Gorodets Gingerbread Museum in Gorodets: description, history, expositions, interesting facts and reviews

The history of Russia is multifaceted and colorful. A red thread through it is interesting facts - about architectural monuments, cities and residents, people with extraordinary skills and talents. It was the latter who created the history of modern Russia, glorified it in songs and poems.

Culinary skills deserve special attention. This is not only world-famous pelmeni and dishes of Siberian cuisine, but also Tula or printed urban gingerbread.

Gorodets

The city was founded at the same time as Moscow. He always attracted the attention not only of historians and local historians, but also of tourists. The picturesque town is famous for craftsmanship in different directions, such as woodcarving, painting and other folk crafts. At the time of the merchant boom in Tsarist Russia Gorodets became the Old Believers' capital of the Volga region and connected Moscow with the world-famous Kerzhen Sketes.

Modern Gorodets is the museum capital of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Here is a whole block of museums. In its complex there are such museums: local lore, good, samovars, children's, the City of Masters and the Gingerbread Museum (Russia). Gorodets is a place where you should come to find out the interesting past of your homeland. Here you can get new vivid impressions.

The Gorodetsky Gingerbread Museum in Gorodets is famous not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

This small town on the banks of the Volga is famous for the resting place of Alexander Nevsky. Proud of the local residents and the fact that founded Gorodets Yuri Dolgoruky. The question is controversial. But, one way or another, the name of the Grand Duke attracts tourists here. And when leaving the town, travelers definitely buy gingerbread as a gift. For three centuries Gorodets has been famous for its gingerbread craft.

History

In the second half of the XIX century in Gorodets began a real gingerbread boom. This was facilitated by the proximity of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. From here delicacies fell even in Central Asia. The competition was great - 15 institutions baked printed gingerbread, and the assortment numbered more than 30 varieties.

Baking such delicacy is associated with the Old Believers. And indeed, many gingerbread masters really belonged to this current. Many well-known Nizhny Novgorod families (Glazunovs, Bakharevs, Gunyukovs) were engaged in baking gingerbread. And their delicacies were delivered to the royal table. And sometimes the weight of baking reached one and a half poods. These were the biggest gingerbread, which Gorodets merchants-Old Believers handed to Nicholas II on a silver platter.

Weight and size - this is what made the city carrot different. The main secret - the composition of the test and the filling - was transmitted only by inheritance. It's not enough that the carrot was delicious, it should have been smart. Printed boards made this confectionery a true piece of art.

Where does the urban gingerbread begin? The history and the recipe of delicacies cause a lot of questions and consist of interesting facts.

Formulation

Gorodetsky gingerbread begins with the preparation of raw materials for kneading dough. First, the flour is sifted, the sugar is poured and heated, the mixture is filtered. Melted margarine and molasses are also mixed. The last ingredient is added to the dough for softness. No chemical disintegrants are used in production. Therefore, the shelf life is very small: in the summer - 20 days, in the winter - 30 days. This simple recipe is not one hundred years old.

The dough is kneaded for about 20 minutes, then it is weighed and rolled. Lay out the baking sheets on gingerbread boards. Then bakers smear stuffing from raisins and jam, gradually adding spices: cinnamon, anise, cloves, cardamom and ginger. Basically, all the work on cooking stick is carried out manually. Forms can be different, and the weight of a sweet product starts from 50 grams to 6 kilograms. The recipe is always the same, only the shape and weight of gingerbread are different.

Secrets of manufacture

After the stove, gingerbread should cool down a little. It is important that the pretzel remains warm, then the sugar syrup will fall as it should, and the baking will shine in the sun. This process is called replication or glazing. Spice the cakes with hot sugar syrup and leave to dry for 8-10 hours. Ready urban gingerbread is packed in film, so it will keep its freshness longer. Although it is difficult to imagine that such a delicacy will not be immediately eaten.

The form

The most popular forms of gingerbread are plant motifs, images of the sun and animals. Over time, various holiday inscriptions, patterns, attributes of the kind of activity and so on are in great demand. In Gorodets baked gingerbread on order and for various solemn occasions. There are boards with forms for different occasions.

Gingerbread with the image of Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky are very popular among tourists. They also willingly buy the "City of Masters". This is another attraction of Gorodets.

Board

The quality of the board affects the appearance of the carrot. The rivets of limes are light in the work, the birch ones are heavier. But the more clearly and deeper the picture is cut, the more beautiful the carrot.

If the form does not deteriorate, does not crack and does not break, then it can be in work for more than fifty years. When the board with the running pattern comes into disrepair, it is restored. And if this is not possible, bakers order a new riveting.

Folk craftsmen, wood carvers, cut out intricate cliches with symbols of birds, animals, patterns and inscriptions. This is quite a painstaking job, since the drawing on the board should be made in a mirror image using a whole arsenal of special tools. Before proceeding to the thread, the image is applied to the tracing paper. Inventing new forms, masters adhere to old patterns. Sometimes they just make replicas.

The Museum

The house of sweet delicacy was opened in 2008 and is located in the farmstead of I. Ya. Petelin's merchant's house. The building itself was built in 1906 and became a model of the city manor. The intricate architecture of the building with elements of Art Nouveau, although not related to the history of local delicacies, but very similar to it.

What can you find out and see by visiting the Gorodetsky Gingerbread Museum? The exposition is devoted not only to the history of dessert, but also to the rich recipe for sweets and gingerbread boards for their manufacture. The exhibitions reflect the history of the gingerbread fishery of the 19th century, the "Red Gingerbread Man" Soviet artel and the modern "Gorpischekombinata".

Exposition and reviews

The pride of the exposition of the museum are various gingerbread boards, photographs of finished products and various souvenirs, which are often mentioned in their reviews by visitors.

Here is an interesting board with two sterlet for printing a five-kilogram gingerbread. Fine fine carving is made by the hands of Egor Bakharev himself from the dynasty of the same name. It was made in the 30s of the last century and until recently was in work. After making a copy of the valuable board, the original became an exhibit.

Interesting for the gaze of visitors and a roller for rolling gingerbread, which at the same time you could get 72 gingerbread with different symbols - sickle and hammer, geometric and floral ornament. In this way, it turned out to be a carrot without a filling or, as it was called at that time, a snack bar. A similar gingerbread was often served at the end of the holiday, then it was called "overclocked". With his help, the hosts hinted to the guests that "it's time to have the honor to know."

Another museum "Gorodetsky gingerbread" will introduce the visitor to finished products of different shapes and sizes - from 20 grams to 6 kilograms. Special attention of visitors is enjoyed by a dish on which gingerbread was brought to representatives of the royal family of Romanovs. According to eyewitnesses, it looks really royal.

Come visit

If you look in the museum "Gorodetsky gingerbread", whose address - Nizhny Novgorod region, Gorodets, ul. Lenin, house 2, you will surely plunge into the world of sweet gingerbread childhood and fairy magic. Visitors say that it is interesting for both children and adults.

Printed gingerbread today, like hundreds of years ago, bears a unique feeling of the upcoming holiday and, judging by the reviews, it remains the best gift that can be brought from Gorodets.