URBAN SPECIFICITY OF THE FIRST SQUARE IN SAMARA (XVI- middle XIX CENTURIES)

Abstract

The paper goes into the questions connected with the creation and further evolution of the first square of Samara in the XVI-XIX centuries. The article analyses historical formation of the square territory taking into account the main buildings construction, as well as its role in the development of other areas. The authors describe basic stylistic and functional characteristic features of this area and identify its typology and planning decisions with account of the structure of urban neighborhoods. The paper shows that the first confirmed plans of changes affected this important hub in the historic center, where traditionally the main place was given to the churches - the main Orthodox shrines of the city. Various political as well as economical and technical factors played an important role in the transformation of the square. It allowed to design and create a number of extraordinary objects but still led to only partial realization. On the one hand, ongoing construction in the XIX century in Samara has shown a formal commitment to follow the requirements of classicism. On the other hand, it heralded the era of eclecticism with a significant rethinking of architectural-artistic image in the shared spatial system of the city.