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One of the most amazing wooden houses I have discovered and photographed recently is this huge two-floor house with an attic. Its blind carving prompts it had been built either in the early XIX century, or in the mid XIX century, at the latest. Yet I could not find any plate etc. proving its age. The house stands at the exit from Gorokhovets, along the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod highway.

In my view, it would be much better for it to be brought to some museum of wooden architecture…

 

Now I write an article about an origination and an evolution of nalichiki. When I’ve trying to find an information about this case, I’ve found this remarkable picture, that demonstrates a level of architecture in the early XIX century. So 200 years ago looks a pub.
It’s a pity this tavern hadn’t survived until our days.

This’s from a book «Русская народная пропильная резьба», I’ve already told about it.

Near Klin, from the side of Moscow, lays a small village called Davydkovo; Moscow-Saint-Petersburg highway runs right through it. About ten houses there are of various degree of desolation. This attic sticks above a tall construction fence and still has not given up!

 

This attic window frame with the crown shifted to one side was found in the very heart of Kazan, one of the Russian megapolises.  Just keep wondering how thousands and thousands of wooden houses could have survived till our days

For all those whose kids begin their school year today!

This is a school in Nerchinck, a town near the Chinese border. Its window frames are not too typical for the place, as it seems like shutters were took off them. Yes, window frames may be not number one in beauty, and the school is rather small, but in my eyes it is much more attractive than many modern and good-looking ones…

I turned over all my collection but was surprised to notice the only house with color inserts in its windows. I would be happy to tell there were more, but I only can recall these ones from Borisoglebsk, Yaroslavl Oblast. I doubt whether I had seen them anywhere else.

By the way it was there, in Borisoglebsk, that someone explained me that color inserts mark both rather old age of the frame and less-than-average status of the house owners.

Zoom-in of the color glass shows that it is a bit thicker at its bottom. In my view, it is one more proof of its advanced age.

Yet so far, literature has offered no proof for my hypothesis that owners opted for small color glasses because they were cheaper.

These window frames from Ivanovo are among my most favorite.  I wrote once that back in the XIXth century frames had formed five sections in the window, as smaller glasses were much cheaper. To reduce its price even lower, people used to insert color glasses in the bottom sections – I had seen green and red ones, yet I suspect they could come in other color, too.

The owners of this house have installed new frames and large glasses usual now, yet the part that had been made of color glass is painted green. Seems like they get used to it.

It may be due to the fact that from the very beginning Saint-Peterburg had been built of stone, or may be because most of its wooden houses vanished in bombardments of WWII but I just could not find any of them in Saint-Petersburg. Yet, they have survived in its outskirts. This window, for example, is from Peterhof.

I’ve searching for the origin of the word “Stavni” (eng Shutters)
You know it’s a strange word for two boards, that can be shut like doors. Even a word “Fortochka” (small ventilation window) came from Polish word means “gates”.

Something on origination of shutters…

Now, they are two wooden boards shutting like double doors.  Yet I discovered before they had been quite different. For severe frosts, windows used to be protected with felt-upholstered inserts. They were of the size of the frame and were put from outside; some even had mica- covered hatches to let the light in. For the most severe frosts, one more felt-upholstered insert was put from inside. It seems like those interior ones have long ago come out of use, but shutters have survived up to our days. Like these one made in late XIX century in Irkutsk. By the way, it is only in Irkutsk that I have seen window frames decorated with high relief carving

I cannot recall any other window frame as perfectly masked itself as plastic one. I had photographed it in Kalyazin, and did not bother to touch it; the idea had never dawned on me, though there were neither trees nor bushes in front of a house. But then, it never came to my mind that it could be made of wood, as I had never seen anything of its kind.

Yet, the window frame did not let me down. The photo clearly shows a roughness of a saw end and an a bit inaccurate joining, impossible with stamped plastic parts. And now this fine and intricate carving admire me even more.