NIZHYN MAGISTRATE: HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF RESTORATION

Abstract

This article reveals the historical and urban significance of the magistrate in the town of Nizhyn, and explaines the necessity of its reconstruction. There is a description of restoration reconstruction methods. This work also gives the examples of reproduction of historical buildings around the world and in Ukraine. The author's approach to reproduction and ways of using a rebuilt building had been proposed in this article.In 1625 Nizhyn granted the Magdeburg Law. It meant that the town became self-governing. The magistrate was responsible for the administration, household and law. The magistrate building was the center of the composition of the Cathedral Square and played a key role in the town-planning ensemble.The new brick building was erected instead of the wooden one by Andrii Kvasov which had been damaged by fire at the end of XVIII century. It was two-storey building in the style of classicism with trading rows beside. Unfortunately, the building was ruined due to the series of unpleasant occasions. But there are the architect Kartashevskiy’s drawings of the magistrate which he made during the building repair. So it is possible to do the restoration reconstruction which means the construction of a new structure in the same place and in the same forms as previously existing object.There are a lot of examples of reproduction of the historical buildings in the world such as an Old Town in Warsaw, Riga Town Hall in Latvia, the Saint Marco Cathedra’s bell tower in Venice, Saint Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv etc.The only part of building which is preserved now is the underground floor filled in with soil. So the reconstructed building must be separated from the original part. In order to achieve this, basement should be strengthened and restored first. The new building must be placed on the platform with pile foundation apart from the basement. The reproduced building can be used with its original purpose. It is possible to move the part of the City Council there or the museum of the Magdeburg Law.Moreover, the reconstruction of the magistrate is important now because of the 400 year anniversary of the granting Nizhyn a Magdeburg Law in 2025.