The structure of the Russian hut scheme. Russian hut: interior decoration

A peasant hut made of logs has been considered a symbol of Russia from time immemorial. According to archaeologists, the first huts appeared in Russia 2 thousand years ago BC. For many centuries, the architecture of wooden peasant houses remained practically unchanged, combining everything that every family needed: a roof over their heads and a place where you can relax after a hard day's work.

In the 19th century, the most common plan of a Russian hut included a dwelling (hut), a canopy and a crate. The main building was a hut - a heated living space of a square or rectangular shape. A crate was used as a storage room, which was connected to the hut at the expense of a canopy. In turn, the canopy was a utility room. They were never heated, so they could only be used as living quarters in the summer. Among the poor strata of the population, a two-chamber layout of the hut, consisting of a hut and a vestibule, was common.

The ceilings in wooden houses were flat, they were often hemmed with painted hemp. The floors were made of oak bricks. The decoration of the walls was carried out with the help of red board, while in rich houses the decoration was supplemented with red leather (less wealthy people usually used matting). In the 17th century, ceilings, vaults and walls began to be decorated with paintings. Benches were placed around the walls under each window, which were securely fastened directly to the structure of the house itself. Approximately at the level of human height above the benches along the walls, long shelves made of wood, which were called crows, were equipped. On the shelves located along the room, they kept kitchen utensils, and on others - tools for men's work.

Initially, the windows in Russian huts were portage, that is, viewing windows that were cut in adjacent logs half a log up and down. They looked like a small horizontal slot and were sometimes decorated with carvings. They closed the opening (“clouded”) with the help of boards or fish bubbles, leaving a small hole (“peeper”) in the center of the valve.

After some time, the so-called red windows, with a frame, framed by jambs, became popular. They had more complex design than drag ones, and were always decorated. The height of the red windows was at least three diameters of a log in a log house.

In poor houses, the windows were so small that when they were closed, the room became very dark. In rich houses, windows were closed from the outside with iron shutters, often using pieces of mica instead of glass. From these pieces it was possible to create various ornaments, painting them with images of grass, birds, flowers, etc. with the help of paints.

The interior of the Russian hut

From about the 16th century to the end of the 19th century, the layout of the Russian hut remained practically unchanged: a Russian stove was located at the rear wall of the dwelling, usually in the left or right corner, turned with its forehead towards the windows. A sleeping place for family members was arranged on the stove, and under the ceiling from the stove they arranged beds (flooring for storing things or bunks for sleeping). Diagonal from the stove was the front, “red” corner, where the table was usually placed. The place in front of the stove was called a bakery and was intended for cooking, separated, as a rule, with a plank board or a curtain. Long benches were placed along the walls, and shelves were arranged on the wall above them.

Read also

Layout of a wooden house

Each corner had its own purpose. Red corner in the Russian hut, where he was dinner table and the iconostasis, was considered the most honorable place in the house. The most important holidays and celebrations were celebrated in the red corner. The space from the mouth of the stove to the front wall acted as the female half of the hut (it was called “middle”, “upech”, “path”, “closet”). Here they were engaged in cooking and stored the necessary utensils for this. IN northern regions the Russian stove was often located at a considerable distance from the back and side walls, closing the formed space with a door and using it to store other household utensils.

On one of the sides of the furnace, a box of boards was attached, from where it was possible to get underground through the stairs. From the side wall to the front door there was a wide bench, which was boarded up from the sides. Very often, its wide side board was carved in the shape of a horse's head, due to which such a shop was called a konik. Konik was intended for the owner of the house, therefore it was considered a men's shop. The carving adorned not only the conic, but also many other elements of the interior.


Standard layout residential part of the Russian hut

The back of the hut, which was under the floor, served as a hallway. In the cold season, livestock (pigs, sheep, calves) were kept in this part of the room; strangers usually never went behind the bed. Between the beds and the dining table, as a rule, a loom was placed, which allowed women to engage in various types of needlework. Until the 19th century, in many Russian huts, there were no beds, as such, and their role was played by benches, beds, stoves and other furniture items suitable for this.

Full layout of the Russian hut

Russian folk hut in modern construction

During the construction of Russian houses, techniques that were common in ancient Russia are often used: cutting corners, ways of fixing cuts for the floor and ceiling beams, methods of processing and erection of log cabins, the sequence of assembly and felling of timber, etc. When cutting, round logs or logs sawn lengthwise are often used. In addition, logs are often used in the western regions of the country, which are hewn on four sides (plates, beams). This method was known even to the Kuban and Don Cossacks.

The connection of logs in a log house is carried out using deep grooves located at the corners. From time immemorial, the most common way for Russians was to cut one log into another, while leaving a small distance from the ends of the logs (into a bowl, into a corner, into a cloud).

Read also

Symbols on the evacuation plan

The design of the chopped hut

To date, no less popular way is cutting the corner at the ends of the logs "in the paw", that is, without a trace. Using this technique allows you to increase the size of housing (with the same material costs). In order for the logs to fit closer to each other, it is necessary to cut a longitudinal groove in the upper log, which is subsequently caulked with dried moss or tow. Less commonly used is the pillar method of building walls, which involves laying out walls from horizontally laid boards or logs. In this case, the fastening of their ends takes place in the grooves of the vertical pillars. Most of all, this technology is common in the southern regions of the country.

Scheme of connecting logs in a hut without a trace

Significant changes have been made in the design and material of the coating. Today, when arranging Russian huts, gable or four-slope types of roofs are often used, truss structures, in addition, cornices are common that protect the walls of the house from the effects of precipitation. More and more modern roofing materials (slate, tiles, iron) are being used, although, depending on a particular area, people do not forget about the use of traditional roofing materials (for example, reeds in the southern regions).

Some people associate the Russian hut with a hut in which there are chests and wooden furniture. The modern interior decoration of the Russian hut differs significantly from this image, it is quite comfortable and modern here. Despite the fact that the house has a rustic style, modern technology is used here.

Historical roots of the Russian house

If earlier, when building a house, peasants were guided by practicality, for example, they built huts near rivers, they made small windows that overlooked fields, meadows, forests, now special attention is paid to interior decoration. In addition, people used to set up a Russian bath near a river or lake, and in the yard they built barns for storing grain, a barn for cattle. But at all times, a red corner in a Russian hut was always distinguished, in which icons were placed, a stove was installed. At that time, the interior of the Russian hut was chosen so that all items were multifunctional, there was no talk of any luxury.

They tried to locate the Russian house on the site so that it was closer to the north. To protect the house from the winds, trees and shrubs were planted in the garden.

Attention! To increase the level of illumination of a Russian house, it should be placed with windows facing the sunny side.

In the old days, for the construction of a Russian house, they chose the place that the big man chose for his vacation. cattle.

Interesting facts about the Russian house

In the swamps, as well as near them, no one had built houses before. Russian people believed that a swamp is a “frosty” place, and in a house built on a swamp there will never be happiness and prosperity.

The felling of the Russian house began in early spring, always on the new moon. If a tree was cut down on the waning moon, it quickly rotted, the house fell into disrepair. The Russian house was considered the embodiment of stability, constancy, tranquility, so it was never placed at crossroads, on the road. Also bad omen It was considered the erection of a hut on the site of a burnt house. The peasants treated their houses as if they were living beings.

She singled out her brow (face), they considered the pediment of the Russian house. Decorations on windows were called platbands, and boards used in the construction of walls were called foreheads.

The well at the Russian hut was called the “crane”, and the boards on the roof were called the “horse”.

The interior decoration of the Russian hut was rather modest, and corresponded to the interior style, which today is called Provence.

By the appearance of the house, it was easy to determine the religion, material well-being of the owner, the nationality of its owner. It was difficult to find absolutely identical houses in one village, each Russian hut had its own individual characteristics. The interior of the Russian hut also had some differences, with the help of certain household items, people tried to talk about their interests and hobbies.

It was believed that a child who grew up in a clean and good house has bright thoughts and intentions. From childhood, the child was formed an idea of ​​​​the structural features of the Russian hut, he studied and memorized household items in the Russian hut. For example, a red corner in a Russian hut was considered a holy place.

Features of the interior decoration of a Russian house

A woman has always been involved in the interior decoration of the house, it was she who picked up household items, monitored comfort, and put things in order. For the state of the facade, as well as for personal plot the owner always followed. In the interior of the Russian house, the male and female half stood out, their design had some distinctive features.

The decoration of a Russian hut is the task of a woman. It was she who was engaged in the manufacture of home textiles, in some Russian huts there were even looms on which women wove rugs, canvas for decorating windows.

Polats in the Russian hut were replaced by modern sofas and beds, linen curtains were used to separate them from the rest of the room. Already in those distant times, zoning was carried out in the hut, separating the living room from the sleeping part. The techniques of interior art used in the design of Russian huts have now become the basis of Russian Provence.

Some distinctive features were in the interior of Russian houses located in the Russian North. Due to the difficult climatic conditions characteristic of this region, both the residential part and the outbuildings were located in one hut, that is, cattle and people lived under the same roof. This was reflected in the interior of the house, there were no frills, only solid and simple furniture elements were used. One of the corners of the room stood out for the chests in which the dowry for the girl was collected.

Some traditions associated with the external decoration of the house, used in Russia, have been preserved in our time. For example, a carved wooden sun was attached to the upper part of the facade. This decorative element was considered a kind of amulet, its presence was a guarantee of happiness, health, well-being of all the inhabitants of the house. Carved roses on the walls of the hut were considered a symbol of a happy and prosperous life, and the owners still use them in the external decor. country houses. Lions were considered symbols of pagan amulets, which, with their appearance, were supposed to scare away evil spirits from the house.

The massive ridge on the roof of the hut is a sign of the sun. Despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since then, the tradition of installing a ridge on the roof has survived to this day. Among required elements ancient Russian hut, it is necessary to note the goddess. The construction of the house was erected according to the law, the proportions were strictly observed so that the hut had not only aesthetic appearance, but also remained a solid and durable structure, withstood strong gusts of wind.

Features of the Russian house

The Russian house is usually divided into three tiers (worlds):

  • basement serving as the bottom;
  • living quarters make up the middle part;
  • attic and roof are top

For the construction of the hut, logs were used, they were tied together in crowns. For example, in the Russian North, nails were not used in the construction of huts, while obtaining durable and solid houses. Nails were needed only for fastening platbands and other decorative elements.

The roof is an element of protecting the house from the outside world, precipitation. In Russian huts, gable types of roofs were used, which are still considered by architects to be the most reliable structures for wooden buildings.

The upper part of the house was decorated with solar signs, and those items that were rarely used in everyday life were stored in the attic. Russian huts were two-story, in the lower part of the house there was a basement that protected the inhabitants of the hut from the cold. All living rooms were located on the second floor, allocating minimal space for them.

They tried to make the floor double, at first they had a “black” floor, which did not let cold air into the hut. Next came the "white" floor, made of wide planks. The floorboards were not covered with paint, leaving the wood in its natural form.

The red corner in ancient Russia was considered the place where the furnace was located.

Advice! In the country house or in a country house, instead of a stove, a fireplace will harmoniously look in the interior of the living room.

The stove was installed in the direction of sunrise (to the east), associated with light. Icons were placed on the wall next to it, and in temples this place was given to the altar.

The doors were made of natural wood, they were massive, associated with reliable protection of the house from evil spirits.

A horseshoe was placed above the door, which was also considered a symbol of protecting the house from troubles and misfortunes.

The windows were made of natural wood, they were small so that heat would not leave the hut. It was the windows that were considered the “eyes” of the owner of the house, so they were located on different sides of the hut. Used to decorate window openings natural material, which was woven by the hostess herself. In the old days, it was not customary to hang windows with thick curtain fabrics that did not let inside the room. sunlight. Three window options were chosen for the hut:


Modern interior of a Russian hut

Currently, many city dwellers dream of their own log cabin, furnished in a rustic style. The desire to be alone with nature, escape from the bustle of the city and problems.

Among those interior items that still exist in the decoration of the Russian hut, let's single out the stove. Some owners of suburban real estate prefer to use a modern fireplace instead. Of particular interest is the design of the walls and ceiling in a modern wooden Russian house. Nowadays, more and more often you can see carved wooden decorations on the facade of the house, which are a typical manifestation of Provence.

Advice! When decorating the walls of a Russian hut, you can use light wallpaper having a small pattern. For Provence it is undesirable to use in wall decoration artificial materials, since the style implies maximum harmony, unity with nature.

Professional stylists involved in the design of wooden Russian huts advise choosing neutral colors for decoration. Special attention they suggest paying attention to home textiles, which are the hallmark of rustic style.

The Russian national dwelling - in Russian traditional culture, which was widespread back in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, was a wooden structure - a hut built using a log or frame technology.
The basis of the Russian national dwelling is a cage, a rectangular covered one-room simple log house without outbuildings (log house) or a hut. The dimensions of the cages were small, 3 by 2 meters, there were no window openings. The height of the cage was 10-12 logs. The crate was covered with straw. A cage with a stove is already a hut.

How did our ancestors choose the place of residence and building material for the house?
Settlements often arose in wooded places, along the banks of rivers, lakes, since waterways were then natural roads that connected numerous cities of Russia. In the forest there is an animal and a bird, resin and wild honey, berries and mushrooms, “To live near the forest is not to be hungry” was said in Russia. The Slavs used to win back the living space for themselves from the forest, cutting and cultivating the cornfield. The construction began with felling the forest and a settlement appeared on the cleared land - a "village". The word "village" is derived from the word "derv" (from the action "drati") - something that is uprooted (forest and thickets). It wasn't built in a day or two. First, the area had to be mastered. They prepared the land for arable land, cut down, uprooted the forest. This is how the “zaimka” arose (from the word “to occupy”), and the first buildings were called “repairs” (from the word “initiation”, that is, the beginning). Relatives and just neighbors settled nearby (those who "sat down" nearby). To build a house, our ancestors cut coniferous trees (the most resistant to decay) and took only those that fell with their tops to the east. Young and old trees, as well as dead wood, were unsuitable for this. Solitary trees and groves that grew on the site of a destroyed church were considered sacred, so they were also not taken to build a house. They cut down in frosts, because the tree was considered dead at that time (the wood is drier at this time). It was they who chopped, not sawed: it was believed that this way the tree would be better preserved. The logs were stacked, bark was removed from them in the spring, leveled, collected in small log cabins and left to dry until the fall, and sometimes until the next spring. Only after that they began to choose a place and build a house. Such was the experience of centuries-old wooden construction.

“The hut is not cut for the summer, but for the winter” - what was the name of the peasant log house and how did they choose a place for it?
The oldest and simplest type of Russian buildings consists of "cages" - small tetrahedral log cabins. One of the cages was heated by a “hearth” and therefore was called “istba”, from the word “istobka”, hence the name of the Russian house appeared - “hut”. Izba - a wooden (log) log house. Large houses were built, grandfathers and fathers, grandchildren and great-grandchildren lived all together under one roof - "A family is strong when there is only one roof over it." The hut was usually cut down from thick logs, folding them into a log house. The log house was made up of "crowns". The crown is four logs laid horizontally in a square or rectangle and connected at the corners with notches (recesses so that the logs “sit” tightly one on top of the other). From the ground to the roof of such "crowns" it was necessary to collect about 20. The most reliable, warm, was considered to be the fastening of logs "in oblo" (from the word "obly" - round), in which the round log ends of the logs were cut into each other and they came out a little outside the wall, the corners of such a house did not freeze. The logs of the log house were tied together so tightly that even the blade of a knife could not pass between them. The place for the house was chosen very carefully. They never built a hut on the site of the old one, if the former housing burned down, collapsed from troubles. In no case did they put a hut “on blood” or “on bones” - where at least a drop fell on the ground human blood or found bones, it happened! A bad place was considered a place where one day a cart overturned (there would be no wealth in the house), or a road once passed (misfortunes could come into the house along it), or a crooked tree grew. People tried to notice where the cattle likes to rest: this place promised good luck to the owners of the house built there.

What are the main elements of the decorative decoration of the hut called?
1. "Konyok - ohlupen" - guarded the house from evil forces. The horse was hewn out of a very thick tree, which was dug up with the root, the root was processed, giving it the appearance of a horse's head. Skates look to the sky and protect the house not only from bad weather. The horse in ancient times was a symbol of the sun, according to ancient beliefs, the sun is carried across the sky by winged invisible horses, so they piled a horse on the roof to support the sun. 2. A skillfully carved board descended from under the ridge - “Towel”, so named for its resemblance to the embroidered end of a real towel and symbolizing the sun at its zenith, to the left of it the same board symbolized the sunrise, and to the right - symbolized the sunset. 3. The facade of the house is a wall facing the street - it was likened to a person's face. There were windows on the façade. The word "window" comes from the ancient name of the eye - "eye", and windows were considered eyes on the face of the house, therefore, wooden carved window decorations are called "platbands". Often the windows were supplemented with "shutters". In the southern huts, one could reach the windows with one's hands, but in the north, the houses were placed on a high "basement" (what is under the cage). Therefore, to close the shutters, special bypass galleries were arranged - “ambulances”, which encircled the house at the level of the windows. Windows used to be covered with mica or bull bladders; glass appeared in the 14th century. Such a window let in little light, but in winter it was better to keep warm in the hut. 4. The roof of the house with front and rear walls in the form of log triangles symbolized the “forehead” on the face of the house, the old Russian name for the forehead sounds like “brow”, and protruding from under the roof carved boards- "Prichelina".

What did they symbolize and how were the upper and lower boundaries arranged in the living space of the hut?
The ceiling in the hut was made of tesa (that is, from boards hewn from logs). The ceiling served as the upper boundary of the hut. The boards were supported by "Matitsa" - a particularly thick beam, which was cut into the upper crown when the frame was erected. The matitsa ran across the entire hut, fastening and holding the walls, the ceiling and the base of the roof. For the house, the mother was the same as the root for the tree, and for the person, the mother: the beginning, the support, the basis. Various objects were hung from the mother. A hook was nailed here for hanging an eyeglass with a cradle (a flexible pole, even with a slight push, such a cradle rocked). Only that house was considered full-fledged, where the eyes creak under the ceiling, where the kids, growing up, nurse the younger ones. Ideas about the father's house, happiness, good luck were associated with the mother. It is no coincidence that when going on the road, one had to hold on to the mother. The ceilings on the mat were always laid parallel to the floorboards. The floor is the boundary that separates people from "non-humans": brownies, etc. The floor in the house was laid from halves of logs (hence the word "floorboards", and he relied on thick beams cut into lower crowns log house. The floorboards themselves were associated with the idea of ​​a path. The bed (and in the summer they often slept right on the floor) was supposed to be laid across the floorboards, otherwise the person would leave the house. And the matchmakers during the matchmaking tried to sit down so as to look along the floorboards, then they would come to an agreement and take the bride out of the house.

What was inner world Russian hut?
In a peasant hut, every corner had its own meaning. The main space of the hut was occupied by a stove. The oven was made of clay with stones added to the thickness. The Russian stove was used for heating, cooking for people and animals, for ventilation and lighting of the room. The heated oven served as a bed for old people and kids, and clothes were dried here. Babies were washed in the warm mouth of the oven, and if there was no bath, then the adult members of the family also “bathed” here. Things were stored on the stove, grain was dried, it healed - they bathed in it in case of ailments. On the bench, next to the stove, the hostess was preparing food, and the bread taken out of the oven was also stacked here. This place in the hut was called “Oven Corner” or “Baby Corner” - from the mouth of the furnace to the front wall of the house - the kingdom of a woman, here stood all the simple utensils that were in the household, here she worked, rested, raised children. A cradle hung on a flexible pole attached to a mat next to the stove. Here, near the window, hand millstones were always placed - a grinding device (two large flat stones), so the corner was also called "Millstone". The front part of the hut was the "Red Corner". No matter how the oven was located in the hut (to the right or left of the entrance), the red corner was always located diagonally from it. In the corner itself, there was always a “Goddess” with icons and a lamp, which is why the corner also received the name “Saint”. The "rear corner" has always been masculine. Here they placed a “horseman” (“kutnik”) - a short wide shop in the form of a box with a hinged flat lid, tools were stored in it. It was separated from the door by a flat board, which was often shaped like a horse's head. This was the owner's place. Here he rested and worked. Bast shoes were woven here, utensils and harness were repaired and made, nets were knitted, etc.

What is the purpose and location of the table in a Russian hut?
The most honorable place in the "red corner" at the converging benches (long and short) was occupied by a table. The table must be covered with a tablecloth. In the XI - XII centuries, the table was made of adobe and motionless. Then it was determined permanent place in the House. Movable wooden tables appear only by the 17th-18th centuries. The table was made rectangular in shape and always placed along the floorboards in the red corner. Any promotion of him from there could only be connected with a ritual or crisis situation. The table was never taken out of the hut, and when selling a house, the table was sold along with the house. special role played the table in wedding ceremonies. Each stage of matchmaking and preparation for the wedding necessarily ended with a feast. And before going to the crown, in the bride's house there was a ritual round of the table by the bride and groom and blessing them. The newborn was carried around the table. On ordinary days, it was forbidden to bypass the table, everyone had to leave from the side from which they entered. In general, the table was conceived as an analogue of the temple throne. The flat tabletop was revered as the "palm of God", giving bread. Therefore, knocking on the table at which they sit, scraping with a spoon on the dishes, throwing leftover food on the floor was considered a sin. The people said: "Bread on the table, so the table is the throne, but not a piece of bread - so the table is a board." At normal times, between feasts, only bread wrapped in a tablecloth and a salt shaker with salt could be on the table. The constant presence of bread on the table was supposed to ensure prosperity and well-being at home. Thus, the table was a place of family unity. Each household member had his own place at the table, which depended on marital status. The most honorable place at the table - at the head of the table - was occupied by the owner of the house.

With the help of what and how did they illuminate the interior of the hut?
Mica, and bubbles, and even glass of that time only let light through a little and the hut had to be additionally illuminated. The most ancient device for lighting the hut is considered to be a "fireplace" - a small recess, a niche in the very corner of the stove. A burning torch was placed in the stove, a well-dried torch gave a bright and even light. A torch was called a thin sliver of birch, pine, aspen, oak, ash, maple. A little later, the stove was illuminated by a torch inserted into the Svetets. To obtain thin (less than 1 cm) long (up to 70 cm) wood chips, the log was steamed in an oven over a cast-iron with boiling water and pierced at one end with an ax, then torn into splinters by hand. They inserted torches into the lights. The simplest light was a wrought iron rod with a fork at one end and a point at the other. With this tip, the light was inserted into the gap between the logs of the hut. A torch was inserted into the fork. And for falling coals, a trough with water was substituted under the light. Later, forged lights appeared, in which several torches burned. On major holidays, expensive and rare candles were lit in the hut to complete the light. With candles in the dark they went into the hallway, went down to the underground. In winter, they threshed with candles on the "threshing floor" (covered area for threshing). The candles were tallow and waxy. Tallow candles were more often "Makans". For their manufacture, they took beef, lamb, goat fat, melted it and dipped a wick thrown over a splinter into it, froze it several times, and received “makans”, which often came out skinny and uneven. wax candles made by skating. The wax was heated in hot water, rolled into a roller, flattened into a long cake and, putting a wick of flax or hemp on the edge of the cake, rolled it back into the roller.

How were the poker, tong, pomelo and bread shovel used in the house?
The people said: "The poker in the oven is the mistress." In the old days, the stove poker was one of the symbols hearth, giving food and warmth, without which family well-being is impossible. While the stove is being heated, the poker-hostess works tirelessly. As soon as firewood flared up in the oven and burning logs need to be moved deep into the oven, the poker is right there. A piece of wood has fallen out of the fire and smokes in the far corner of the firebox, the same poker comes to his aid. "Uhvat" brought into the Russian stove cast iron (from one and a half to ten liters). Before sending the cast-iron to the furnace, it was placed on a hearth near the mouth and the horns of the tong were brought under its body. Next to the cast-iron, under the handle of the grip, a suitable-sized skating rink (a round log) was placed. By pressing the end of the handle, the cast iron was slightly raised and, leaning on the roller with a grip, rolled into the furnace and placed in the intended place of the hearth. It was not easy to do this without skill. The tongs, like the pots, were of different sizes, so there were many of them near the stove, they were taken care of and they served people for a long time. "Pomelo" is invariably located at the Russian wind oven and is intended for cleaning the hearth and hearth. Most often, under the oven was swept before baking pies. The pomelo was intended exclusively for the oven. It is strictly forbidden to use it for any other purpose. In the old days, when bread was baked in every village house, and pies were baked on holidays, it was supposed to have a wide wooden “shovel” on a long handle at the oven. A shovel made from a board was used to put bread in the oven. The bread shovel also demanded a respectful attitude. It was placed only with the handle down.

Where were clothes, fabrics and valuable household items stored?
"Chest" - this word denoted a large rectangular box made of sawn boards with a hinged lid, lockable. In it, Russian people kept clothes and valuables. For centuries, various chest products have been an important part of the interior of peasant huts; they were put in a prominent place testifying to the wealth of the family. The chests in which the bride's dowry was kept were often very large sizes and were brought into the house only once - during its construction. In Russia, when a girl was born, they immediately began to prepare a dowry for her - this was called "pumping chests." Dowry was the key to a successful marriage. After marriage, the girl left her home and took with her dowry chests: pillows, feather beds, blankets, towels (made by the bride herself), clothes, household utensils, jewelry. In many houses, chests of various sizes were displayed in the form of a slide, i.e. put one on top of the other, sometimes their number reached the ceiling. In a peasant house, chests were used not only to store goods, but also served as a pillow stand, a bench, and sometimes a place for afternoon naps. Chests, headrests, caskets, hiding places, caskets were richly decorated. Usually they were bound for strength with strips of iron, tinned or blued. Customers presented certain artistic requirements to chest craftsmen: chests should be not only roomy, durable, but also beautiful. To do this, chests were painted with tempera paints diluted on egg yolk. Images of a lion or a griffin were often found on chest products; they were considered strong, courageous animals, good defenders of the goods acquired by a person.

What was the significance of the embroidered towel in peasant life?
In Russia, towels were hung in the hut for festive decoration. Their colorful patterns enlivened its log walls, giving festivity, making the home elegant. A towel bordered the goddess in the red corner, hung on windows, mirrors, walls. In the old peasant life, they called a towel - a panel of home-made white fabric, trimmed with embroidery, woven colored patterns, ribbons, stripes of colored chintz, lace, etc. The length of the towels was from 2 to 4 m, the width was 3638 cm. It was decorated, as a rule, at the ends, the cloth was rarely ornamented. Especially richly decorated was a large “hand-made” towel, the so-called “wall” (wall-length). During the handshake, it was presented to the groom, hanging around his neck. This meant that the bride was betrothed, and the groom threw a towel to his relatives. They decorated the goddess for the whole time of the wedding, and when traveling to the crown, they tied it to the arc of the wedding cart. “Gift” towels, with which the bride presented the groom’s relatives, were less decorated than hand-made ones. The bride was covered with a towel (and a shawl on top) when they were taken to church. The bride and groom were tied with a towel, as if symbolizing the strength of their family life. The towel played a significant role in maternity and baptismal rites, as well as in funeral and memorial rites. According to custom, richly ornamented towels were a necessary part of a girl's dowry. On the second day of the wedding, the young woman hung her hand-made towels in the hut on top of her mother-in-law's towels so that all guests could admire her work. The towel was present in many customs and rituals of the Russian family. This purpose of the towel excluded its use for wiping hands, face, floor. For this purpose, they used a "rukoternik or utirka".

What vegetable and animal oils were produced in Russia?
So what is "oil" really? Whatever you say, you love - you don’t love, and without fat, which is the basis of oil, human life would be impossible, since every cell of our body is surrounded by a protective fatty film. The most commonly used vegetable oils in Russia have always been linseed and hemp. And the sunflower oil familiar to us came into use much later, at the beginning of the 19th century. The use of vegetable oils was allowed even during the most strict multi-day fasts, so its second "folk" name is vegetable oil. Hemp oil is a fatty vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the hemp plant, usually by pressing, it has excellent nourishing, protective and regenerating properties. Unfortunately, in our time, hemp is perceived as a narcotic plant and is prohibited from cultivation. Linseed oil was not inferior to hemp oil and has always been one of the most valuable and important food products. Flaxseed oil is both food, medicine and cosmetics. But if linseed oil has a specific smell, then pumpkin and cedar are among the most delicious. Rosehip and walnut oils were often used for medical purposes. Butter of animal origin in Russia was churned from cream, sour cream and whole milk. The most common way to make butter was to melt sour cream or cream in a Russian oven. The separated oily mass was cooled and knocked down with wooden whorls, spatulas, spoons, and often with hands. The finished oil was washed in cold water. Since fresh butter could not be stored for a long time, the peasants melted it in the oven, getting ghee.

Why did they say in Russia - "Without salt, without bread - half a meal"?
Bread was constantly lying on the table in the Russian house, and there was a salt shaker nearby, salt was a kind of amulet, because our ancestors believed that salt protected from hostile forces. In the old days, when subsistence farming dominated, salt was Eastern Slavs almost the only purchased product. Salt was very expensive, and it was protected. This explains the widespread sign that spilling salt is not good - punishment will follow. A loaf of bread and a salt shaker with salt decorated the wedding table, it was given as a housewarming gift, they came to a newborn child with it, as if with a blessing, and when a traveler and dear guest set off on the road, they offered bread - salt, with a wish for wealth and prosperity, thereby expressing your disposition towards them. A long time ago, the word "loaf" was pronounced and written as "cow". A long time ago, people, in order to appease the Gods, sacrificed domestic animals (cows), but life did not allow parting with the cow nurse. It was then that they began to sculpt cows from dough, and later - bread with horns, which was called "Korovai". Since the main grain crop was rye, they baked mainly rye bread. In Russia, since ancient times, rye bread has been a staple food, it was kneaded on natural sourdough and was of three varieties: 1) fur, or chaff, from poorly sifted rye and wholemeal flour; 2) reshot from rye flour, sifted through a very rare sieve (sieve); 3) sifted from rye flour, sifted through an ordinary fine sieve. But where wheat was sown, white bread was also baked. The best was considered "brick" - bread baked from well-sifted wheat flour. The grinding of flour, the thoroughness of its sifting determined the taste of bread.

“A good porridge, but a small cup” - they loved porridge in Russia, and from what cereals were they prepared?
Rye, oats, wheat, barley, millet, and buckwheat have been cultivated in our country since medieval antiquity. Today, in our country, the following types of cereals are produced from these cereals: from buckwheat - kernel and prodel; from millet - polished millet; from oats - cereals: not crushed, flattened, flakes and oatmeal; from barley - barley and barley groats; semolina is produced from durum wheat during grinding. For a long time our ancestors borrowed the skills of making flour, mastered the "secrets" of baking various products from fermented dough. That is why pies, pies, pancakes, pies, kulebyaks, pancakes, pancakes, etc. are essential in the food of our ancestors. Many of these products have long become traditional for holiday tables: kurniki - at weddings, pies, pancakes - for Shrovetide, "larks" from dough - on spring holidays, etc. Dishes from all kinds of cereals are no less typical for Russian traditional cuisine: various cereals, krupeniks, oatmeal kissels, casseroles. In the more northern parts of our country, dishes made from millet are of particular importance. Millet served as a raw material for making flour, cereals, brewing beer, kvass, making soups and sweet dishes. This folk tradition continues to this day. Porridge was everyday food and three main types - crumbly, viscous and liquid; milk, fat, butter, eggs, mushrooms, etc. were added to it. There are more than twenty of them in Russia: plain buckwheat, buckwheat with peas, millet, oatmeal, wheat, carrot, turnip, pea, etc. Kutya was a special dish in Russia; it was prepared from wheat grains with the addition of honey.

What vegetable crops were cultivated in Russia?
Not only grain crops were cultivated by our ancestors. From antiquity, through the centuries, crops such as cabbage, beets, turnips, swede, pumpkin, carrots, peas have come down to our days and have become the main crops in our garden. The most widely used in Russia was sauerkraut, which could be preserved until the next harvest. Cabbage served as an indispensable snack, seasoning for various dishes. cabbage soup from various kinds cabbages are a well-deserved pride of our national cuisine, although they were prepared in ancient Rome, where a lot of cabbage was specially grown. just many vegetable plants and recipes "migrated" from Ancient Rome through Byzantium to Russia after the adoption of Christianity in Russia. Turnip in Russia until the end of XVIII - early XIX centuries was as important as the potato is today. Turnips were used everywhere and many dishes were prepared from turnips, stuffed, boiled, steamed. Turnips were used as a filling for pies, kvass was made from it. The turnip contains in its composition very valuable biochemical sulfur compounds, which, when eaten regularly, are excellent immunostimulants. Later, turnips began to fall into disuse, but potatoes and a proverb appeared - “Potatoes help bread”, tomatoes and cucumbers began to be cultivated. Pumpkin appeared in Russia in the 17th century and immediately became popular with peasants due to its productivity, unpretentiousness, usefulness and ability to long-term storage. Beets were considered an exceptionally medicinal product; from early spring to late autumn, both root crops and tops of the plant were eaten.

“When it’s hot in the oven, then it’s boiling” - how is the Russian oven arranged?
The Russians have already in ancient times appeared and firmly entered the life of the so-called "Russian stove". A good stove is the pride of the owner, the holy of holies at home. The fire burning in the furnace gave light and heat, food was cooked on it. This unique building played the role of a kind of life center for the family. Russian stoves have always been placed on the "guardian". This is a small log house in three - four crowns of round logs. On top of it, they arranged a horizontal “roll-up”, which was covered with sand and smeared with a thick layer of clay. This clay served as the "hearth" for the furnace. The tong, the poker, the scoop were kept in the “under-furnace”, it was believed that the brownie lives there. The stove was made of stone (brick), and covered with clay on top, it had to keep heat as long as possible, and require as little firewood as possible. The shape of the pottery in which food was cooked (the so-called “Slavic pots” is also connected with the design of the oven. The fact is that in this oven the dishes are heated from the sides and therefore must have a large side surface. In addition, the shape of the pots the best way adapted for grips. The furnace was almost cubic in size: length 1.8-2 m, width 1.6-1.8 m, height 1.7 m. The upper part of the furnace was made wide and flat, comfortable for lying. Inner space furnaces - "furnace", "crucible" - were made large: 1.2-1.4 m high, up to 1.5 m wide, with a vaulted ceiling and a flat bottom - "hearth". A rectangular hole in the front of the furnace - "brow", "mouth" - was tightly closed with a large "flap" to prevent heat loss. A platform was arranged in front of the mouth - a wide board - a “pole”, utensils were placed on it in order to push it into the oven with a grip. To the right and left of the hearth were "ash pans", where hot coals were stored for a year.

“One day - a year feeds” - why was the timing of the cultivation of the land important for the farmer?
Peasants lived surrounded by beautiful but harsh nature. Their life depended on drought and rain, the number of workers in the family, the safety of the harvest. Farming is gradually becoming their main occupation. First, a section of the forest was cut down in winter. In the spring it was burned out, the ash served as fertilizer. After that, they loosened with a hoe, mixing the ashes with the ground, and then the field was sown. In most of Russia, the main arable tool was the "plow" or "plow", along with the plow, the "roe deer" was known, which was used to raise novi (uncultivated soil). To loosen the land after plowing, mixing the layers and removing weeds, "harrows - knots" were used (this was the name of a large branch of a tree with branches that were not completely cut off). For sowing grain, flax and hemp seeds throughout Russia, baskets were used - "sewers", for harvesting - "sickles", they were the most common tool for harvesting grain, for threshing grain crops - "flails", for threshing flax and hemp - "rollers ”, for winnowing - “shovels”, for processing grain into flour at home - “millstones”. The peasants sowed millet, wheat, barley, oats, rye, buckwheat, hemp, flax, less often beans and peas. The Slavs called bread "zhit" (from the word "live"), because they could not live without it: it was the main food product. Each village had its own experts who determined the timing of agricultural work. The peasant determined the necessary moment of “ripeness” of the land for plowing according to the centuries-old experience of his ancestors: he took the earth in a handful and tightly clenched it in his fist, released it. If a lump crumbled when falling, then the earth is ready for sowing, if it fell in a lump, it has not yet ripened (i.e., it has not dried out). In June, haymaking began, in July and August - a difficult time for harvesting grain.

Where did the proverb come from: “You sow flax and you reap gold”?
From ancient times in Russia, flax was cultivated, which fed and clothed people, our ancestors said with respect about it: "You sow flax, and you reap gold." For processing flax stalks into fiber, from fiber into thread, “crushers”, “ruffles”, “combs”, “roller”, “spinning wheels”, “self-spinning wheels”, “spindles” were used. The spinning wheel was a necessary subject of peasant use: it was a tool of labor, a decoration for a hut, and a wedding gift. For centuries, the technology of growing and processing flax has remained unchanged. Ripe flax is pulled, that is, pulled out of the ground, and along with the roots. Then it is dried, freed from seed heads (combed), threshed, soaked, which makes it possible to separate the fiber from the woody part of the stem, crumpled and shaken. The tattered flax is combed and a twisted thin ribbon is obtained - a roving. From it, on long winter evenings, women spun linen yarn - they twisted flax fibers into a thread on spindles or spinning wheels. During spinning, the fingers of the left hand had to be moistened to give the thread a "fortress". Spinning is a rather complicated and monotonous work, so that it would be more fun to work, the girls gathered in a hut, sang and talked there, but did not forget about work either. Everyone tried to work as best as possible, because by what kind of thread they get, they will judge the skill of the girl. Having received enough threads, they were used to make fabric on a handloom. Linen was grown in Russia not only in order to obtain from it linen fabric, which is very valuable in its properties. It is known that in ancient Russia, delicious bread and cakes were baked from flaxseed flour, obtained from ground flax seeds, and linseed oil was added to food on fasting days.

What material was used to make dishes in Russia?
The peasants did everything necessary for the household themselves. Dishes were made from tree bark (cups, bowls, buckets, barrels), carved from wood (spoons, cups, basins), molded from clay, then fired in a furnace. Dishes of the same purpose, but made of different materials, were called differently: a vessel made of clay - "pot", made of cast iron - "cast iron", made of copper - "copper". Clay pots and jugs served people for a very long time for cooking. Pots were made in a variety of sizes. The main advantage of the pot was its strength. On the farm, pots were valued and taken care of. If the pot cracked, it was braided with birch bark ribbons and cereals were stored in it. Later, the pot was replaced by cast iron - tinned metal vessels, they retained the shape of the pot. Over the centuries, a huge variety of products made of wood, clay, and metal have been created. Among them there were many truly artistic creations, when a household object, without losing its utilitarian qualities, at the same time became a work of a high aesthetic level. It is hard to imagine a peasant house without numerous utensils accumulated over decades. “Utensils” are utensils for preparing, preparing and storing food, serving it to the table - pots, patches, pelvises, krinks, bowls, dishes, valleys, ladles, korchiki (they drank honey, kvass, beer from them), etc. .; all kinds of containers for picking berries and mushrooms - baskets, bodies, tuesa, etc .; various chests, caskets, caskets for storing household items, clothes and cosmetic accessories; items for kindling a fire and interior lighting at home - fire flint, lights, candlesticks and much more.

“Only bast shoes are woven on both legs, and mittens are discord” - what and how did they dress in Russia?
The work of Russian craftsmen served the most different sides peasant life, including the manufacture of clothing and footwear. For the peasants, the main clothing was the "shirt", both for men and women. It was believed that everything vulnerabilities the human body had to be covered. Everyone had shirts everyday and festive. Everyday clothes were only sewn along the seam and edges with red thread to block the way for evil. Festive shirts were richly decorated with embroidery. It was believed that with the language of the pattern, a person conveys his requests to God. In different regions of Russia, a “poneva” or “sarafan”, an “apron” or a “soul warmer” were worn on a shirt, they were decorated in every possible way. The Russian headdress has always been an important part of the costume. The girls wore "ribbons", and married women covered their heads with a scarf or hid them under the kokoshnik, which different places It was called differently: kika, duckweed, heel. Men wore wide trousers - "ports" and "shirt-shirts". All clothes were girded with a "sash". They wore a cap on their heads. In winter and summer, the peasants put on "bast shoes" on their feet. They were woven from the inside of lime or birch bark - bast. Bast shoes were usually worn on canvas (in summer), woolen or cloth (in winter) windings (“onuchi”). Onuchi were fastened on the leg with “ruffs” - leather or hemp ropes, they were attached to the bast shoes, wrapped around the leg and tied under the knee. Bast shoes were woven without distinction between the right and left legs. Everyday bast shoes without additional devices had a shelf life of three to ten days. Bast weaving was mainly done by old people. good master could weave two pairs of bast shoes in a day.

Litvinova Elena Evgenievna

Scientific and practical conference

Research

Topic: "History of Russian wooden hut»

I've done the work :

Student 2 "A" class

GBOU secondary school No. 814 SP No. 2

Shumsky Artemy

Supervisor :

Bakshenova Alla Evgenievna

Moscow, 2015

  1. Introduction
  2. Main part
  3. Conclusion
  4. Appendix

Introduction

At American Indians There is a saying: “God taught all birds the same way to build nests, but nests are different for all birds.” It is the same with people: all people build houses, but each people does it in its own way. At various peoples developed their own specific traditions of building a dwelling, such as a yurt, chum, wigwam, igloo, saklya and others. Houses can tell a lot about the people who built them. How they lived, what they believed in, what they hoped for, what they loved, and what they feared.

In such a forested country as Russia, houses have been built of wood for centuries. And for me there is no home in the world more beautiful than an ordinary Russian hut! However, what is she like? After all, a real Russian hut, even the smallest one, is a huge world, a whole cosmos in which every object has its own meaning and benefits. The Russian people managed to raise the architecture of a simple peasant hut to the level of world masterpieces. A chopped hut stands in front of us, glowing in the sun. And how much beauty and poetry is in it, how talentedly everything is thought up and cunningly done!

I myself wanted to find out how they built in Russia, what a Russian hut was like, to visit it, to feel its spirit, and also to try myself as a builder, creating a model of a Russian hut.

The relevance of research

I believe that it is necessary to know the history of your people, their way of life and traditions, as this is a part of our history that should not be forgotten. And what better way to tell about the Russian people and their way of life than their house, and especially the Russian hut. It is interesting that even today, many people who have the ability to build stone two and three-story mansions prefer to build wooden ones. And the reason for this is not so much the advantage of wood over other building materials, but the beauty and mystery of the Russian hut. Therefore, I consider the study of this topic interesting and relevant.

Object of study:the history of the Russian wooden hut, the features of its construction and arrangement.

Target: learn to independently acquire knowledge about the history of the Russian hut, the features of its construction and arrangement; develop an interest in the past and present of their country.

Hypothesis: Russian hut is a symbol of Russian national culture.

Tasks:

1. to analyze the scientific literature and Internet resources on the research topic;

2. to reveal the traditions of construction and arrangement of the Russian hut;

3. visit the museum of the Russian hut;

4. using the knowledge gained during the study, make a crossword puzzle on the topic of the Russian hut;

5. to conduct a study among the students of the class on the subject of knowledge of the material about the Russian hut by offering to answer the questions that I compiled a crossword puzzle;

6. complete the layout of the Russian hut.

Research method: study of literature and Internet resources; visiting the museum and excursions; compiling a crossword; creation of a model of a Russian hut; conducting a survey among students; preparation of research work and presentation at the conference.

Practical significance.

The results of the study on this topic will contribute to the revival of interest in historical knowledge, familiarization with the sources of culture of their people, involving people in research activities. It will also allow you to open the way to further knowledge of the richness of human culture, people's ideas about nature, art, work, the beauty of human relationships.

Main part

Izba is a wooden log house, which was the most common dwelling of a Russian peasant, mainly in rural areas. The word "hut" comes from the ancient Slavic "ista". "Istba" or "firebox" in the annals was called a heated residential log house, that is, a house with a stove, and if there was no stove, then this building was called a "cage".

Only the hut did not immediately become like that. Initially (until the 10th century) century, it was not much different from a dugout, and it was built like this: a person would dig a hole, surround it from above with three rows (or, as they used to say, crowns) of thick logs, roll the same logs instead of a roof and sprinkle all this building with earth to keep warm. There was not even a normal door at the hut, but there was a manhole - an inlet a meter high, covered from the winds by a canopy-curtain. The floor in such huts was earthen. He was simply sprinkled with water and trampled down. And right on it they placed a hearth made of stones to warm themselves and cook food. The head of the family slept in a place of honor by the hearth, the woman and children to the right of the entrance. Directly at the entrance housed livestock. It was smoky in such a house, because there were no windows or a chimney. This structure persisted for a long time. Over time, the hut was improved, first receiving windows in the form of holes in the side wall for the exit of smoke, which were sometimes tightened with a bull's bladder, and then a stove.

When the first stoves appeared in the dwellings, the huts began to be built higher, already above the ground. But the smoke from the stove still went inside the house. Such huts were called black or chicken. "Smoking" meant "to kindle a fire, drown." And they were called black because they were black with soot. This method of burning was called "burning in black". During the heating of the furnace in such a hut it was smoky and cold. The people who were here at that time were forced to sit on the floor or go outside, as the smoke ate their eyes, climbed into the larynx and nose. Smoke rose up and hung there in a dense blue layer. But when a chimney appeared in the huts - a hole in the roof for smoke to escape, the amount of soot immediately decreased. To prevent the heat from escaping and the smoke to ventilate, the windows in the black huts were tiny. And such a hut was illuminated at night with a torch - a thin long sliver of dry wood. However, people in those days tried to lie down after dark.

Chicken huts existed in the Russian village until the beginning of the 20th century. They began to be actively replaced by white huts in the villages European Russia from the middle of the 19th century, and in Siberia - even earlier, from the end of the 18th century. Such huts were heated in white, that is, they had a real Russian stove with a chimney above the roof. The simplest white hut with four walls is a four-wall (or four-wall). Later, they began to build five-walls, divided by an internal transverse wall into two unequal parts: a hut (room) and a canopy (a non-residential and unheated room) and six-walls, in which the residential warm part consisted of two or three rooms, divided by chopped log walls into parts. It is the “white” six-walled hut that is the “classic” Russian hut, the crown of its development.

Families then were large and relatives lived all together in one house, where, in addition to parents, children, grandparents, uncles and aunts could also live. Half of the whole house was occupied by the residential part, and the rest was allocated for various household needs. The floor here was no longer earthen, but made of thick unpainted boards, raised to a height of one to one and a half meters. Everything that was under the floor of the living quarters was called the underground. To get there from the room, it was necessary to lift a heavy wooden hatch. Stored underground were stocks of potatoes, carrots and other vegetables, as well as barrels of sauerkraut, pickles and pickled apples. The second half of the house was separated by a room, which was called "cold canopy" - a kind of entrance hall about 2 m wide. Sometimes, however, the vestibule was significantly expanded and arranged in them as a barn for cattle. They used the canopy in a different way. They kept property in the spacious, tidy hallways, made something in bad weather, and in the summer they could, for example, put guests to sleep there. Behind the passage was a barn where cows, horses, pigs, goats and chickens lived. Each cattle was in its own corner, that is, a corner. Various outbuildings adjoined the main hut, so that such a hut was actually not just a house, but a whole household.

Building a house for a peasant has always been a significant event. At the same time, it was important for him not only to provide a roof over his head for himself and his family, but also to organize the living space in such a way that it was filled with the blessings of life, warmth, love and peace. Such a dwelling can be built, according to the peasants, only following the traditions of their ancestors, deviations from the precepts of the fathers could be minimal.

When building a new house, great importance was attached to the choice of location. They chose a place closer to the water and the forest, so that it would be convenient for farming, hunting and fishing. It should be high, light, dry. To check if the place was dry, they put yarn, covered it with a frying pan, then checked if the yarn was not wet, then the place was dry. The construction of the house was accompanied by many rituals. The beginning of construction was marked by the ritual of sacrificing a chicken or a ram. It was held during the laying of the first crown of the hut. Under the logs of the first crown, they put money, wool, grain - symbols of wealth and happy life, incense - a symbol of the holiness of the house. The completion of construction was marked by a rich treat for all those involved in the work. And the whole village helped the peasant to build a house. They didn’t pay for the work, but they fed, it was impossible, then they refused to help when someone else was building.

They cut down the huts with an axe. And the walls of the hut were called simply - a log house. The ax was the main tool in the economy. Of course, there was also a saw in the house. And although cutting down a tree was much easier than cutting it down, the hut was built only from cut logs. Because the saw breaks wood fibers during operation, and such cuts easily absorb moisture, which is why the log soon begins to rot. And the ax of the fiber crushes and, as it were, seals. For the same reason, nails are never used in the construction of huts. In order for the logs to fit snugly together, a longitudinal recess is made in one of them, where the convex side of the other log is inserted. And the grooves between the logs are caulked (that is, clogged) with swamp moss, which is very useful and even has healing properties(heals wounds). In general, the hut consists only of natural and useful materials with extraordinary properties. After all, the tree knows how to maintain the desired humidity in the house: when it is too humid, the tree absorbs moisture, when it is dry, it gives it away. If a hut is built from pine, then before cutting down a tree, in the spring, narrow strips are made on it, carefully removing the bark from the very top to the bottom with an ax, and left until winter. After that, the pine begins to secrete a thick resin, and when the time comes to cut down the tree, the entire trunk will already be tarred and the tree will last longer.

The usual roof of Russian houses was wooden, hewn or made of shreds. It was also customary to cover the top of the roof with birch bark from dampness; this gave her a variegation; and sometimes earth and turf were laid on the roof to protect against fire. Tes was called thin boards. To get such, the log was first split in half, and then hewed with an ax. Tes is an expensive coating, for which it was necessary to find logs without knots. Only wealthy peasants could afford such a roof. The poor, on the other hand, covered their houses with straw. Straw on the roof was stacked in rows, starting from the bottom. Each row was tied to the base of the roof with a bast. Then the straw was "combed" with a rake and watered with liquid clay for strength. And such a roof could serve its owners for half a century.

The top of the roof was pressed down with a heavy log called okhlupen, the front end of which had the shape of a horse's head. This is where the name skate comes from. It was carved from a huge rhizome of a tree. Up to the present day, the tradition has been preserved to give okhlupny the appearance of a horse. In ancient times, this sculpture had meaning and was considered a talisman of the house.
"The horse on the roof is quieter in the hut," says a popular proverb.
What a horse means for a Russian peasant is unnecessary to say. He accompanied him throughout his life, was faithful assistant both in work and in battle.

Almost the entire facade of the peasant house was decorated with carvings. Carvings were made on shutters, window casings, and edges of porch awnings. It was believed that the images of animals, birds, ornament protect housing from evil spirits.

If we enter a peasant's hut, we will definitely stumble. Why? It turns out that the door hung on forged hinges had a low lintel at the top and a high threshold at the bottom. It was on him that the incoming stumbled. They kept warm and tried not to let him out in this way. The threshold in everyday life was realized not only as an obstacle to the penetration of cold air, but also as a border between the worlds. At the entrance to someone else's house, it was supposed to stop at the threshold and read a short prayer and bow to the hosts as a sign of respect. In Russian villages, there were many customs of cleaning doors. On the feast of Epiphany, for example, doors were sprinkled everywhere with Epiphany illuminated water, crosses were drawn on them with charcoal, nailed to doorjamb or on the threshold a horseshoe, a knife or a fragment of a scythe accidentally found.

The central place in the house was occupied by the stove. Our ancestors even had such an expression in everyday life - "dance from the stove." They said so because during the construction of the hut they immediately decided the most important question: where to fold the oven. Everything else was placed depending on the location of the stove. Everyone in the peasant family loved the stove. After all, she warmed, and fed, and shone, and washed, and dried, and even healed. They did not put the stove directly on the floor, but made a massive frame for it - guardianship. The stove itself was placed on the flooring of the guardianship, and an empty place was left under the flooring - the understove. They kept tongs, pokers to stir firewood in the stove, stove shovels and other utensils. And chickens were allowed into the lower part of the oven in winter, so that it would better lay eggs in the warmth. Inside the furnace there was a firebox (or crucible) - where firewood burned, which was so large that an adult could easily fit in it. But why did he have to climb into the oven? And to take a steam bath, because the stove is also an excellent bathhouse, the steam in which heals from many diseases. Ashes and coals were raked out of the heated stove, and then sick people were carefully planted there on wide shovels so that they would warm up and recover in such a bathhouse. And instead of soap, stove ash served, which was also added to various ointments and decoctions. The oven is also an excellent dryer: it dries felt boots and mittens, as well as mushrooms, berries, and small fish. She is also a washing machine. In a large cast-iron pot filled with water, women put their laundry, put a bag of ashes in the same place and put it in the oven. It is surprising that the ash is dark gray, almost black, and the laundry from such boiling became white-white and also durable. And the stove also predicted the weather: if the firewood in the stove burned with a bang - to frost, with a buzzing noise - to a snowstorm.

Old people or children usually slept on the stove. But the mistress of the house spent most of her time near the stove. The corner near the mouth of the furnace was called that - a woman's kut, that is, a female corner. Here the hostess cooked food, there was a cupboard for storing kitchen utensils - a crockery. The other corner - near the door and opposite the window - was for men. There was a shop where the owner worked and sometimes slept. Peasant goods were kept under the bench. And on the wall hung a harness, clothes and accessories for work. This corner, like the bench that stood here, was called a konik: patterns were made on the bench in the form of a horse's head.

The main place of any peasant house was a red corner: a special shelf with icons hung here - a goddess, on which holy water was stored, illuminated willows, Easter egg and the Bible. The goddess was decorated with embroidered towels - towels. This place of honor in a peasant's hut was always located diagonally from the stove. A person entering the hut would always look into this corner, take off his hat, cross himself and bow low to the icons. And then he said hello. Peasants loved and revered icons: they were carefully kept and passed down from generation to generation. Lampadas were lit at the icons - special small vessels with oil. In the red corner, under the icons, there was a large dining table, which on holidays was covered with an embroidered tablecloth. In general, the table was conceived as an analogue of the temple throne. The tabletop was revered by the "God's hand" that gives bread. Therefore, knocking on the table at which they eat was considered a sin.

A very important rustic furniture is a shop. There were many of them in the house, and they were all different and played their role. Some were built right into the walls of the house, and there were also portable ones. They were called benches. They were assigned to fixed benches in order to make a wider bed for the night. After all, they slept in the hut, too, on the benches. The father of the family usually slept on a bench called "konik" (a diminutive of the word horse). The sidewall of this shop was decorated with a silhouette of a horse's head carved from a board. Koniks (or koiniks) were boxes or benches for storing horse harnesses, fishing accessories and various tools. From the word "koinik" subsequently came the well-known word "bed" - a bed. There was also a long women's shop in the hut, which was located along the wall with windows. Both women and grandmothers, and even girls, who started spinning yarn from the age of six, sat on it for needlework. The bench for guests was called red. But the “poor” shop, located at the door or at the gate, got its name because either a traveler could sit on it to rest or refresh. There was also a china shop. They didn’t sit on it, but put everyday dishes and cooked food, so she was above everyone else. Near the stove there was a kutno shop, there were buckets of water.

If you stand in the middle of the hut and look up, then we will see a beam that serves as the basis for the ceiling - the mother. It was believed that the uterus is a support for the top of the dwelling, so the process of laying the mat is one of the key moments in building a house, accompanied by the shedding of grains and hops, prayer, and treats for carpenters. Matice was credited with the role of a symbolic border between the inside of the hut and the outside, associated with the entrance and exit. The guest, entering the house, sat down on a bench and could not go behind the mat without the invitation of the owners, setting off, he should hold on to the mat so that the road was happy, and in order to protect the hut from bedbugs, cockroaches and fleas, they tucked under the mat what was found from the harrow tooth. When a baby was born in the house, an elegant cradle was hung from the mother for the newborn. The mother tied some rope to her, and if the child suddenly began to cry, it was possible to pull on it and shake the cradle.

The peasant hut was distinguished by cleanliness: cleaning was done regularly, curtains and towels were changed frequently. Next to the stove in the hut there was always a washstand - an earthenware jug with two spouts: on the one hand, water was poured, on the other, it was poured out. Dirty water was collected in a tub - a special wooden bucket. Water was also carried in wooden buckets on a yoke.

In the Russian hut, almost everything was done by the hands of the peasants themselves. The furniture was home-made, wooden, of a simple design. Goods were kept in chests, so in several places they were upholstered with iron strips and locked with locks. The more chests there were in the house, the richer the peasant family was considered. Household utensils, that is, household items such as pots, milk jugs, boxes with lids, baskets woven from wicker, barrels and baskets, as well as beautifully painted wooden spoons, were also mostly handmade. On long winter evenings, bowls and spoons were cut out, ladles were hollowed out, weaving, embroidering, weaving bast shoes, tuesas and baskets. And although the decoration of the Russian hut did not differ in the variety of furniture: a table, benches, benches, chests - everything was done carefully, with love and was not only useful, but also beautiful, pleasing to the eye. Centuries passed, and the peasant hut with its simple household utensils was passed down from generation to generation without changing. The new generation only gained more experience and skill in making products and building houses.

Conclusion

Studying the theme of the Russian hut, you understand that a house is not only a residential building, but a house is both a homeland and a family.A person builds and equips his home, likening it to the world order, therefore every corner, every detail is filled with meaning, demonstrates the relationship of a person with the world around him.Observance of customs, rituals, will be accepted during the construction of a house, as well as in the interior decoration of a house - this is the inner world of a person, his worldview. In a person's life, the house is of great importance. A person's life began from the house, life ended at home when he said goodbye to his native home forever. The beauty of the Russian peasant hut lies in the feeling of the warmth of human hands, the love of a person for his home.

Bibliography

1. Tereshchenko A. Life of the Russian people. M., 1997.

2. Aleksandrova L.A. Wooden architecture of Russia. Moscow: Bely Gorod 2003.

3. Ulybasheva M. Russian hut from stove to bench. Moscow, 2015.

4. Rapoport P.A. Architecture of Ancient Russia. L., 1988.

5. Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language. - M.: Russian language, 1977.

6. Electronic world encyclopedia "Wikipedia".


Appendix

CROSSWORD

1 . Hanging boards with carved ornaments covering the endslog cabin and roof edges(Prichelina).

2 . The material used to cover the roofs of poor peasants(Straw).

3. The main tool in the economy, which was used to cut huts(Axe).

4 . Couch, arranged between the wall of the hut and the Russian stove, on which the children slept(Pay).

5. Tall earthenware vessel for milk(Krynka).

6 . Log on the ceiling, a kind of boundary between the outer and internal parts Houses(Matiz).

7. A household item, a tool for making threads, on which women and girls worked from the age of five(Spinning wheel).

8. A wooden beam through which they stepped and bowed when they entered the hut(Threshold).

9 . A thin long sliver of dry wood, intended for kindling a stove or for lighting a hut(Lucina).

10. Storage capacity for household items, jewelry and other valuables(Box).

11 . Unheated and non-residential premises located between the residential part of the house and the porch(Seni).

12. Structural element of the roof of the hut, its uppermost part, made in the form of an animal head(Horse).

13 . Clean room in a peasant's hut(Upper).

14 . Furniture on legs with a narrow seat that could be moved and placed in different parts of the house(Bench).

15. The object that hung in every house in the red corner(Icon).

16 . What did people wash in ancient Russia before the invention of soap(Ash).

17 . Wooden house, the walls of which are assembled from chopped logs(Srub).

18 . A generally accepted order, a habitual way of doing something, passed down from generation to generation.(Custom).

The interior of Russian huts is mostly very similar and includes a number of elements that can be found in any home. If we talk about the device of the hut, then it consists of:

  • 1-2 living quarters
  • upper room
  • lumber room
  • terrace

The first thing a guest came across when entering the house was the canopy. This is a kind of zone between the heated room and the street. All the cold lingered in the hallway and did not enter the main room. The canopy was used by the Slavs for economic purposes. In this room they kept a yoke and other things. Located in the hallway lumber room. This is a room that was separated from the hallway by a partition. It housed a chest with flour, eggs and other products..

The heated room and the vestibule were separated by a door and a high threshold. Such a threshold was made so that it was more difficult for cold air to penetrate into a warm room. In addition, there was a tradition the guest, entering the room, had to bow, greet the hosts and the brownie. The high threshold just "forced" the guests to bow, entering the main part of the house. Since the entrance without bowing ensured hitting the head on the jamb. With the advent of Christianity in Russia, the bow to the brownie and the owners was supplemented by the overshadowing of oneself sign of the cross and a bow to the icons in the red corner.

Stepping over the threshold, the guest entered the main room of the hut. The first thing that caught my eye was the stove. It was located immediately to the left or right of the door. The Russian stove is the main element of the hut. The absence of a furnace indicates that the building is non-residential. And the Russian hut got its name precisely because of the stove, which allows you to heat the room. Another important feature of this device is cooking food. Still no more useful way cooking than in the oven. Currently, there are various double boilers that allow you to save a maximum of useful elements in food. But all this is not comparable to cooked food from the oven. There are many beliefs associated with the oven. For example, it was believed that it was a favorite vacation spot for brownies. Or, when a child lost a milk tooth, he was taught to throw the tooth under the stove and say:

"Mouse, mouse, you have a burdock tooth, and you give me a bone tooth"

It was also believed that garbage from the house should be burned in a furnace so that the energy does not go outside, but remains inside the room.

Red corner in a Russian hut


The red corner is an integral part of the interior decoration of the Russian hut
. It was located diagonally from the stove (most often this place fell on the eastern part of the house - a note to those who do not know where to set the red corner in a modern home). It was a sacred place where there were towels, icons, faces of ancestors and divine books. A necessary part of the red corner was the table. It was in this corner that our ancestors ate food. The table was considered a kind of altar, on which there was always bread:

"Bread on the table, so the table is the throne, but not a piece of bread - so is the table board"

Therefore, even today, tradition does not allow sitting on the table. And leaving knives and spoons is considered a bad omen. Until today, another belief associated with the table has survived: young people were forbidden to sit on the corner of the table in order to avoid the fate of celibacy.

Shop with a chest in the hut

Everyday household items in a Russian hut played their role. A hiding place or chest for clothes was important elements Houses. Skrynya was inherited from mother to daughter. It included the dowry of the girl, which she received after marriage. This element of the interior of the Russian hut was located most often next to the stove.

Benches were also an important element of the interior of the Russian hut. Conventionally, they were divided into several types:

  • long - differs from the rest in length. It was considered a women's place where they did embroidery, knitting, etc.
  • short - during the meal, men sat on it.
  • kutnaya - was installed near the furnace. Buckets of water, shelves for dishes, pots were placed on it.
  • threshold - went along the wall where the door is located. Used as a kitchen table.
  • judgment - a shop higher than others. Designed to store shelves with dishes and pots.
  • Konik - a square-shaped men's shop with a carved horse's head on the side. It was located next to the door. On it, men were engaged in small crafts, so tools were stored under the bench.
  • "beggar" was also located at the door. Any guest who entered the hut without the permission of the owners could sit on it. This is due to the fact that the guest cannot enter the hut further than the mother (a log that serves as the basis for the ceiling). Visually, the matrix looks like a protruding log across the main stacked boards on the ceiling.

The upper room is another living space in the hut. Wealthy peasants had it, because not everyone could afford such a room. The chamber was most often arranged on the second floor.Hence its name gornitsa - "mountain". In it was another oven called dutch. This is a round stove. In many village houses they are still standing, being an ornament. Although even today you can find huts that are heated by these old appliances.

Enough has already been said about the stove. But it is impossible not to mention the tools that were used in working with Russian stoves. Poker is the most famous item. It is an iron rod with a bent end. A poker was used to stir and rake coals. Pomelo was used to clean the stove from coals..

With the help of a fork, it was possible to drag or move pots and cast iron. It was a metal arc that made it possible to grab the pot and carry it from place to place. The grip made it possible to put the cast iron in the oven without fear of getting burned..

Another item used in working with the stove is bread shovel. With it, the bread is placed in the oven and pulled out after cooking. And here is the word chaplya"Not many people know. This tool is called a frying pan in another way. It was used to grab a frying pan.

Cradle in Russia had various forms. There were hollowed out, and wicker, and hanging, and "roly-poly" ones. Their names were surprisingly varied: cradle, unsteady, coliche, rocking chairs, lullaby. But a number of traditions are associated with the cradle, which remained unchanged. For example, it was considered necessary to place the cradle in the place where the baby could watch the dawn. Rocking an empty cradle was considered bad luck. We believe in these and many other beliefs to this day. After all, all the traditions of the ancestors were based on their personal experience, which the new generation adopted from their ancestors.