Kimry.
Kimry is a town in the south of Tver Oblast, Russia. It’s located at the junction of the Volga and Kimrka Rivers, 133 kilometers east of Tver. It’s railway station, Savyolovo, is on the Moscow – Kalyazin line. Kimry also has a river port on the right bank of the Volga. In every street in the center of the town, there are unique, incomparable, small houses and mansions. Many of them are in very bad condition now, and some are completely abandoned. It is interesting that Kimry got the status of a town only after 1917, so all these architectural monuments can be considered as stunning "rural" housing. Unfortunately, during the Soviet period the town’s architectural integrity was badly damaged. In 1936, authorities demolished the cathedral complex on the central Troitsky Square, where Pokrovskaya Church (built 1816-1825) and Troitskaya Church (built in 1829) stood on the bank of the river junction.
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The remaining Ascension Church (1814), on the other side of the river, still looks wonderful and is a focus of the town. A more recently-constructed, and still existing, church in the area is the Preobrazhenskiy (Transfiguration) Church (built 1906-1914), located in the northeastern part of Kimry.
It is interesting that, throughout the settlement’s existence (since the 16th century), the villagers were engaged in the tanning, shoe-making and trading industries. This is what finally resulted in the Kimry’s prosperity at the turn of the 19th century. Big orders of footwear for the army, especially during numerous wars (the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, and World War I), prompted fast development of Kimry’s business and housing. At the turn of the 19th century, there were already three tanneries, and dozens of shoe and tanning workshops. The railroad connecting Kimry to Moscow was put into operation during the same period. In 1907, the first mechanical factory, Yakor, appeared, which also had a water tower.
Such rapid development was bound to be reflected in the architectural developoment of Kimry. The central trading square, Troitskaya (Trinity) Square, was paved in stone, and street lanterns were installed. A solid new building in pseudo-Russian style was constructed next to an old shopping arcade in 1914. Unfortunately, it's abandoned and partially ruined now.
Small and large shops sprange up, along with wooden and stone mansions owned by the local nobility. Everything was built “like in the capitals” – in the fashionable art nouveau, Neorussian, and neoclassical styles. Of the new architecture, the fancifully graceful and asymmetrical art nouveau style with intensely curved lines, turrets, and round windows prevailed.
The wooden building in the photo above is one of the most well-known houses in Kimry. Its owner was a merchant named Luzhin. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, prior to WWI, and was restored not long ago. Revenue house, on the left, was also owned by Luzhin.
This house is situated in front of the previously-mentioned one, on another side of Kirov street. It was the house of the Seriepiev family, also merchants.
One of many partially-abandoned houses there. Kimry is one of many towns in the Tver region with a prosperous past, a not-so-good present, and an unknown future. The town had problems with drug trafficking in 1990s. It had the unofficial name of "heroin capital of the Tver region." The situation is much better now, but is till a victim of frightening neglect. However, despite its infamous history, it's absolutely safe to walk on the streets of Kimry today.
This is another interesting house along the bank of the Volga. This one was built in 1912. I haven’t taken many photos in Kimry due to snowfall, but actually the town is full of pre-revolutionary wooden houses.
There are also many buildings from the early Soviet period, in the time of Lenin's New Economic Policy, like this house.
And like this one as well. It was owned by a local doctor named Zhardetski.
In closing, I can say that Kimry is a very interesting town, which is in very bad condition. A diamond in the rough, so to speak. Some buildings are being restored, and I see some changes for the better when compared to old photos, but the town is still in pretty horrible condition. I plan to return in several years to see how it has changed.
The remaining Ascension Church (1814), on the other side of the river, still looks wonderful and is a focus of the town. A more recently-constructed, and still existing, church in the area is the Preobrazhenskiy (Transfiguration) Church (built 1906-1914), located in the northeastern part of Kimry.
It is interesting that, throughout the settlement’s existence (since the 16th century), the villagers were engaged in the tanning, shoe-making and trading industries. This is what finally resulted in the Kimry’s prosperity at the turn of the 19th century. Big orders of footwear for the army, especially during numerous wars (the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, and World War I), prompted fast development of Kimry’s business and housing. At the turn of the 19th century, there were already three tanneries, and dozens of shoe and tanning workshops. The railroad connecting Kimry to Moscow was put into operation during the same period. In 1907, the first mechanical factory, Yakor, appeared, which also had a water tower.
Such rapid development was bound to be reflected in the architectural developoment of Kimry. The central trading square, Troitskaya (Trinity) Square, was paved in stone, and street lanterns were installed. A solid new building in pseudo-Russian style was constructed next to an old shopping arcade in 1914. Unfortunately, it's abandoned and partially ruined now.
Small and large shops sprange up, along with wooden and stone mansions owned by the local nobility. Everything was built “like in the capitals” – in the fashionable art nouveau, Neorussian, and neoclassical styles. Of the new architecture, the fancifully graceful and asymmetrical art nouveau style with intensely curved lines, turrets, and round windows prevailed.
The wooden building in the photo above is one of the most well-known houses in Kimry. Its owner was a merchant named Luzhin. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, prior to WWI, and was restored not long ago. Revenue house, on the left, was also owned by Luzhin.
This house is situated in front of the previously-mentioned one, on another side of Kirov street. It was the house of the Seriepiev family, also merchants.
One of many partially-abandoned houses there. Kimry is one of many towns in the Tver region with a prosperous past, a not-so-good present, and an unknown future. The town had problems with drug trafficking in 1990s. It had the unofficial name of "heroin capital of the Tver region." The situation is much better now, but is till a victim of frightening neglect. However, despite its infamous history, it's absolutely safe to walk on the streets of Kimry today.
This is another interesting house along the bank of the Volga. This one was built in 1912. I haven’t taken many photos in Kimry due to snowfall, but actually the town is full of pre-revolutionary wooden houses.
There are also many buildings from the early Soviet period, in the time of Lenin's New Economic Policy, like this house.
And like this one as well. It was owned by a local doctor named Zhardetski.
In closing, I can say that Kimry is a very interesting town, which is in very bad condition. A diamond in the rough, so to speak. Some buildings are being restored, and I see some changes for the better when compared to old photos, but the town is still in pretty horrible condition. I plan to return in several years to see how it has changed.
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