We left Lystvyanka and returned to Irkutsk for a one night
stay in a 150 year old house that Lonely Planet highlights as a tourist
attraction in their "Russia" guidebook. The house is a fine example of
Russian architecture, wood everything, an ornate wooden lace skirt around
the roof edges, large and elaborate shutters that frame many high windows
facing the street. Beside it is an example of Siberian architecture, also
a wood cabin, the main difference shown in the lack of front windows in
the second floor women's quarters which face the inner courtyard. Irkutsk
was once the capital of all Siberia including Alaska, called the American
district of Irkutsk in the days of Russian ownership. Although Irkutsk
is a modern city with a large population, 800,000 people, we saw that
the skyline isn't crowded by tall buildings. Constant earthquakes stop
construction of any structure over 12 storeys. Irkutsk's key characteristic,
a city center dominated by wood cabins instead of skyscapers, impressed
us. It's fitting that a Siberian city should have large neighborhoods
of wood cabins holding their ground against the encroachment of concrete
apartments or strip malls, even if some of these cabins are completely
disheveled and on the verge of collapse. |