Warsaw looks vibrant and flourishing today. And it's hard to believe that just some fifty or sixty years ago, stone ruins lay on the site of these houses with red tiled roofs, Gothic churches, monuments and palaces. The city was barbarously razed to the ground by Hitler's troops. But thanks to the efforts of the Polish people, Warsaw rose from the ashes, revived and became even more beautiful than before.
Native abroad
For a Russian person, Warsaw is both abroad and not abroad at the same time. This is how the city is perceived now, and this is how it was perceived in the past. V early XIX century, after the defeat of the Napoleonic army, the once flourishing Polish capital became one of the provinces Russian Empire, the most unusual and unaccustomed to the Russian look. The artist and art historian Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870-1960), having visited Warsaw in 1881, wrote that here “the foreign country was not real”, since it was “not somewhere outside the Russian state, but in one of its provincial cities ... But this provincial city was Warsaw, former capital Kingdom of Poland! The entire population did not speak our way, they were also dressed differently ... Do not count everything that with complete certainty testified to the "foreignness" of Warsaw: hired carriages with a coachman dressed "in the master's way" ... The main streets were flooded asphalt ... at every step of the coffee shop-zukerni ... ". Writer and publicist Vladimir Osipovich Mikhnevich (1841–1899), who visited Warsaw at about the same time, also agrees with Benois: “... For a Russian who has not been abroad, Warsaw ... gives the first impression of a foreign city. In addition to the local originality, it is undoubtedly more European than in ours, even in big cities. "
After World War II, Warsaw came under strong Soviet influence. The appearance of the city has changed a lot. In the very center of the Polish capital, a real Stalinist skyscraper was erected - the Palace of Culture and Science, which still dominates all the buildings around. The main street of the city (analogous to Tverskaya), Marshalkovskaya, also appeared, clogged with masses of gray monolithic buildings. In Soviet times, Warsaw, while retaining its undoubtedly "European" individuality, increasingly "adjusts" to Moscow. Crowds of French, American and English tourists come to the city to look at the "Soviet" life, while the citizens of the USSR come to the Polish capital to, on the contrary, look at the fruits of Western civilization. At that time, there was even a joke in Poland about how Soviet tourists, having gone to France by train, got off in Warsaw, deciding that this was Paris. The same happened with French tourists, who, on their way to the USSR, got off the train in Warsaw, mistaking it for Moscow.Today, the center of the Polish capital is filled with mirrored skyscrapers, futuristic bank buildings, the ubiquitous McDonald's and Patio Pizzas, fashionable boutiques and internet cafes. Here they still speak “differently”, drive foreign cars, drink morning coffee on terraces in cafes, ride bicycles along special cycle paths, dress in European style. However, signs "Mytishchi Carriage Works" are still hanging in the cars of the Warsaw metro, and when going up to the city from the Central railway station(it is located underground), the first thing that catches your eye is that very Stalinist skyscraper, so familiar to the Moscow view. And, looking around, I want to say: “Yes, Warsaw is a foreign country, but it’s its own, dear.”
Stalin's skyscraper, Palace of Culture and Science was donated to Warsaw The Soviet Union... The idea belongs to Vyacheslav Molotov, who visited the still destroyed Warsaw in July 1951. The Poles could not refuse this offer, and in 1955 the construction was completed. After the fall of the communist regime, there was talk in Warsaw about the demolition of a skyscraper. However, it seems that it still took root: in 2005, a huge banner "I'm 50" flaunted on the Palace, and on the day of the anniversary celebration, concerts were held on the square in front of the building.
To withstand all troubles in spite
Warsaw is a city of hard destiny. For more than seven hundred years of its existence, the Polish capital has experienced many shocks, sometimes catastrophic. The fortified city, founded in the XIII-XIV centuries by the Princes of Mazovia, became part of the Kingdom of Poland in 1526, and at the beginning of the XVII century, thanks to King Sigismund III Waza (Zygmunt III Waza, 1566-1632), became the capital of one of the most powerful European states - Commonwealth. Warsaw grew and prospered, but in the middle of the 18th century, the first heavy blow was already waiting for it - the Swedish invasion, as a result of which the city was heavily looted. At the end of the same century, Poland was divided three times (in 1772, 1793 and 1795) between Russia, Austria and Prussia, and Warsaw fell under Prussian rule for several years. And already in 1813, after Napoleon's defeat, Russian troops occupied Warsaw. The whole second half of XIX For centuries, popular uprisings for gaining independence raged in Warsaw. However, only in 1918, after the end of the First World War, Poland became "free" again. But the worst was yet to come. The Second World War was approaching.
 Warsaw strives to keep up with other cities and is rapidly acquiring skyscrapers. Photo by the author |
The most difficult and most terrible period of Warsaw history has begun, about which so many films have been shot, so many books have been written. During the years of occupation, the townspeople, without giving up for a minute, continued to fight against the invaders. The underground activities of the people of Warsaw resulted in a mass uprising led by General Bur-Komorowski (Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski, 1895-1966), which began on August 1, 1944. Despite the heroic efforts of the townspeople, on October 2, the uprising was suppressed, the population was expelled, and the city was turned into ruins. All this time on east coast The Vistula was occupied by Soviet troops, who did not try to force the river or occupy the city.
Blowing up house after house, block by block, the Nazis did not spare even the most valuable monuments of Polish culture. As a result, about 85% of all buildings in the city were destroyed, and only a heap of ruins remained from the once lush and flourishing Warsaw. But we must pay tribute to the courage of the Polish people. At the end of the war, the inhabitants returned to the destroyed city and began to revive life in it. The capital was being rebuilt at an incredible pace, and it was decided not to build something new, but to restore the old. With a titanic effort, Warsaw shone again, with many parts of the city regaining their pre-war appearance. This is truly a feat that cannot but admire.
Newest Old Town
On the narrow cobbled streets, four to five-storey houses with red-tiled roofs nestle tightly against each other. This is the Old Town or Stare Miasto, Starowka is the most beautiful district of Warsaw. Walking along Nowomeiskaya, where the wealthiest artisans once lived, along Pivnaya, where granaries stood, along Pekarskaya, where mills used to be located, it is so easy to imagine what life was like in Warsaw in the 15th – 16th centuries. Here is the market square, where once there were violent trades and executions. Now there are cafes and numerous shops of art dealers. The houses of the richest townspeople stood around the square. In old Warsaw there were no numbers on buildings, so the houses were named either by the names of their owners, or by some peculiarities, for example, by the forged figures and sculptures that adorned the facades: the house "Under the Lion", "Under the Golden Trumpet", "Under Fortune "," Under Anna "," Under the Negro ", or simply the Klyuchnikovsky House, the Schlichtingovsky House
Of course, no medieval city could do without Castle Square and, in fact, the Royal Castle. The wooden fortress of the Mazovian princes, built here in the 14th century, turned into a beautiful baroque castle during the reign of Sigismund III. Modest facades hid truly luxurious interiors inside. They say that in the old days, ghosts often appeared here. The Castle Square is always crowded, because the famous Royal Route begins from here. In the very center of the square stands the 20-meter column of Sigismund III Vasa, erected by his son, King Vladislav IV in 1644. Rising nearby Cathedral St. John is the oldest church in Warsaw. “The Warsaw churches from the outside are huge, tall, but gloomy; inside are beautiful and rich. Church service here is magnificent and intricate, music has a strong effect on feelings "- wrote Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka (1786-1880) in" Letters of a Russian Officer ". And this fully applies to the Cathedral of St. John, like everything Gothic is a little gloomy. In the past, the ceremonies of the coronation of Polish kings were held here, and in our time, organ music concerts are regularly held.It is difficult, but what can I say, it is almost impossible to believe that the age of such a natural, realistic medieval town is calculated not in centuries, as it should be, but only in several decades. Stare Miasto in Warsaw is truly the newest of European Old Towns. After the Second World War, Polish restorers collected the appearance of the city literally bit by bit - miraculously survived drawings, photographs, paintings, descriptions. The result is a remarkably accurate model of old Warsaw. Newly built houses already look old! Incredible effect.
Watch out, guarded by a mermaid!
Warsaw is full of legends. Most of them are associated with the history of the emergence of the city. One legend tells that two twins, Vare and Sava, were born to a fisherman who lived on the Vistula River, and the name of the city derives from their names. According to another version, the founders of the city were the fisherman Vars and the girl Sava, who loved each other dearly. And here is another, very funny modification of this urban legend. It is said that a fisherman lived in a lonely hut near the crossing with his wife, Sava. Sava knew how to cook simply divinely delicious, which is why the raftsmen fell in love with staying at the fisherman's house. Straight from the river, from the raft, even before they even reached the hut, they shouted impatiently: "Warm, Sava!" This is how the word Warsaw was born.
However, the most beautiful legends are associated with the emblem of the Polish capital - Sirena, a half-woman, half-fish with a sword and shield in her hands. Once upon a time, two mermaid sisters lived in the Baltic Sea. Once they decided to see the world. One sister sailed west towards Denmark. Her further fate is known to everyone. In the port of Copenhagen, you can see a sad little mermaid sitting on a stone. Another sister swam past the seaside Gdansk into the Vistula and swam along it. In the area of today's Warsaw (then it was a small village), fishermen caught a mermaid and wanted to eat it. But when the Siren began to sing, the fishermen were fascinated by her voice, and they let the mermaid go. Struck by the beauty of the Vistula banks and the kindness local residents, Siren stayed here to live. Every day the sea maiden sang her wonderful songs for local fishermen.Once a rich and incredibly greedy merchant, deciding to make money on the magical singing of the little mermaid, caught her and put her in a cage. But, having learned about this, all the surrounding people, fishermen and farmers, came to the mermaid, who had already become their favorite, to help. Once again at large, Sirena vowed to defend and protect Warsaw and all its inhabitants from any troubles and misfortunes. Since then, the grateful Warsaw people have been depicting the warlike half-woman, half-fish on their coat of arms. And in the very center of the market square of the Old City, there is a bronze monument to the Sirena - a place of pilgrimage for all tourists.
Chopin's heart
Krakowskie Przedmiescie is one of the most beautiful streets in Warsaw. Here is the Church of the Holy Cross, in one of the columns of which an urn with the heart of the brilliant composer and outstanding pianist Frederic Chopin is embedded. Let the world fame come to Chopin in France, his real homeland has always been Poland, where he was born and lived for 21 years. It is said that Chopin carried boxes of Polish soil with him everywhere. Neither resounding success, nor worldwide recognition, nor travel different countries and the cities did not make him forget about Poland. Dying, Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (1810-1849) bequeathed to bury his body in Paris, and return his heart to his homeland. The last will of the great composer was fulfilled. There is one more place in Warsaw connected with Chopin. The monument to the famous Pole, blown up by the Germans, disassembled into small pieces, melted down into bullets and rebuilt in its original form, stands surrounded by roses on one of the alleys of the royal park azienki.
Lazienki in Polish means a bathhouse or a bathhouse. In the Middle Ages, a forest was located on the territory of the modern park, where the Mazovian princes hunted. In the second half of the 17th century, Marshal Stanislav Lubomirsky built baths and a recreation pavilion here. Later, other buildings appeared in the park, which became a royal residence - two Greenhouses with tropical plants, built in the ancient Roman style "Theater Island", the stage of which is located on a small island, and the seats for spectators are separated from it by a channel, finally, the famous "Palace on waters ”of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, which is very beautifully reflected in the waters of the lake. In front of you are like two palaces, mirrored on opposite sides of the horizon. “If you want to have an idea of how a king with money, taste and intelligence can live, go to the so-called azienki in Warsaw ... How lovely these ponds are! They are so pure, so bright and so calm that they seem huge mirrors laid on fresh herbs. Their shores are strewn with thousands of colored lights. On these waters, not on earth, generosity, art and arts, exhausting all their efforts, erected and adorned the most charming palace, which, like Narcissus, eternally gazes into clear waters, admiring oneself and others forcing to admire oneself. Look! " - writes Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka. However, the beauty of azienki is not at all in architectural delights. It is nice to just walk along the shady alleys, listening to Chopin's music. It is pleasant to hand-feed squirrels and ducks, which live in large numbers in the park. It's nice to watch peacocks walking around the lawns quite calmly. It is pleasant to slowly sail on a gondola on the surface of the lake, admiring the beauty that opens up to the eye.Partners news
Heracleion is the most Big City Crete, which is administrative center the island, its main gate! In ancient times, it was beautiful and picturesque, unfortunately, it suffered quite a lot during the Second World War. After the end of the war, the city began to develop very erratic and accelerated, so the city lost its former charm.
The city is definitely worth a visit, because there are priceless archaeological reserves of the Minoan culture, located a short distance from the city, a rich Archaeological Museum and many monuments restored and preserved in excellent condition.
A long time ago, this seaside town, in those years - Heraclea, was the sea harbor of Knossos. The city was captured by pirates in the 7th century, for security purposes, they surrounded it with a majestic fortress wall and dug a huge ditch (khandak - a fortress with a moat) along the walls of the city. Since then, the city began to be called Khandak, and for a whole century and a half it was the center of the slave trade and the base pirate ships than gave much trouble to the Byzantine Empire. Fortunately, in 961 the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus Phocas conquered Crete from the Arabs. Thus began the second Byzantine rule in the history of Crete, which lasted until 1204. Then the city was given to the Crusaders, later the Venetians, who established a system of government on the island similar to that of Venice. It was during the Venetian period that the Cretan revival flourished in Khandak.
In 1621, after a long siege, the city was captured by the Turks, who renamed the city Megalo Castro (Great Fortress). And only in 1923 the city regained its ancient name Heracleion.
Walk around the city. Ancient Venetian walls surrounding Old city are in excellent condition. The walls are one of the most significant sights of Heracleion. The construction of these majestic walls began in 1462 in connection with the Turkish threat and continued for a whole hundred years. Inside the surrounding area there were many churches, the Morosini fountain, the central square of St. Mark, etc. The length of the walls was three kilometers, and surpassed in area all the fortresses on the territory of Greece. The walls had seven bastions (Sabionara, Vituri, Jesus, Martinengo, Bethlehem, Pantokrator and Saint Andrew) and four gates (Mola, Saint George, Pantokrator or Hani gate and Jesus' gate). Unfortunately, after the Turkish siege in 1669, the walls were reconstructed and the churches converted into mosques.
Kules. The two-storey stone structure, the majestic seaside fortress of Kules (1), called by the Venetians Rocca al Mare, was built even before the new walls, and was rather badly damaged by an earthquake in 1303. You can visit this unique fortress by participating in an exhibition or various cultural events.
Directly opposite Koules, in the Venetian port, you can admire the grandiose domed structures (2). Shipyards, which were once shipyards for the construction and repair of warships.
Going to the western edge of Kalokerinu Street, at the Pantokrator bastion, you can see the Hani Gate or the Pantokrator Gate (3). They are located at the very northwestern edge of the fortress walls. The Hani gate is named after the road from Heracleion to Chania and to western part Crete. The inner side of the structure includes a gate, cornice and a parapet with two slabs, one of which depicts the winged lion of St. Mark, and on the other - a bust of Pantocrator (Almighty) with the inscription OMNIPOTENS. The building has two arched passages, one leads outside the city, and the second to the platform of the bastion (Piazza bassa).
If you want to see and admire the panorama of the city, then climb the Martinegro bastion (4). Bastion Martinegro. The grave of the great Cretan writer Nikos Kazandakis, who rises in the highest part of the fortress walls, on the southern summit of the fortifications. There is also a modern sports Complex, a playground for children's games and the grave of the great Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakis, on the tombstone of which the inscription is engraved: "I do not hope for anything, I am not afraid of anything, I am free."
Loggia. If you want to find out where the Venetian aristocrats met, then be sure to go to the Loggia, which was in Handak already in 1269. In those years, there was a second Loggia, which was located directly opposite the current one, but, unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1541. The most grandiose structure of the era of Venetian rule on the entire territory of the island of Crete is the fourth Loggia (5), erected in 1628 by F. Morosini himself. The rectangular building consists of two floors, the facades are decorated with 7 arches in the form of a semicircle on the wide side and two on the narrow one. Between the arches there are columns of the Dorian order on the first floor and the Ionian order on the second. At the very beginning of the 20th century, the Loggia was in a dilapidated, dilapidated state. To great joy, on the initiative of D. Jerola and drawings of F. Bershet, it was reconstructed.
Just behind the Loggia, in the 17th century Venetian arsenal, is the Armeria (6). St. Mark's Cathedral. In 1941, the arsenal was destroyed and then rebuilt into Meria. It was in the process of reconstruction that it was decided to embed the relief from the Sagredo fountain into the wall of the building under the arch. The Fountain itself, which bore the name of the Cretan doge Giovanni Sagredo, was built next to the Loggia in 1602-1604 for the needs of the people.
Of course, in a city built on the model of Venice, the church of the patron saint of Venice, St. Mark, was certainly to be erected. Thus, in 1239, a three-aisled basilica was erected, the Cathedral of St. Mark (7) with a wooden roof, with a columnar portico and a belfry at the southwest corner. The church belonged to the Doge and was destroyed several times by an earthquake. Unfortunately, when the city was under the Turks, the church was transformed into a mosque, and a minaret was built instead of the belfry.
Cathedral of Saint Titus (8). Cathedral of St. Titus is interesting because, in the devastating years Arab conquest, the center of the Cretan metropolis, dedicated to Saint Titus, was moved from the destroyed Gortyna to Khandak. The Cathedral of Saint Titus was erected in 961, it houses the Honorable Head of the Apostle Titus and the miraculous icon of the Virgin of Mesopantitissa. During its existence, the Cathedral has undergone monstrous destruction due to earthquakes and fires. The cathedral was completely restored in the twenties of the 20th century.
Walking down the street in 1866, on its southern edge, you will see the Cornaru Square (9). Piazza Cornarou, where a sculptural composition flaunts, which depicts Erotokritos on horseback and Aretusa.
In the northern part of the square, there is the Bembo fountain (10), built in 1552-1554. Its facade is decorated with columns and semi-columns, which were made according to the models of the Renaissance architecture, the coats of arms of its creator, the doge and dignitaries. And above the stream itself is a headless statue from Ierapetra from Roman times.
Once on Venizelos Square (11), you will discover the delightful Morosini Fountain (12). Once the governor general of Crete, Francesco Morosini, decided to supply the inhabitants of the city with water. So, in a very short time, a water supply system was created that delivers water to the city. Around the same time, in 1628, the fountain was also erected. The plots of the reliefs on the bowls of the fountain are taken from ancient Greek mythology. The fountain consists of several bowls arranged in a circle, and in the very center there is an elevation on which 4 lions sit and support the central, main bowl on their shoulders. Lindali Square. It is in this bowl that water accumulates and flows out of the open mouths of the lions. There is an assumption that a full-length statue of Poseidon used to be part of the fountain. Obviously, the statue was damaged during the earthquake, or it was destroyed by the Turkish invaders.
If you go to the north of Piazza Venelosa, you will come to Piazza dei Signori (13). Around the square were the palazzo, in which the members of the administration lived at that time.
If you go to the northeast from the Cathedral of St. Mina, you can see the two-aisled Church of St. Catherine (14). Church of St. Catherine built in 1555, which is the courtyard of the Sinai Monastery. A little further north is the Chapel of the Ten Saints. Then in the courtyard of the Sinai Monastery there was a school where education was conducted the highest level... Such outstanding scientists as Meletius Pigas and Cyril Lukaris graduated from this school. Of course, during the years of Turkish rule, the church was transformed into a mosque. Today, the church houses the Museum of Church and Byzantine Art (15), where you can see unique icons of the Cretan Renaissance.
It is interesting to visit one of majestic cathedrals throughout Greece - the Cathedral of Saint Mina (16). Cathedral of St. Mina which is a cross-domed church and has two high belfries. The foundations of the cathedral were laid in 1866, and construction, delayed by the Cretan uprising, began in 1883. The construction of the cathedral was carried out under the direction of the architect Athanasius Musis. The area of the cathedral is 1350 sq.m. In the cathedral, the right nave is dedicated to Saint Titus, and the left nave is dedicated to ten saints.
Opposite the gate of Dermatas, behind the Bodosakio Primary School, is the Priuli Fountain. The fountain was built by the General Conductor of Crete Antonio Priuli in 1666. The fountain consists of four Corinthian half-columns with a pediment. Between the half-columns there are two semicircular niches, and in the center there is a rectangular niche.
If the city has fascinated you, be sure to visit the Archaeological Museum of Heracleion (17), the most significant museum in Crete. The collection for the museum began to be collected back in 1878.
The archaeological collection was initially located in the Church of St. Mina, in the Turkish barracks, in the Loggia. Then they decided to build a building that was chosen in the area of the Hunkiara mosque. The plan of the museum was developed by the legendary architects Depfeld and Kavvadias. So, in 1912, the construction of the first wing of the museum was completed. Many years later, in 1951, the construction of a new Museum began, as the old building suffered from an earthquake and was demolished. The construction was completed in 1964. The exhibits of the museum represent the entire territory of Crete, from the Neolithic to the Roman era. The glory of the museum was brought, of course, by the unique Minoan collection. The most valuable exhibits of the museum are located on two floors in 20 rooms.
On the seaside street of the city, in the neoclassical building of Andreas and Maria Kalokerinos, there is the Cretan History Museum (18), which was founded in 1952. The collection of the museum includes objects of the early Christian, Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish eras, as well as objects of the folk culture of Crete.
After the cognitive route, you can sit down in a cozy cafe and taste delicious aromatic coffee or a glass of excellent Cretan wine.
The next day, you can visit the city for shopping - shopping. There are many famous brand shops in Heraklion. The route starts from the square of the Hotel Astoria - any taxi knows where this place is.
The small town of Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region, became famous throughout Russia for one and only unfinished dangerous building of the Treasury Department, in which the punks set up a brothel and a "public toilet". And what, in this case, can be said about Stary Oskol, where long-term construction for every taste and period is apparently invisible. There are long-term construction projects, promising and unpromising, famous and forgotten ... Where do we start?
We suggest starting with the optimistic - promising.
There is a promising long-term construction close to the regional police department. Recently, in a local newspaper, an old Oskolian drew attention to this box, who is worried about the same thing as the prosecutor's office of the 60-thousandth Krasnoturinsk: he is afraid that an unfinished building in the very center of the city will become an attractive place for criminals. Or maybe it has already become? ..
We called this "object" promising because the newspaper reassured that the long-term construction had a buyer who intends to complete the building next spring. Agree - perspective ...
Now it is logical to move on to the unpromising one.
It is located behind the Yuzhny microdistrict. A long time ago, piles were driven here for a school, and then ... they were hammered into the school and the construction itself. This long-term construction is away from human eyes, and therefore they do not seem to know about it. Therefore, it has long been overgrown with reality ...
The new long-term construction is the church of St. George the Victorious under construction in the Park of Military Glory, next to the monument to the heavenly patron saint of Stary Oskol - the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky.
Although, perhaps, the construction of the temple will not turn into a long-term construction. They say that they are going to build a church according to the old technology, that is, they will let each element of the building stand up so that it gets the necessary "shrinkage", in which case the temple will stand for centuries. Well, let's see, let's see the move ...
There is a long-term construction sad ...
The construction of the "Europe" shopping center in the Kosmos microdistrict did not have time to begin, in fact, immediately stopped. Now the construction site is marked with a huge pit, fenced with a solid fence. And he is sad about his long-term construction history. First, during the dismantling of the previous long-term construction, in order to clear the site for "Europe", a builder died. Secondly, while the owners of "Europe" are dressing up their construction site, they have already built another one across the road. shopping center- "Carousel". And now it is not entirely clear, but why do you need another shopping center nearby? ..
And the next one and it is not clear what to call something - either mysterious, or "laundering"?
Today, few people will remember exactly when and why they began to build a building next to the city dental clinic in the Olminsky microdistrict. Now STI MISIS intends to complete it "for itself". The building was dismantled several times, then they began to finish building it again ... Once, driving past a long-term construction site in a taxi, I heard a "thought out loud" from a taxi driver: "money is here, or something, they are being laundered - they are building, then they are dismantling ..."
The most famous long-term construction is a children's multidisciplinary hospital, it is often remembered, talked a lot ...
A long time ago, in already rather forgotten times, such a huge country as India was a colony of another, more powerful country at that time. Times passed, large empires liberated their colonies, and now it was India's turn.
An object: Chandigarh city architecture
Architect:, P. Jeanneret and others.
Year built: 1952-1955
Address: states of Punjab and Haryana, India
Official site: chandigarh.nic.in
Despite all the devastation, the financial and economic insufficiency of the country was tough and decisively required new town, new center for two states. The solution to this problem was the idea of building a new city with a completely new architecture for India. It was indeed the first experience in the newly independent India of the implementation of independent urban planning. Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, was not embarrassed by the lack of a building base and any means of mechanization, and the city was mostly built in just three years. Amazing pace. 
City construction. Chandigarh architecture
But they decided to build the city for a reason. Its very favorable location, right on the road to Tibet and Kashmir, created excellent prospects for further economic growth and evolution into the main trade and industrial centre extremely important region of the country. The same applies to plans to populate the city. In particular, it was planned that after the completion of the first stage of construction, the city will be populated by 150 thousand people, and already at the next stage economic development the city assumed a population of more than 500 thousand citizens.
The construction site for the city was a beautiful beautiful place near the Himalayas, in a successful agricultural valley between two rivers. It was decided to supplement the natural beauty of the landscape and the builders organized a dam, thanks to which a reservoir for water was formed, which is called a lake.
The first pilot project of the city was developed by the Pole Novitsky and the American architect Meyer. However, the tragic death of the Polish architect made its own adjustments to the architectural top of the project and the burden of building the city passed to the maestro Le Corbusier. His cousin, his frequent assistant and comrade-in-arms, P. Jeanneret, as well as the British and a group of little-known Indian architects, worked side by side with the Frenchman.
The legendary Frenchman brought into the project the main idea of the master plan of the city, its landscaping, the Assembly and Secretariat buildings, as well as other government buildings. 
Individual forms, new solutions
As you know, Corbusier was an adherent of rationalism in architecture. That is why the internal layout of the city was strictly delimited by the designers zonal according to the type of functionality of this or that part. The administrative part of the city, including the government complex, was placed on a hill near the mountains, next to the lake. It was supposed to be adjoined by a study area, among which there was a park part, which includes a physical culture and sports area, as well as leisure centers. The zone of factories and industrial-technical complexes was separated from the previous part by the so-called "green belt". This forest park part was designed to protect the population as much as possible from harmful factory emissions. 
The cornerstone transport system the city became security. She formed the basis transport arteries Chandigarh. This approach included seven different types of roads. A rectangular system of road directions literally divided the city into 30 small districts, with an approximate area of 1 square kilometer each. It was assumed that each microdistrict will be home to from 5 thousand people.
The main avenue of the city leads to the government building and divides the city into two balanced parts. Despite the usual idea of a shopping center in every part of the block, as proposed in the project of the Pole Novitsky, Corbusier abandoned it in favor of the national Indian shopping malls. For this, green spaces were created, which helped to recreate the "bazaar streets".
The architects wanted to take into account not only the general needs of the population, but also its national stylistic features. Therefore, they tried to give each quarter and microdistrict its own unique charm and style. Each quarter has its own layout, as well as individual forms of architecture. In this regard, the microdistricts that were designed by Corbusier's long-term partner Pierre Jeanneret are especially indicative. His rationality of using each block is literally taken to the extreme, both socially and from a purely visual side. Each site has a unique individuality and exclusive intimacy, but all this does not negate the general integration of citizens into the life of the entire quarter. 
However, despite all this idyll, something still remained unchanged: officials wanted to place their own estates in the city center, including huge mansions with terraces. Tellingly, the larger the official was, the more central his villa was. A sort of social ranking in the new India. Of course, Corbusier tried to counteract this, but the question was put bluntly: either such a project or you. The master made concessions to save the already erected and still planned grandiose buildings. 
But this ranking applied not only to officials and other elite of the young independent India. The construction of Chandigarh assumed the presence of various levels of houses, which would correspond to the different status of different groups of people. There were 16 such categories in total.
The lowest was one-story simple houses with adjoining backyards with an outbuilding on the territory. Internally, these houses had two very small rooms and a kitchen, including a bathroom, of course.
The houses, as close as possible to the level of houses for the government, were huge two-story mansions, with a large courtyard and garden. 
A fusion of Indian traditions and Western architecture. Chandigarh architecture
The climate was a big problem. In winter, the days were sunny and warm, but the nights were really cold. Summer brought just a scorching heat, and the rains in July and August were so strong that at times it seemed that construction equipment would simply wash away to hell. And of course the dust. A lot of dust. The wind at any time of the year and day raised huge clouds of sandy dust, from which there was no escape.
But the experience of the designers helped them adapt the buildings to the summer heat thanks to the traditions inherent in this climate: closed courtyards, flat roofs and special jali grilles that covered the glass, creating a favorable shade. 
But a new wave in architecture here has become sun cutters - special protrusions on the walls, located at such an angle to maintain the most comfortable temperature inside the building. The combination of the new and the old has become the main motif in the architecture and decor of the city, thus forming a special plasticity of the facades. 
Since the financial situation in India at that time did not allow the use of reinforced concrete everywhere, builders had to look for the most suitable and compromise materials. Fired brick became the main material. It was cheap, economical, and conserved in cement. Cement was used to build houses for the government elite. All reinforced concrete also went there. 
It is impossible not to mention the merit of the Indian group of architects, which was engaged in the construction of school buildings. Here the false arch method is used, created by the brick filling method. School classrooms in the open air were built from simple cobblestones and pebbles. Literally under open air... The shadow from the ellipsoid walls perfectly saved schoolchildren from the heat of the sun. Simply amazing resourcefulness.
The festive color of the hotel for deputies, designed by Pierre Jeanneret, betrays the author's passion for abstract art. 
Perhaps the most original modern building in India is Gandhi Bhavan. This building, which is popularly said to have three wings, built of white stone, resembles a bird flying up into the air. The dynamics of the spiral-shaped volume-spatial composition is presented as an attempt to realize the image of Mahatma Gandhi through architecture: a complex and intricate labyrinth covered with artistic paintings is hidden behind the plastic outer walls. 
Well, summing up, we can say that all this seemingly social utopia, which architects and city planners planned to build, can be said to be a success. Now Chandigarh is the undisputed cultural and commercial center of the entire region. The number of permanent residents is now more than a million people, among whom more than 70% are literate, which is an absolutely fantastic figure for India. And now we can say with confidence that now Chandigarh is one of the most comfortable and beautiful cities in India. He achieved all this primarily thanks to those who approached the construction of the city with soul and skill. 
