I
iseidon
Guest
I (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) have always been attracted to such buildings from an aesthetic point of view (as well as other ancient architecture). I was lucky. I live in a city where such architecture is represented in relatively large quantities. There used to be even more of this kind of architecture in Ekaterinburg. But something was torn down, something was adapted to other needs. I would like to say that this is the zeitgeist, but.... I'm sure that there are other subtexts to the demolitions and rebuildings.
I will begin this series of posts with the brick churches of Ekaterinburg. But that is not the most interesting part, in my opinion. Much more interesting are the ruins of "temples" and other ancient buildings throughout Russia and the world as a whole (but the ruins are mostly in Russia). Especially interesting are the ruins of "temples" in small settlements. The official version of the construction of such buildings (which are made in similar styles in many countries around the world), almost always does not stand up to criticism. It is impossible to build such structures (in such huge quantities) without a developed and centralized system of training, logistics, production, document management (or its analogues), economic and/or social relations, etc.
There is no such system even now. That is why we see the construction of the same type of tasteless (most often) structures. This is the limit of the modern system. The current system will not be able to build so many objects in the ancient (not props, but according to all the canons) style, even if there is a desire. But economic relations remove any desire for mass construction of buildings consistent with an aesthetic point of view.
And we're only talking about the aesthetic component. But visitors to this (and similar) website know that in antique buildings the aesthetic form is only a continuation and visible embodiment of the various energy functions. And the perfect aesthetics and harmony of architectural forms is derived from the fact that the preceding generations of our modern civilization, based on the laws of harmonious coexistence with nature and the universe. They took from nature as much as it could give without loss to themselves. And in order to take such parameters into account in a broad planetary context, advanced science is needed. (Which already rejects the generally accepted version that modern civilization is the most developed in all history.)
This is why antique architecture has such perfect and harmonious geometric forms (in terms of production relations, this suggests that the level of work in each production cycle is extremely high; it also suggests the highest level of interaction between production cycles; the combination of these factors leads to mass harmonious architecture; we do not see this now). Something similar can be observed in modern aerodynamics (from the examples close to me, it is ventilation, Formula 1, birds and military aviation, but there are a lot of examples), where it is important to maximize (in Formula 1, we may be talking about tenths and thousandths of a second) the use of external environment resource in limited conditions.
To summarize. Ancient architecture is the result of highly developed science and socio-economic relations. The beauty of this architecture is only their visible derivative.
I only wrote this to make you understand how I view these buildings. I am sure that similar thoughts have been expressed here more than once. But repetition is the mother of learning.
Understanding this context, it is perfectly logical (for those at the top) for such structures to be demolished or to change their purpose. Current civilization looks at these structures only in terms of aesthetics. Not everywhere on our planet, current socio-economic relations allow for the maintenance of these buildings. And if there is no economic expediency, it is possible to demolish or rebuild into a more expedient building.
A second context, equally important, is the elimination of knowledge of the old world, which is a threat to the current socio-economic order. With each demolition of an ancient building, the history of our planet fades more and more into oblivion. And those who want to restore (in any form) the real history of the old world, will have to do it piece by piece, not having (initially) a complete picture. Plus there are many barriers (e.g. social, national, cultural and linguistic) that make disseminating this knowledge quite difficult. Since architecture is the most visible (for the majority) achievement of the old civilization, it is subjected to point systematic strikes (mass strikes should not be applied sharply as it may lead to the loss of control by the beneficiaries of the current civilization). The ancient architecture that remains serves only the propaganda goals of the current ruling class.
That's the end of the introduction.
I will now turn to the ancient "temples" of Ekaterinburg. Existing (in one form or another) and/or destroyed.
I noticed that on the articles on Ekaterinburg temples on Wikipedia, there are articles in Frisian (Frisian culture pops up in a number of researchers, so I decided to make this clarification). Whereas a wiki article in English may be missing.
I will begin this series of posts with the brick churches of Ekaterinburg. But that is not the most interesting part, in my opinion. Much more interesting are the ruins of "temples" and other ancient buildings throughout Russia and the world as a whole (but the ruins are mostly in Russia). Especially interesting are the ruins of "temples" in small settlements. The official version of the construction of such buildings (which are made in similar styles in many countries around the world), almost always does not stand up to criticism. It is impossible to build such structures (in such huge quantities) without a developed and centralized system of training, logistics, production, document management (or its analogues), economic and/or social relations, etc.
There is no such system even now. That is why we see the construction of the same type of tasteless (most often) structures. This is the limit of the modern system. The current system will not be able to build so many objects in the ancient (not props, but according to all the canons) style, even if there is a desire. But economic relations remove any desire for mass construction of buildings consistent with an aesthetic point of view.
And we're only talking about the aesthetic component. But visitors to this (and similar) website know that in antique buildings the aesthetic form is only a continuation and visible embodiment of the various energy functions. And the perfect aesthetics and harmony of architectural forms is derived from the fact that the preceding generations of our modern civilization, based on the laws of harmonious coexistence with nature and the universe. They took from nature as much as it could give without loss to themselves. And in order to take such parameters into account in a broad planetary context, advanced science is needed. (Which already rejects the generally accepted version that modern civilization is the most developed in all history.)
This is why antique architecture has such perfect and harmonious geometric forms (in terms of production relations, this suggests that the level of work in each production cycle is extremely high; it also suggests the highest level of interaction between production cycles; the combination of these factors leads to mass harmonious architecture; we do not see this now). Something similar can be observed in modern aerodynamics (from the examples close to me, it is ventilation, Formula 1, birds and military aviation, but there are a lot of examples), where it is important to maximize (in Formula 1, we may be talking about tenths and thousandths of a second) the use of external environment resource in limited conditions.
Aerodynamics on the example of ventilation. Other examples.
To summarize. Ancient architecture is the result of highly developed science and socio-economic relations. The beauty of this architecture is only their visible derivative.
I only wrote this to make you understand how I view these buildings. I am sure that similar thoughts have been expressed here more than once. But repetition is the mother of learning.
Understanding this context, it is perfectly logical (for those at the top) for such structures to be demolished or to change their purpose. Current civilization looks at these structures only in terms of aesthetics. Not everywhere on our planet, current socio-economic relations allow for the maintenance of these buildings. And if there is no economic expediency, it is possible to demolish or rebuild into a more expedient building.
A second context, equally important, is the elimination of knowledge of the old world, which is a threat to the current socio-economic order. With each demolition of an ancient building, the history of our planet fades more and more into oblivion. And those who want to restore (in any form) the real history of the old world, will have to do it piece by piece, not having (initially) a complete picture. Plus there are many barriers (e.g. social, national, cultural and linguistic) that make disseminating this knowledge quite difficult. Since architecture is the most visible (for the majority) achievement of the old civilization, it is subjected to point systematic strikes (mass strikes should not be applied sharply as it may lead to the loss of control by the beneficiaries of the current civilization). The ancient architecture that remains serves only the propaganda goals of the current ruling class.
That's the end of the introduction.
I will now turn to the ancient "temples" of Ekaterinburg. Existing (in one form or another) and/or destroyed.
I noticed that on the articles on Ekaterinburg temples on Wikipedia, there are articles in Frisian (Frisian culture pops up in a number of researchers, so I decided to make this clarification). Whereas a wiki article in English may be missing.
Epiphany Cathedral (rus). Demolished. In its place is now the city's central Square of 1905. In the first photo in front you can see the First Fire Tower (rus; was dismantled in Soviet times). StreetView.
Catherine Cathedral (rus). Demolished. In its place Labor Square, the fountain "Stone Flower" (rus) and the chapel. StreetView.
Great Chrysostom (Bolshoy Zlatoust) or Maximilian Cathedral. Demolished. Rebuilt from scratch these days, but a little away from the old site. In the first photo you can also see the Small Chrysostom or Maly Zlatoust (rus; demolished in Soviet times; now the place looks like this). The last photo shows KPMG headquarters. StreetView.
Trinity Cathedral. In Soviet times the bell tower and dome drum were demolished. It was used in different years as a cinema, a weaving factory and a palace of culture. It was restored after the collapse of the USSR. Now it is a working temple. StreetView.
Novo-Tikhvinsky Women's Monastery (rus) and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (rus). In Soviet times, the monastery was used as a military warehouse and storage facility for the local history museum. Many buildings have been rebuilt. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the buildings were restored. Now it is a functioning women's monastery. StreetView.
Cathedral of the Holy Cross (rus). During the Soviet years the dome drum and bell tower were demolished. The building housed workshops. After the collapse of the USSR, the drum dome was erected. Now it is a working church. Nearby there is a zoo. StreetView.
St. Anne's Cathedral or the Catholic Church or the Polish Church. In Soviet times it was used as a bus station. Later it was demolished. Now there is a vacant lot with advertisements. The present St. Anne's Church is in a different location. The third photo shows the Second Fire Tower (rus; dismantled during Soviet times). StreetView.
St. Peter and Paul Kirche (rus). Lutheran or German church. During the Soviet era a residential building was built in its place. The house stands to this day. Nearby is the Opera Theatre (rus). Streetview.
In this post I have listed the main central cathedrals of Ekaterinburg. In the next part, I will post the rest.
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