of 1797, the existing layout was fixed: the settlements acquired the semblance of a radial-circular system, the central part with the Cathedral Square formed, the northern and southern parts of the city with parish churches. In the XVIII century. R. Moksha became the composite axis, connecting the city with the suburban Sanaxar monastery.

In the XX century. The city did not receive significant spatial development, but with the demolition of religious sites lost its historical appearance. In the 1970s. It was divided into two parts - with a one-storey wooden manor and stone multi-storey building. According to the general plan of 1986 the city center was preserved in the historical part, a residential area with a typical five-storey building and an industrial zone on the north-eastern outskirts of the city were formed.

Coat of arms of Temnikov. Approved August 16, 1781. Description of the arms: "In the upper part of the shield the coat of arms of Tambov. In the lower - a great and frequent forest in a golden field, as a sign of great abundance of forests. "

Troitsk. The Troitsky prison was built in the 1590s. at the confluence of the rivers Moksha and Sezelda. Fortress in the form of a quadrangle with 6 towers-chetverikami located on the left bank of Moksha. Town-planning structure of Troitsk XVII century. - "fortress - bargain - posad", the city takes a semi-circular shape: the fortress is on the edge of a hill, to it from three sides adjoin the streets; Posad, enclosed between rivers and surrounded by an earthen shaft, assumes a radial-circular structure.

At the beginning of the XVIII century. the city develops in two directions: one settlement with a branched layout is located west of the secondary fortifications, the other stretches along the red-slope road to the north. The central part, surrounded by an earthen rampart and a moat, measured about 700 × 700 m, the length of the upper part of the city - 3,500 m. the city was abolished.

Shishkeevo. Shishkeevsky prison was built on the left bank of the river. Shishkeevka against the confluence of the Yuzhgka. The fortress with 4 towers represented a parallelogram in plan. In the north-west wall, gates were constructed, and after them a bargaining occurred. Posad began to form to the north and west of the fortress. Shishkeev in the 1780-1797 gg. was the county seat of the Penza viceroyalty. After the abolition of the Shishkeevsky Uyezd, for more than 100 years it was a significant city. At the end of the XVIII century. it had a regular structure: the entire oval settlement was enclosed from the south, east and north by a river and two channels, in the southeast of the river bank. The remains of the fortress were located in Shishkeevka. The whole city was divided into 15 large blocks, most of the streets were rectangular mesh, but the area was not formed.

Saransk was founded in 1641, as a fortress on the southeastern outskirts of the Moscow kingdom, at the Atamarskaya zasechnaya line. In 1651 Saransk became the administrative center of the Saransk Uyezd.

Functional structure of Saransk in the second half of the XVIIth - the middle of the XVIII century. can be characterized by the formula "fortress - two bargains - posad" (planning type - sectoral settlement). At the end of the XVII century. The Saranka River has become the main compositional axis of the city. The fortress played a dominant compositional role also after the city lost its military function. It lasted until the end of the XVIII century. By that time, the trade and handicraft of Saransk consisted of 5 settlements. Three of them were located to the north of Saranki, two - to the south.

The first general plan of Saransk was developed in 1784 - 1785. and approved by Catherine II. A regular master plan laid the foundation for a rectangular street network system with quarters and squares, preserved - with few exceptions - to our days in the historic part of the city. It took into account the existing division of the city of the river. Saranka in two parts - the upper (upland) and the lower (floor) and the orientation of the center on its wide floodplain. The city acquired the shape of a square with a cut off northeast corner; in the middle a rectangular grid of quarters picturesquely cut the floodplain of the river. Saranki.

The central square of the city began to be formed in the 1780s. on the site of the northern part of the fortress, where the stone cathedral churches and state tents were located, at the intersection of the two main compositional axes. According to the general plan of 1785, the area of ​​elongated proportions (1: 4) stretched along the river. Saranki.

In the XIX century. Saransk becomes the largest among the cities of the Mordovian region. His layout is arranged, but does not change radically. The town-planning activity of this period is not aimed at creating ensembles, but at gradually saturating the object-spatial environment and increasing the density of development. The role of the state in regulating urban life is noticeably decreasing, the importance of such an important urban development tool as the master plan is diminishing. The initiative passes to a private developer. In 1893 a line of the Moscow-Kazan railway was run through Saransk.

At the beginning of the XX century. Saransk, the second most important city of the Penza province, remained a typical uyezd center. In 1913, the total population of the city was 16.2 thousand people.

The transformation of Saransk from the county center into the capital of the republic led to significant changes in its cultural and economic characteristics. In 1940, the Leningrad Institute Giprogor developed a new master plan for the layout of the city. These projects provided for the reconstruction of existing buildings and development of the city in new territories for 15 years with a prospective population of 100 thousand people. The city was planned to expand in the northern and western directions. The enterprises of light and food industry were united in a compact production zone.

The establishment in 1957 of the Mordovian Economic Council gave a powerful impetus to urban construction. But the systematic arrangement of large industrial enterprises, which made Saransk one of the industrial centers of the Volga-Vyatka economic region and led to forced housing construction, in turn led to the territorial growth of the city and major urban miscalculations. In the late 1950's. The development of free territories to the north-west and southeast of the old city has begun. In 1959 four residential districts began to be formed there, the first arrays of multi-storey residential buildings appeared.

By 1988, the population of Saransk had grown to 328,700 people, which was largely due to the accelerated growth of the branches of the city-forming group. Housing construction was directly related to the work of urban industry. With the development of the northern industrial zone, the north-western residential area began to be intensively built up, and as the "Rezinotechnika" plant expanded its northeastern residential area, the southern industrial zone developed along with the south-western residential area.

The ideology of modern urban development is a complex reconstruction. In Saransk, it should cover the center (new public buildings and complexes, comfortable housing, landscaping). The general plan for 1988 provided for the complete demolition of private buildings. To solve the transport problem, a laying is carried out outside the center of high-speed transit highways.

The coat of arms of Saransk. Approved on May 28, 1781, re-approved on July 8, 1994. Description of the arms: "In the silver field there is a red fox and three arrows".

The oldest cities

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