Kurlina Mansion
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Coordinates: 53°11′39″N 50°05′47″E / 53.194238°N 50.096296°E
The mansion of Alexandra Kurlina is situated in Samara at the intersection of Krasnoarmeiskaya and Frunze Streets. The house, built in the style of Art Nouveau, is one the most distinguished monuments of architecture in the city. The mansion currently houses the Museum of Art Nouveau.
History[edit]
The house was built in 1903 by Alexander Kurlin, a merchant of the 1st guild, for his wife Alexandra Kurlina, whose name it now informally bears. The mansion became one of the first houses in Samara built in the style of Art Nouveau. Architect – Alexander Zelenko. Address: 159, Frunze Street, Samara..[1]
In 1918, during the Civil War, Samara was occupied by the Czechoslovak Legion, who revolted against the Bolsheviks, and Kurlina Mansion was occupied by the Counter Intelligence Corps of the Czechoslovak Army.
Between 1941 and 1943, following evacuation of the diplomatic corps from Moscow to Kuybishev, the building was occupied by the Embassy of Sweden. In 1966 by the decree No 617 of the Executive Committee of Kuybishev Regional Council of Workers’ Deputies “About the preservation of historical and cultural heritage” Kurlina Mansion was registered as a listed building as “a house, in whose basement in 1918 the White Social Revolutionary counterespionage forces shot a large number of Red Army soldiers”[2]. A memorial plaque with the inscription “The working class honours the memory of selfless heroes of the working class, hideously tortured in the basements of this house by the Czech counterintelligence in 1918”. The plaque was dismounted during the 1990s[3]
During the 1970s the building was donated to the Regional Museum of Local History. In 1995 by decree of Boris Yeltsin, the President of the Russian Federation, “Kurlina Mansion” was granted the status of a monument of history and culture of federal importance.
Reconstruction during 2008-2012[edit]
On the 1st of June 2008 museum was closed for visitors. By the order of the Ministry of Culture and Youth Policy of Samara Region the building has undergone a restoration. Work was conducted to restore the outbuildings, after which specialists took to the house itself. The mansion has been reconstructed in its entirety – from interior design to the roof, including a reinforced foundation.[4]
For the period of restoration all artefacts were relocated into storage at Samara Regional Museum of Local History of Pyotr Alabin. Some of the artefacts have been included in a history exhibition “The Crossroads of Samara history”. The newly restored mansion was reopened on the 25th of December 2012. Since the reopening the mansion has housed the Museum of Art Nouveau.
On completion of the restoration it has become obvious that the restored look of the mansion differs from the original: “the original colour has not been restored, a century ago the mansion was painted in bolder colours, for example horizontal tiled panels had a different, brighter hue. Also the floral design, framing the window on the chamfered corner of the building, has the same colour as the surface of the wall, which creates an impression of a stucco ornament, even though it is made out of metal”.[5]
Museum of Art Nouveau[edit]
One of the most popular museums of Samara. The museum’s activities are dedicated to research and promotion of the Art Nouveau style in the region, acquisition of information and artefacts of that era. A permanent exhibition opened in 2013 in the three state-rooms on the ground floor: “The Study”, “The Boudoir” and “The Dining Room”. The exhibition contains furniture, clothing, paintings, accessories, made by European and Russian artists and craftsmen during the early 20th century.[6] Along with the main excursion activities museum regularly conducts events aimed at the younger audience, children, the local community. Museum organises lectures, concerts, walking and cycling tours of Samara, exhibitions of contemporary artists, festivals. By joining forces and cooperating with professionals in many different spheres of culture and the arts, and the leading museums of the country and the world, it has become not only an important exhibition space, but a cultural centre of research, education and creative arts. During summer months events are mainly held in the museum’s courtyard and garden.
Architecture[edit]
The house has 22 rooms, each of which is unique and original in its own way. An ornate wrought iron staircase leads to the second floor. Colourful glazed tiling is used for decoration.
The façade is decorated with shiny blue tiles, which blend well with the matt limewashing of the plinth and green textured tiling panels. The façade contains elements of stucco moulding: female head (of the lady of the house) on the gable and a plant with long fluid stems above the corner window. Metal railings in the shape of stylised butterfly’s wings, a dragonfly on the roof and finely wrought gates creates an impression of airiness and give the building an imitable look.
Interesting facts[edit]
- Alexey Tolstoy mentions Kurlina Mansion in his novel “The Road to Calvary”, calling it “absurdly sumptuous”
- Legend has it that the stucco image of the elegant female head above the grand entrance and the flying nymph on the ceiling of the boudoir are images of the beautiful lady of the house, Sandra Kurlina
- The basement contains a memorial zone – a wall with bullet indentations and inscriptions left by the Red Army soldiers, arrested by the Czech counterintelligence forces. According to another theory, the marks have been left by the Anarchists, headquartered at Kurlina Mansion, when the basement was used as shooting range, which explains the characteristic wall marks
References[edit]
- ↑ Kurlina Mansion, http://gorod-samara.narod.ru/dost/kurlin.html
- ↑ Andrey Artemov Registered. How Samara historical and cultural monuments were protected half a century ago. http://drugoigorod.ru/pamytnik1966/ Internet-magazine "Other city", 31 January 2017
- ↑ Andrey Artemov Still seeing bloody boys. 6 horrible incidents of Samara history, http://drugoigorod.ru/bloodandblood/, Internet-magazine "Other city", 13 May 2016
- ↑ Kurlina Mansion in Samara is being refurbished again, http://www.trkterra.ru/news/v-samare-snova-remontiruyut-dom-kurlinoy/06062016-0951, TRC "Terra", 6 June 2016
- ↑ Andrey Artemov Let's play decadence. Photographic report from an excursion of Samara Art Nouveau in 5 stops, http://drugoigorod.ru/dekadansmodern/, "Other city", 12 May 2016
- ↑ Museum of Art Nouveau has artefacts at last, http://drugoigorod.ru/museum_exposure0312/, "Other city", 03 December 2014
External links[edit]
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