The River Terminal in the Historic Architectural Complex of Nizhny Novgorod

Abstract

The authors focus on the evolution of architectural appearance of the Nizhny Novgorod River Terminal. The building on the spit of the Volga and Oka rivers attracts the attention of guests of the Volga region capital. The River Terminal is an adornment of the Nizhne-Volzhskaya embankment and one of the symbols of Nizhny Novgorod. The topic of the presented article is most relevant in connection with the recent 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod. Our goal is to consider the evolution of architectural appearance of the Nizhny Novgorod River Terminal and also the transformations of its composition in the context of historical development. The main source base of the article is technical documentation, which is stored in the State Archive of Special Documentation of the Nizhny Novgorod Region (GASDNO) and is being introduced into scientific use for the first time. The authors express their gratitude to O. A. Ukhlina, the chief methodologist of the department for the use of documents and information work of the GASDNO. Another valuable source is materials of the periodical press. Undoubtedly, the topic is interdisciplinary. Presently, scientific works consider the Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) River Terminal mainly from a technical and architectural position. This circumstance determines the scientific novelty of the article. The chronological framework covers the 1930s-2000s. In the years of the first five-year plans, when the city of Gorky became a major industrial center of the country, its need for development of water transport and river infrastructure increased significantly. In the 1930s architect P. Saburov developed the first draft of the River Terminal building, which remained unrealized. During the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period, there was no terminal in Gorky, and only after the end of the restoration period, in the 1950s, the task to carry out the design of the terminal was set anew. The team of the Leningrad Design Institute for River Transport headed by M.I. Churilin and L.S. Smirnova developed the new project, permitting the construction to begin in 1959. Externally, the station reminds a ship, as its main facades are elongated along the river and the street, and it rises along its central axis in stepped volumes. Since its opening in 1964, the River Terminal has received thousands of passengers per year and Gorky has become a major tourist center. In 1987, the River Terminal was seriously damaged by fire; in 2003 it was restored upon the project of V. Romanova.