History

In the panorama of its historical centre the dominant feature is presented by the town's oldest building - the Cathedral of the Resurrection (1796-1800). Built in the period of baroque it was characterized by vertically elongated forms. Unfortunately, the posterity could not admire it in all its beauty because the sculptural group got lost and was never returned.

Later the building was turned into the Palace of Culture. To get the structure adjusted to it, the bellfry, drums and domes were disassembled and since then it has no longer been a monument of Russian church architecture.

By the beginning of the 19th century the town had 5 stone mansions that belonged to the merchants. The first dwelling houses made of stone were characterized by an austere and laconic décor. These two-storeyed houses looked alike. The only distinctive trait was an iron-barred balcony. The proprietors of these mansions were K.Galashevsky, Nevezhin, A.Vikulin, Shalapanov and I.Galashevsky. The house of Kozma Galashevsky is easily identified by scale. Little wonder. Being quite active by nature, Kozma owned a linen factory, candleworks and brickworks. He was Vytegra's burgomaster and a member of the Saint Petersburg City Construction Committee.

The Mariinsky Canal began functioning in 1810. It connected St.Petersburg with the central part of Russia. Thus, the role of Vytegra as a staging post gradually diminished. As St.Petersburg developed, the textile mills of Vytegra fell into decay. These changes had an impact on town planning. In the 19th century Vytegra led a quiet life of a provincial town. Since the 1830s timbering and half-timbering have been the most common building style in the town, owing to the high cost of stone. Like other Russian cities and towns Vytegra saw some of its darkest days - it was hit by fire several times. The most part of the town was ruined in 1847.

The second half of the 18th century saw the erection of the Church of the Purification (1869-1873). It was designed by A.Chetvertukhin, a gubernia architect from Olonets. The consecration of it was timed to coincide with 100th anniversary of the town. Its architectural style has a special term in art criticism "Russian-Byzantine" style. Situated on the hilly bank of the Vytegra river, the Church of the Purification dominates the whole town and forms the nucleus of the historical centre. This stately structure attracts the visitor's attention even from a distance.

Since 1918 the Church of the Purification has been home to the Museum of Local Lore. Quite original and distinctive are the collections of early Russian painting and of folk artists. The local traditions of decorative and applied arts have their roots in the hoary past. And the productions of local craftsmen acquired the value of genuine art. Among the exhibits that merit special attention are the icons. Of the earlier works of Russian art to be found in the museum, the icon Trasfiguration is of great interest. As far as the colour range of the icon is concerned, it has something in common with Novgorodian art. At the same time it reveals some points in common with the northern school. The conclusion may be drawn that the icon was painted by a northern master influenced to a certain degree by the Novgorod school of painting.

The museum of local lore also boasts a fine collection of distaffs decorated with fretwork and oil painting, handicrafts made of birch bark and ceramic utensils. All the exhibits are executed with great skill and are unique works of art reflecting the talent of the masters who created them.

In 1886 the Mariinsky Canal was reconstructed. This event led to the rapid development of the town, dwelling construction and brisk trade at the beginning of the 20th century. The houses which appeared at this time are wooden structures embellished with intricate decorative patterns from timber. They belonged to the well-to-do people and testified to their prosperity.

The Chapel that now stands near the Church of the Purification was built on the Besednaya (Conversation) hill at Vytegra in 1881. As history annals say Peter the Great visited the place in passing and talked to the inhabitants of the town about the junction of two rivers - the Kovzha and the Vytegra. And that determined the name of the hill - Besednaya. The building's architecture featured all characteristics of the "Russian style" of the 19th century.

Today Vytegra is an administrative centre.