Guest-houses in Russia. Exhibitions in living rooms

The guest houses of Russia, like all trade, have their own remarkable history of origin and development. The earliest form of commodity exchange was "mute trading," the essence of which was that the deal participants did not collide with each other. "Silent trade" is typical for many peoples, most likely for everyone, but there is no historical confirmation of its real existence on the territory of Russia. The first mentions of trade relations in Russia date back to the 8th-9th centuries.

The first retail outlets in Russia

At one time the main shopping center was Kiev, located at the very end of the waterway. All goods were flown here, all merchants, including foreign ones, aspired. The area where the trades were held became central. People here aspired not only for the goods, but also to learn news, exchange opinions, watch performances of visiting buffoons. In the shopping areas there were subsequently the first living-rooms, which, in fact, are premises for storing goods. In the future, they always existed side by side - shopping arcades and a guest yard.

Prerequisites for the appearance of living rooms

In Novgorod, which has taken the leading place as a trade and economic center after the decayed Kiev, on the shopping areas there are specialized ranks, for example, rags, fish or furs. In the 12th century, Moscow became the center for trade, absolutely everything - money, direction, measure and weight. The guest yards do not yet exist, in part their role is played by the churches that are right there on the square - in their cellars the goods are stored, they are weighed at the entrance. In Moscow of that time there are a lot of trade shops, but they are inferior to the points of sale of European countries in all respects. Their small size is directly related to duties and taxes. The most violent trade in Moscow in the 14th-15th centuries was conducted near the Moskvoretsky Bridge. The territory was very busy - there were Lower, Middle, Upper rows and a lot of those small shops.

Ancestor of the living rooms

Moscow burned repeatedly, and after another fire in 1493, traffickers are evicted from the Kremlin and give them the territory of the future Red Square. Here on the Ilyinsky sacrum (trade intersections of shopping streets was especially active) at the beginning of the 16th century, the first wooden wooden parlor in Russia was erected. Moscow was the ancestor of hotel construction. In addition to living in it from afar arrived merchants, in the courtyard were warehouses for storage of goods and shops for wholesale trade - retail in the squares of commercial yards was never conducted. Initially, the living rooms had their own specifics of construction. The need for them arose with increasing trade with other regions and countries. Therefore, the customs was built immediately on the territory of the courtyard. Yards, as a rule, were built, taking into account the national characteristics of merchants.

Foreign presence

Thus, in the large shopping centers of Russia (Moscow, Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Tula), Dutch and German trading courts, Armenian and Jewish, "Anglic" and Greek, existed for a long time. It was such a kind of fortified areas - the territory was surrounded by a strong fence, there were necessarily observation towers, because there were many goods, they needed to be guarded. In the territories of the households there was a system of duties and taxes, on which, in fact, their improvement and expansion was conducted.

Self-contained structural unit

People accompanying the goods were built dwellings - merchant's huts, payment for accommodation in which was of a differentiated approach - service and culling. These shopping centers were built according to the same principle: everything needed for the wholesale trade in large lots should be concentrated here. In the center, of course, was the square with official institutions representing the power of the city, that is, customs. Here was located and "important" - a platform with weights. Standing huts, a bathhouse, a tavern, taverns (obligatory institutions for body and soul), horse sheds were built closer to the fences. A large area of the yard was occupied by barns - warehouses for storing goods.

Specificity of Architecture

It was a warehouse with a single gallery, and they were built mostly along the perimeter of the square, representing arcades or, more rarely, colonnades (Kostroma courtyard). Most often, galleries that unite benches and barns were erected in two floors. There were building standards. For example, the size of the bench reached two fathoms in length, half a shelf, of course, was half as large. There were, however, deviations from the established sizes - this was explained by the specifics of certain deliveries. Tare in warehouses has retained its function to this day - it was boxes and "large boxes" or "porters". Such goods, like boots, were stored on the bars and poles. Sometimes one storage room was divided by several merchants, and sometimes the entire guest yard was given away. Moscow, Veliky Novgorod and Tula know such examples.

Fees as a basis for further expansion

The janitors followed not only the cleanliness and order - they charged a fee for the operation of barns (granary), whole accommodation (gambling) and income taxes. There were other types of duties - it was possible to take out certain types of fees or, when trading with a sledge or a ship's side, pay a "turnaround fee". With the introduction of trading yards, all merchants were obliged to stop in them, of course, if he did not have his own retail space in the city. Further sale of the goods occurred, if it was not purchased in bulk for subsequent transportation, in the shopping arcade, where it was delivered from the warehouses of the guest yard.

A differentiated approach

For foreigners, there were special rules of trade. So, back in the 15th century in Veliky Novgorod, German merchants were allowed only twice a year to import their goods for a strictly defined period. Even then, the princes stood guard over the interests of local producers. On the territories of foreign trading yards, as well as embassies, there were laws of their own, and the prince of Novgorod had no right to interfere. But (presumably) local merchants and nobles had to somehow get acquainted with the goods, especially with their new modifications, the guest yard should have been interested in this. Exhibitions or some samples would have to exist on its territory, based on which subsequent transactions could be made.

One of the fundamental industries

Trade in the Middle Ages is a huge industry, on which were assigned both diplomatic, and cultural, and missionary duties. The guest houses of the Genoese republic, which in principle was a world trading platform, German painters and literary works are devoted to German Dutch merchants. Our Tsar Saltan only looked out for merchant ships in the sea to find out whether "it's alright beyond the sea or bad, and what a miracle in the world." According to these lines, one can judge the importance of merchants (the tsar himself takes them) and trade in general. From those memorable times to our days, ancient shopping centers of this type have been preserved on the territory of our country. They are not only historical and architectural monuments, but also an adornment of cities. Recently, the "fragrance of antiquity" has become fashionable. And how patriotic, attractive and safe it is to name the large modern shopping and entertainment complex "Gostiny Dvor"! Tula is a city in which there is such a center.

Interconnection of centuries

About this institution there are legends, delights and positive responses can be heard quite often. The country has seen a construction boom over the past few years. Now a lot of original, non-typical buildings for various purposes are being built. But the modern guest yard in Tula was able to stand out against this background. As in ancient times, shopping areas were the focus of city life, a place where you could satisfy your cultural and everyday needs, where all the townspeople sought, and now the city authorities have managed to build a center that can interest Tulchans, make them leave the walls of their dwellings And to visit for some reason "Gostiny Dvor". Tula for two years, as a grand opening celebration of the grandiose shopping and entertainment complex, which is, in fact, a city with its structure. In addition to 150 shops, a 6-hall cinema, numerous cafes and restaurants, gyms, fitness centers, beauty salons, there are facilities for registering marriages with subsequent weddings. Absolutely everything a modern person needs can be provided by the Tula Gostiny Dvor. Exhibitions held in all similar centers are arranged in a beautiful exhibition hall.

The most famous guest house in the country

Of course, even judging by the name, the Grand Gostiny Dvor, a monument of the history and architecture of Russia of the 18th century, which is under the protection of UNESCO, deserves special words. Conceived under Elizaveta Petrovna, it was erected according to the Rastrelli project by a decree from 1758 on the "sacrum" of Nevsky Prospekt and Sadovaya Street. Warehouses and benches erected by merchants were supposed to be given to them for permanent use with the right to transfer by inheritance, because the financing of construction was planned to be carried out at the expense of traders, but with the beginning of the work all was dragging out, and in the end the project itself was rejected.

The construction was carried out under the project of Jean-Baptiste Wallen-Delamota. It lasted from 1761 to 1785. Since its inception, the Grand Gostiny Dvor has played an indispensable role in ensuring the life of St. Petersburg. To him, as the most significant object for the Northern capital, the first was gas lighting. For all the years of its existence, it has been repeatedly restored, and the best artists, restorers and architects of both tsarist and soviet Russia were involved in repairs and restoration. In 1886-1887, N.L. Benoit restored the Gostiny Dvor.

Petersburg was particularly proud and protected this building. During the blockade, he was guarded on a par with other cult buildings in the Northern capital. In 1945-1948 Gostiny Dvor was restored and recognized as a monument of architecture. After the next major overhaul, held in 1955-1967, 167 individual shops that existed on its endless squares were united in the central department store of the city under the name "Gostiny Dvor". With all the repairs this building was decorated - then the central entrance was magnificently decorated, then new stained-glass windows and fountains were added. Since 1994 the department store has become a joint stock company, and the building itself belongs to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Petersburgers are very fond of and proud of their "Gostinka". Today, not only all kinds of shopping centers are located on its territory, which are visited daily by up to 300,000 buyers from all over the world, but also by the Haute Couture House, and beautiful halls for demonstrating various exhibits. The exhibition in the Gostiny Dvor today sounds like something self-evident - well, where, how not there?