​The Krasnoyarsk City Council has allocated the budget for the restoration of the “Historical Quarter” buildings in the city center. A pedestrian zone is planned to be created on Gorkogo Street. The designers plan to transform both the sidewalks and historical buildings located on this site. 

To recreate the appearance of the old Krasnoyarsk, some of the houses were carefully dismantled and taken out of the city center which is too crowded to do the restoration on site. Restoration requires a large space, and some parts of the buildings need to be replaced. At a special restoration site, it is possible to arrange old and new logs so as to correctly and accurately recreate joints, combine historical elements with new ones, and ensure their perfect pairing.

Now the first of six manors removed from the territory of the historical quarter is being assembled - the House of Dr. Glanz on Gorkogo Street, 11. A two-story log building with a floor area of more than 600 square meters was built in 1906-1911. In 1920s, it housed the People’s Conservatory of Peter Slovtsov, then various institutions. Later, the premises were converted into communal apartments for employees of the engine depot.

Now more than half of the logs of the house are new wood. Pine and larch were brought from the remote northern territories of the Krasnoyarsk Region and the Irkutsk Region. Restorers do not plan to artificially age new logs in the houses of the historical quarter. According to the strict rules of the UNESCO Convention, no coatings after the restoration of wooden architecture are allowed.

The restored house will have a rebated roof - it is made of metal, the sheets are connected by a special lock. Inside the Glanz House, the historical finish - plaster mortar based on lime mixtures - will be restored, supplemented with felt padding, which makes the wall malleable. The fact is that wood is unstable material, the volume of a wooden house varies depending on the season, precipitation, humidity. And felt under these conditions saves the finish.

When the log house is transported to the historic place where the restoration will continue, finishing work will be organized, decorative elements will be restored. After restoration, Dr. Glanz’s House will become a community center, there will be halls, meeting rooms, and public receptions.

Today, the best specialists work at the restoration site of the Historical Quarter. Most of them are certified in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Culture. However, some craftsmen who do not have certificates, for example, the carpenters, are no worse than the certified specialists in terms of their skills.

Recently, the Historical Quarter invited one of the leading experts in the field of restoration of wooden architecture objects - Tatyana Nezvitskaya, deputy head for restoration of the federal state budgetary institution of culture Kizhi Museum-Reserve. After the visit the expert highly praised the ongoing work.

Already in August of this year, two houses will be assembled in the historical quarter: at Gorkogo Street, 11 and Gorkogo Street, 13a. The second house is smaller than the rest in terms of the floor area, which makes it possible to work with it on the spot without taking it to the restoration site.

As for the completely updated Historical Quarter, it will be placed on its historic site by the end of 2020. By this time, all exterior and finishing work will be completed, the fences, gates, and plinths will be recreated, the adjacent territory will be landscaped.

AN UNEXPECTED FIND

Restorers say that in Dr. Glanz’s house a large area covered with sheet music was found under a layer of plaster. It is almost impossible now to find out what kind of music was recorded on them. But you can guess as to who and under what circumstances used notes in this way. Maybe these were young musicians who were given Dr. Glanz’s House to use as the conservatory.