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Chukhloma famous with its wooden architecture is a little pretty provincial town in Kostroma Region. It stays on the beach of the Chukhlomskoye Lake which is sometimes called Chudskoye after the ancient Finno-Ugric people, which lived in this densely wooded country and was called Chud’ by the Russians. But it is not the same lake where the Neva battle with knights Order of the Brothers of the Sword took place in the 13th century. That Chudskoye Lake is situated on the frontier with Estonia. The exotic place names like Edomsha, Vozega, Morega still keep the memory about the Finno-Ugric peoples.
The town of Chukhloma exists since 14th century like a fortress, but its fortune was not easy. The first civil stone building constructed in the town was the office bench built in 1837. But the wooden architecture of Chukhloma is something special. The Chukhloma carpenters and woodworkers were well-known even in Moscow and they were usually invited there for wood works in the Middle ages and later. The streets still are full of the old wooden houses, covered with carving, made by them and their descendants, making the guests of the town wonder. The details and motifs of this carving are very traditional and old. You can see the examples of 18 and 19th centuries. And it is a real reason to come to this place. The window casings of the houses number 9 on the Oktyabrskaya (Galichskaya) Street, the house on the corner of the Gorkogo and Kalinina Streets, the house number 26 on the Gorkogo Street and the house number 11 on the Preobrazhenskaya (Lunacharskogo) Street are especially worth looking at.
The main tourist attraction of Chukhloma is the 17th century ensemble of Avraamiev Gorodetsky monastery. The carved inscription on the southern wall of the Pokrovskaya Church tells that the princess E. V. Dolgorukova, the sister of Mikhail Fedorovich, the first Russian monarch’s of Romanovs dynasty was buried here in 1632.
But even the local public mainly doesn’t know about the wooden carved palaces, built in the late 19 – early 20th century, now lost in the forests not far from Chukhloma. The roads finish in a pair of kilometers from the first palace. If you would like to see them in winter take skis with you, because there are no roads and no people there. Only the lonely villages. One of the palaces is inhabited by an artist, but that is exception. These “palaces” were built in the Russian Revival style and look like decorations for the ballets of Diaghilev Seasons. These townhouses (actually, hey are townhouses) are made of wood by the famous carpenters of Chukhloma, and combine the Classic, Old-Russian, Gothic and Oriental motifs ingeniously and smart. One of such palaces is a part of Ostashevo country estate and even known among the art historians, but nevertheless it is run-down. What a pity that such beautiful buildings are staying deserted and tumbling into ruins…
Getting to the Chukloma is rather easy by car, if it is not too expensive. The best decision would be however an offroad vehicle, because the roads there are terrible and sometimes (especially if you decide to have a look at the run-down villas in the forest) there are absolutely no roads.
If you go by the public transport from Moscow or St. Petersburg, you should go by train to Galich and then take a bus to Chukhloma. The buses following to Viga, Suday and Soligalich also go through Chukhloma. The buses make from 4 to 8 trips a day. But in this case you will have to solve the problem of transportation to the “palaces”, because some of them are rather far from the town of Chukhloma, or be content with taking a view of the town. Have a nice trip!
Yulia Buzykina
