The oldest buildings in Russia. The oldest buildings in the world The oldest building in the world

How many years can a residential building last for a person? History gives very unexpected answers to this question - there are cases where people live in individual houses for centuries and even millennia! It all depends on the material, the environment and the person’s attention to his home.

So, let's try to determine the oldest residential building in the world.

Wooden house

The oldest of the wooden residential buildings, which not only has survived to this day, but also continues to serve faithfully for its intended purpose, is considered to be the so-called “King’s Farm” in the Faroe Islands (included as an autonomous part of Denmark). It was probably built in the 11th century.

At first, this house housed the residence of the local bishop and a seminary. But after in 1538 all the property of the Catholic Church in the Faroe Islands became the property of the King of Denmark, the “mansion” received its classic name. The ancient Danish family of Patersons, who have lived here since the mid-16th century, merely rents land and housing from the Danish crown.

House made of stone

Perhaps this very original house of either three or four floors, located in the French Aveyron, can be called the oldest residential building made of stone still inhabited. Its history dates back to the 13th century.

Such an unusual design, expanding upward, speaks of the thriftiness of its previous owners. The fact is that in medieval France, all residential buildings were taxed on the number of square meters, and only the first floor was taken into account.

If hotels can also be classified as residential buildings, then the “champion” in this category is without a doubt the Hyoshi Hotel. Built in the suburbs of the Japanese city of Komatsu, it welcomed its first guests back in 717.

Since that memorable year, almost 50 generations of owners have changed, but the hotel still hospitably opens its doors to guests who are ready to pay 300 euros per day for comfort, modern amenities and SPA treatments in healing springs, but most importantly - for the unique aroma of antiquity .

They can argue!

Other objects in which people live to this day could well have intervened in the debate about who and what is ancient, if not for one “but” - with all the conventions it is difficult to call a traditional home... a cave. But still.

About 170 families live in the village of Kandovan (Iran). They organized their life in bizarre grottoes that arose in volcanic rocks. People have been settling here for over 800 years.

But in the Italian town of Matera, literally carved into picturesque rocks, people stubbornly remain faithful to the unusual dwellings of their ancestors. If scientists do not “embellish” their age, then the first catacombs were cut down here as much as 9 thousand years ago!

There are probably many other places and buildings that would compete with our small rating. But regardless of which of the structures - mentioned or still remaining unnamed - is ancient, they all equally evoke admiration for their “longevity” and the imperishable memory of the human hands that built them.

We fly into space, race to build skyscrapers, clone living organisms and do many things that only recently seemed impossible. And at the same time, they are still unable to solve the mysteries of the builders and thinkers who lived thousands of years ago. An ancient cobblestone weighing a hundred tons surprises us more than a computer half the size of a palm.

Goseck Circle, Germany, Goseck

The ring system of concentric ditches and wooden enclosures was created between 5000 and 4800 BC. The complex has now been reconstructed. Presumably it was used as a solar calendar.

Reptilian statues, French Polynesia, Nuku Hiva island

The statues in a place called Temehea Tohua in the Marquesas Islands depict strange creatures whose appearance in the popular consciousness is associated with aliens. They are different: there are large, large-mouthed “reptilians,” and there are others: with small bodies and disproportionately large elongated helmet heads with huge eyes. They have one thing in common - an angry expression on their faces. Whether these were aliens from other worlds or just masked priests is unknown. The statues date back to around the beginning of the 2nd millennium.

Stonehenge, UK, Salisbury

Altar, observatory, tomb, calendar? Scientists have not come to a consensus. Five thousand years ago, a ring ditch and ramparts around it with a diameter of 115 m appeared. A few centuries later, ancient builders brought here 80 four-ton stones, and a couple of centuries later - 30 megaliths weighing 25 tons. The stones were installed in a circle and in the shape of a horseshoe. The form in which Stonehenge has survived to this day is largely the result of human activity in recent centuries. People continued to work on the stones: peasants chipped away pieces of amulets from them, tourists marked the territory with inscriptions, and restorers figured out for the ancients how things stood correctly here.

Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico, Chichen Itza

Every year, on the days of the spring and autumn equinox, thousands of tourists gather at the foot of the sanctuary of the supreme Mayan deity - the Feathered Serpent. They witness the miracle of Kukulcan's "appearance": the Serpent moves down along the balustrade of the main staircase. The illusion is created by the play of triangular shadows cast by the nine platforms of the pyramid at the moment when the setting sun illuminates its northwestern corner for 10 minutes. If the sanctuary had been shifted even a degree, nothing like this would have happened.

Carnac stones, France, Brittany, Carnac

In total, about 4,000 megaliths up to four meters high are arranged in slender alleys near the city of Karnak. The rows run parallel to each other or fan out, forming circles here and there. The complex dates back to the 5th–4th millennium BC. There were legends in Brittany that it was the wizard Merlin who turned the ranks of Roman legionnaires to stone.

Stone balls, Costa Rica

Pre-Columbian artifacts scattered near the Pacific coast of Costa Rica were discovered in the 1930s by banana plantation workers. Hoping to find gold inside, vandals destroyed many of the balls. Now most of the remaining ones are kept in museums. The diameter of some stones reaches 2.5 meters, weight - 15 tons. Their purpose is unknown.

Georgia Tablets, USA, Georgia, Elbert

In 1979, someone under the pseudonym R.C. Christian ordered a construction company to manufacture and install the monument - a structure of six granite monoliths weighing more than 100 tons. The ten commandments to descendants are engraved on the four side plates in eight languages, including Russian. The last point says: “Don’t be a cancer for the Earth, leave room for nature too!”

Nuraghi of Sardinia, Italy, Sardinia

Semiconical structures resembling huge beehives (up to 20 m high) appeared in Sardinia at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, before the arrival of the Romans. The towers were built without a foundation, from stone blocks superimposed on each other, not held together by any mortar and supported only by their own gravity. The purpose of the nuraghe is unclear. It is characteristic that archaeologists have more than once discovered miniature bronze models of these towers during excavations.

Sacsahuaman, Peru, Cusco

The archaeological park at an altitude of 3,700 meters and an area of ​​3,000 hectares is located north of the capital of the Inca Empire. The defensive and at the same time temple complex was built at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries. The zigzag battlements, reaching 400 meters in length and six in height, are made of multi-ton stone blocks, including 200-ton ones. How the Incas installed these blocks, how they adjusted them one after another is unknown. From above, Sacahuaman looks like the toothy head of a Cusco puma (the city was founded in the shape of the sacred animal of the Incas).

Arkaim, Russia, Chelyabinsk region

The Bronze Age settlement (III–II millennium BC) is located at the same latitude as Stonehenge. Coincidence? Scientists don't know. Two rows of circular walls (the diameter of the far one is 170 m), a drainage system and sewerage system, a well in each house are evidence of a highly developed culture. The monument was discovered by students and schoolchildren from an archaeological expedition in 1987. (The photo shows a reconstruction model.)

Newgrange, Ireland, Dublin

The Celts called it the fairy mound and considered it the home of one of their main gods. The circular structure made of stone, earth and rubble with a diameter of 85 meters was erected more than 5,000 years ago. A corridor leads inside the mound, ending in a ritual chamber. On the days of the winter solstice, this chamber is brightly illuminated for 15–20 minutes by a ray of sun falling through the window above the entrance to the tunnel.

Coral Castle, USA, Florida, Homestead

The bizarre structure was built single-handedly over 28 years (1923–1951) by Latvian emigrant Edward Lindskalnin in honor of a lost love. How a man of modest stature and build moved huge blocks in space remains a mystery.

Pyramids of Yonaguni, Japan, Ryukyu Archipelago

Monuments of huge stone platforms and pillars located underwater at a depth of 5 to 40 meters were discovered in 1986. The main one of these structures has the shape of a pyramid. Not far from it there is a large platform with steps, similar to a stadium with spectator stands. One of the objects resembles a huge head, like the Moai statues on Easter Island. There is debate in the scientific community: many believe that the formations lying on the ocean floor are exclusively of natural origin. But loners like Masaaki Kimura, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu, who has repeatedly dived to the ruins, insist that there was a human presence here.

Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Masvingo

One of the largest and oldest stone structures in South Africa was built in the 11th century, and was abandoned in the 15th century for an unknown reason. All structures (up to 11 meters in height and 250 in length) were erected using the dry masonry method. Presumably, up to 18,000 people lived in the settlement.

Delhi Column, India, New Delhi

The iron column, over 7 meters high and weighing over 6 tons, is part of the Qutub Minar architectural complex. It was cast in honor of King Chandragupta II in 415. For reasons that are unclear, the column, which is almost 100% iron, is virtually resistant to corrosion. Scientists are trying to explain this fact with various reasons: the special skill and technology of ancient Indian blacksmiths, dry air and specific climatic conditions in the Delhi region, the formation of a protective shell - in particular, as a result of the fact that the Hindus anointed the sacred monument with oils and incense. Ufologists, as usual, see in the column yet another evidence of the intervention of extraterrestrial intelligence. But the secret of “stainless steel” has not yet been solved.

Nazca Lines, Peru, Nazca Plateau

A 47-meter spider, a 93-meter hummingbird, a 134-meter eagle, a lizard, an alligator, a snake, other zoomorphic and humanoid creatures... Giant images from a bird's eye view seem to be scratched on a rock devoid of vegetation, as if with one hand, in the same style . In fact, these are furrows up to 50 cm deep and up to 135 cm wide, made at different times in the 5th-7th centuries.

Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara

In the sands next to a dry lake lies the oldest archaeoastronomical monument on the planet, 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The location of the megaliths makes it possible to determine the day of the summer solstice. Archaeologists believe that people lived here seasonally, when there was water in the lake, and therefore needed a calendar.

Antikythera Mechanism, Greece, Antikythera

A mechanical device with dials, hands and gears was found at the beginning of the 20th century on a sunken ship sailing from Rhodes (100 BC). After lengthy research and reconstruction, scientists found that the device served astronomical purposes - it made it possible to monitor the movement of celestial bodies and make very complex calculations.

Baalbek slabs, Lebanon

The Roman temple complex dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. But the Romans did not build sanctuaries out of nowhere. At the base of the Temple of Jupiter lie more ancient slabs weighing 300 tons. The western retaining wall is made up of a series of "trilithons" - three limestone blocks, each over 19 m long, 4 m high and weighing about 800 tons. Roman technology was not able to lift such weight. By the way, not far from the complex, another block has been lying for more than one thousand years - under 1000 tons.

Gobekli Tepe, Türkiye

The complex on the Armenian Highlands is considered the oldest of the largest megalithic structures (approximately X-IX millennium BC). At that time, people were still hunting and gathering, but someone was able to erect circles of huge steles with images of animals.

Going to almost any country, you can see architectural buildings that are more than 5,000 thousand years old. There are quite a lot of similar places on the planet. The buildings that have survived on our land are sometimes simply amazing. They don’t look like modern architecture, people don’t live there. Historians are wondering which of these is the oldest building in the world? To this day they cannot give a definite answer to this question. However, there are a couple of cities that any traveler should definitely visit - after all, they contain the history of mankind since the birth of great civilizations. They will be discussed in this article.

The oldest buildings in the world

In India, it is considered the oldest building Taj Mahal Palace . The temple was erected from white marble by the padishah of Shah Jahan in the name of love and devotion to his wife of amazing beauty Mumtaz Mahal. Erected in 1631, it combines several styles. The striking element of the palace is the white marble dome. The main place in the palace is occupied by the mausoleum. Inside it there is a huge number of halls decorated with mosaics. In one of the rooms there is the coffin of the ruler, who after his death wished that his body be buried near his beloved.

Historians included in the list of “Oldest Buildings Surviving in the Modern World”Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt . It is named after the woman who was the only recognized pharaoh. Construction took place from 1482 to 1473 BC. The building turned out to be of magnificent beauty, but, unfortunately, over time it suffered severe destruction. Some of them occurred due to natural reasons - the building is located near a steep cliff. Also, damage to the ancient building was caused on the orders of Thutmose III, whom the queen removed from rule for 15 years. Recovery began with 1961 Today, Polish restorers are assembling the sanctuary piece by piece. The object is located at a considerable distance from the buildings of other kings, erected in the Theban necropolis. On the walls are pictures of reliefs that reflect the way of life of the country's inhabitants, pyramids of that time. The main plot of the reliefs is the story of the birth of the queen. In front of the entrance to the upper terrace there are statues of the queen with a false golden beard - an attribute of male power. From the point of view of the religion of ancient Egypt, a woman could not take the place of ruler, because the pharaoh was considered the incarnation of the god Horus, and he is a man. Therefore, the ruler is depicted in this form.

Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara - the oldest surviving architectural structure on earth. The architectural masterpiece was created by the ancient Egyptian architect and supreme dignitary of the pharaoh - Imhotep around 2650 BC as a funeral structure for the pharaoh's family.

Preserved in Rome Mamertine prison 578 BC, where the offenders were located. According to legend, the apostles Peter and Paul spent the last days of their lives there.

Also the oldest mysterious building in the world - Stonehenge in England . The years of construction are from 1100 to 3500 BC. Approximately 80 stones of different types, weighing up to 50 tons, were used for the structure: dolerite, volcanic tuff. For a long time, no historian could unravel the reason for its appearance. D. Hawkins published a book about this in the 60s. In it, he described how the stone ring, built of stones, was used as an observatory that allowed the British to carry out astronomical observations and calculations.

The oldest building in Russia

There are many buildings in the Russian Federation that witnessed historical events. Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin , erected from 1475-1479, was rebuilt by workers under the direction of town planner Aristotle Fioravanti. The building has been well preserved to this day. To this day, services are held here.

Can't be ignoredChurch of John the Baptist in Kerch , which dates back to the 8th century AD. Located in the very center of the city, the oldest known building in Russia today is the St. Sophia Temple, built by Prince Vladimir in 1050. The monastery of the princess in Vladimir, the thirteenth century, which was rebuilt many times, experienced ruin, but survived. Walking along the streets of the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky you can see the church built by Yuri Dolgoruky.

The oldest building in Moscow

Today it is recognized as the oldest building in the Russian capital Spassky Church of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery . According to legend, the first wooden building was erected in 1357. The oldest known building in Moscow burned down in a fire in 1368. A new Temple of God made of stone was built on the site. In this form it has survived to this day. Scientists were able to conduct a thorough study that proves the historical and cultural significance of the building.

No buildings of the same age as the capital have survived: most of the buildings of that time were wooden, and enemy raids, fires and simply the passage of time led to the fact that the capital was rebuilt more than once, changing beyond recognition. And yet in Moscow there are buildings that have survived many centuries.

- the oldest building in Moscow. According to the chronicles, the first wooden building of the temple was erected simultaneously with other buildings of the monastery, in 1357, but as a result of a fire in 1368 it burned down. In its place, a new stone cathedral was built, which sixty years later, between 1420 and 1425, was rebuilt and in this form has survived to this day. Participated in the painting of the temple Andrey Rublev And Daniil Cherny, however, only the ornamental painting on the jambs of the altar windows has survived from their work. The decoration of the cathedral has changed greatly several times. According to the inventory of 1763, there was a porch with a sacristy chamber, of which nothing remains today, but in 1812 Archimandrite Feofan reported on the significant destruction caused by the retreating Napoleonic army. The French robbed the cathedral, set fire to the iconostasis, causing “the domed vault to fall inside the temple...”. In 1934, the entire Spaso-Andronnikov Monastery was planned to be demolished, but for various reasons this did not happen. Its salvation was largely facilitated by the work on the cathedral published by the Academy of Architecture in 1940, after which the significance of the temple as a monument of Russian architecture became clear to everyone. In 1959-1960 the building was reconstructed in its original form.

Andronevskaya Square, 10

Spassky Cathedral of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Lodo27 was built in 1326-1327 and was at that time the first stone church in Moscow. However, after a hundred years, its condition ceased to correspond to the status of the main temple of Russia: the walls of the building, which had lost its presentable appearance and threatened to collapse, were propped up with logs. Construction of the new cathedral began on April 30, 1471 and was entrusted to the Russians architects Krivtsov And Myshkin. Tragedy prevented the completion of what had been started: during the earthquake of May 20, 1474, the walls of the temple, which had been built almost to the vaults, collapsed, since “the lime was not adhesive, and the stone was not hard.” Ivan III Italian was invited architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who completely dismantled the construction of Russian architects and began construction from scratch. The new cathedral was consecrated on August 12, 1479. Many key events in Russian history are connected with it. For example, in 1547 he was crowned king here. Ivan IV, and starting from Peter II The coronation of each new Russian emperor took place in the Assumption Cathedral, despite the fact that the capital was moved to St. Petersburg. repeatedly suffered from fires and was restored again: in 1547 the top of the building was covered with gilded copper sheets, and in 1624 the dilapidated vaults were dismantled and put back together. In 1812, the temple, like many other Moscow shrines, was plundered and desecrated by the Napoleonic army. After the October Revolution it was closed to access and worship, and since 1955 it received the status of a museum. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the temple began to be called the “Patriarchal Cathedral,” and today services are held there on certain days with the blessing of the patriarch.

Moscow Kremlin

Assumption Cathedral. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Faceted Chamber, the oldest surviving civil building in Moscow, was built in 1487-1491 according to the design Marco Ruffo And Pietro Antonio Solari. Meetings of the Boyar Duma were held here, the Zemsky Sobor met, and various festivities were held. It is interesting that a special secret “observation chamber” was provided for the king’s children in the chamber. The queen and her children could watch through a special grille the magnificent receptions of foreign delegations. Today the Chamber of Facets is a hall at the residence of the President of Russia.

st. Volkhonka, 3/4

Faceted Chamber. Front facade. View from Cathedral Square. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Gérard Janot

Travel Palace of Vasily III (father of Ivan the Terrible)- the oldest secular building outside the earthen city. Its discovery in 2003 became a real sensation. Then, during the restoration of the Golitsyn estate, white stone masonry from the 16th century was discovered under a layer of plaster. The layout of the ancient building has been preserved almost completely. The place for the construction of the palace was not chosen by chance: it was here in 1395 that the Vladimir Icon of the Vladimir Mother of God was met, which, according to legend, saved Rus' from the invasion of hordes Tamerlane. The house is now occupied by commercial organizations.

st. Staraya Basmannaya, 15

Travel Palace of Vasily III. Photo: pastvu.com/losinka1 - the oldest civil building outside the Kremlin. This white stone residential building was built in the 15th century and was owned by Ivan Bobrishev nicknamed "Yushka", bed servant of Grand Duke Ivan III. Apparently, Yushka left no heirs, and after his death the building became a state building. The chambers began to be called the English court after 1553 Sir Richard Chancellor opened the Northern Sea Route, which connected England and Russia. The British supplied gunpowder, saltpeter, lead, tin utensils, and brought furs, blubber, wood, hemp, and leather to England. Ivan the Terrible was interested in trade relations with England and granted overseas merchants a house in Zaryadye. After the severance of trade relations with England in 1649 due to execution in Great Britain King Charles I all English merchants were expelled from Russia, and their property was confiscated. After this, the boyar owned the chambers for more than 20 years Ivan Andreevich Miloslavsky, and then the metochion of the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolitan was located here. In the middle of the 18th century Peter I established one of the first Arithmetic schools in Russia in this building, and then it was sold into private hands and changed owners many times. By the middle of the 20th century, the chambers lost their original appearance: in Soviet times there were residential apartments and various institutions. The revival of the chambers in their original form is associated with the name restorer Pyotr Baranovsky, who in the 1960s discovered an architectural monument under later layers and insisted that it be preserved. After a comprehensive study, the building was restored to its 16th-century appearance. In 1994, the grand opening of the Old English Courtyard museum took place, which became a branch of the Museum of the History of Moscow.

st. Varvarka, 4

English courtyard in Zaryadye. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / NVO - a complex of buildings in which fragments of buildings from the late 16th - early 18th centuries have been preserved. This is the oldest existing residential building in Moscow. There was once a yard here Chief Marshal Lewald, and later the owners were listed Prince Ivan Urusov, merchant Semyon Mylnikov, collegiate advisor Mikhail Chebyshev. His daughter Ekaterina Chebysheva married Prince Pavel Golitsyn, and from that moment on the estate began to be associated with this surname. However, even after the Golitsyns, its owners were representatives of famous families - Karasy, Savostyanovs, Tsyplakovs. In the second half of the 19th century, the estate was rented out to various institutions: at different times there were furnished rooms, a music school, a hospital, a printing house, and a bookbinding workshop. In the latter in 1914 he worked as a typesetter Sergey Yesenin. According to activist of the urban protection organization "Arkhnadzor" Alexander Mozhaev, five years ago, restoration of the estate began, which was planned to be turned into luxury housing, but it was frozen. At the moment, unidentified people live in the semi-abandoned building (lights are on on the second floor in the evenings). The estate is in disrepair, and this is especially true of the roof and facade. The outbuildings of the complex are occupied by various commercial organizations.

Krivokolenny lane, 10

Golitsyn chambers. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org/NVO

Solodezhnaya Simonov Monastery- the oldest “multi-story building”, was erected in the 16th-17th centuries and is one of the few surviving buildings of the Simonov Monastery. The monastery, founded in 1370, was almost completely destroyed during the construction of the ZIL automobile plant. The malt room (drying room) was intended for storing monastic products, grain, malt, and according to other sources, it was also a dining room. The uniqueness of this building lies in the fact that it is taller than a modern five-story building: such houses were very rare in those days. Now the building is used for business needs.

st. Vostochnaya, 4

View of the Moscow River from the bell tower (the Dulo tower and the Sushil (Solodezhnaya) building are visible below); to the left of the river bend is the church in Stary Simonovo, old photograph.