Kurlin's Mansion

The house was built in 1903 by the merchant of the first guild A.G. Kurlin for his wife A.P. Kurlina , in whose honor she bears her current informal name. The house became one of the first Art Nouveau buildings in Samara ^[1] . Architect - A.U. Zelenko . The address is Samara, Frunze Street , 159 ^[2] .

In 1918, during the Civil War , the Czechoslovak Corps rebelled against the Bolsheviks took Samara, and Kurlin’s house was inhabited by counterintelligence of the Czechoslovak army.

From 1941 to 1943 , as a result of the evacuation of the diplomatic corps from Moscow to Kuibyshev , the building was occupied by the Embassy of Sweden .

In 1966, by the decision of the Executive Committee of the Kuibyshev Regional Council of Workers' Deputies No. 617 “On the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture,” the Kurlin mansion was added to the list of protected buildings as “a house in the basement of which many Red Army soldiers were shot in 1918” ^{[3 ]} . A memorial plaque was installed on the building with the inscription "The working class honors the blessed memory of the selfless heroes of the working class who were brutally tortured in the cellars of this house by the Czecho-counter-intelligence counterintelligence in 1918." In the 1990s, the board was dismantled ^[4] .

In the 1970s, the building was transferred to the regional museum of local lore. In 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin , the Kurlin Manor received the status of a historical and cultural monument of federal significance.

2008-2012 Reconstruction

June 1, 2008 the museum was closed to the public. By order of the Ministry of Culture and Youth Policy of the Samara region , reconstruction was carried out in it. Work was done to restore the courtyard buildings, then the experts took up the house itself. Everything was restored - from the interiors to the roof, the foundation was also strengthened. ^[5]

During the restoration, all exhibits moved to the fund of the Samara Regional Museum of History and Local Lore. P.V. Alabina. Some of the exhibits were included in the historical and local lore exposition “Crossroads of Samara History”. An updated manor was opened on December 25, 2012 . After opening, the building housed the Art Nouveau Museum.

According to the results of the restoration, it became clear that the restored appearance of the mansion is different from the original: “the original color was not returned, a century ago the mansion was more boldly painted, for example, the horizontal fields made of tiles had a different, brighter shade. Also, the floral pattern framing the window on the beveled corner of the building today has the same color as the surface of the wall, which gives the impression of a stucco decoration, although it is made of metal ” ^[6]

Art Nouveau Museum

One of the most popular museums in Samara . The museum is engaged in the study and popularization of the Art Nouveau style in the region, collecting information and objects of this era. In 2013, a permanent exhibition was opened in three halls of the main ground floor: “cabinet”, “boudoir”, and “dining room”. The exhibition presents furniture, clothing, painting, accessories of European and Russian masters of the early 20th century. ^[7]

In addition to the main excursion activities, the museum regularly hosts events aimed at youth audiences, children, and the local community. The museum organizes lectures, concerts, walking and cycling tours in Samara, exhibitions of contemporary artists, festivals. Combining efforts and collaborating with professionals in various fields of culture and art, leading museums of the country and the world, it has become not only an important exhibition site, but also a scientific, educational, creative cultural center . In the summer, the main venue for the events is the courtyard and garden of the museum.

The house has 22 rooms, each of which is unique and individual in its own way. A patterned forged metal staircase leads to the second floor. As a finish, colored tiled tiles are used.

The facade is decorated with shiny blue tiles, in harmony in color with a matte whitewash base and green inserts from textured tiles. On the facade there is stucco molding : a female head (the hostess of the house) on the pediment and a plant with long flowing stems above the corner window. Metal bars in the form of stylized butterfly wings, a dragonfly on the roof and openwork gates give the house the uniqueness and airiness of the forged structures.

• In the novel by A.N. Tolstoy's "Walking through the agony" of the writer mentions the house Kurlin, calling it "ridiculously luxurious . "
• There is a legend that the stucco image of an elegant female head above the front door and a floating nymph on the ceiling of the boudoir embody the image of the beautiful mistress Sandra Kurlina.
• In the basement there is a memorial zone - a wall with bullet potholes and inscriptions left by the Red Army arrested by Czechoslovak counterintelligence. According to another version, the traces were left by the anarchists, whose headquarters was located in Kurlina’s house, in the basement there was a shooting gallery, from which there were characteristic traces on the wall.

• Kurlin, Alexander Georgievich
• Kurlina, Alexandra Pavlovna
• Uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps

• E. Borisova, G. Sternin. Russian modern.

• Museum official site
• The official group of the Art Nouveau Museum on the Vkontakte network
• The official page of the Museum of Art Nouveau on the network "Facebook"
• Irina Kramareva Riddles of the house Kurlin. Samara and Province magazine, No. 6 # 2003—1 # 2004 (December — January)