The Vnimanie (‘Care’) Heritage Preservation Foundation has collected 1.2 million rubles to repair the rooftop of the city hall’s wooden building in Sortavala, the Republic of Karelia. It was built in 1885. It hosted city events, court hearings, civic organization councils, and duma meetings. The roof repair is the first stage of the reconstruction, which will cost 30 million rubles in total. The Vnimanie Foundation reports this.
The wooden city hall’s building in Sortavala was built in 1885 according to Finnish architect Frans Anatolius Sjostrom’s project. For decades, a burgomaster (the city administration’s head) worked there, events, court hearings, councils of civic and public-service organizations were held there. There was a museum in one of the halls, the exhibits of which were collected by enthusiasts since 1883. In Soviet times, the building housed a party office and then a city library. The city hall has the status of an object of cultural heritage of regional significance.
In 2019, the Kronid Gogolev Foundation bought the building for 1 ruble. The organization is obliged to restore the city hall. The reconstruction costs about 30 million rubles. It is necessary to repair the leaking rooftop at the first stage, as water makes the walls rot and decay.
"It was built 136 years ago. It has perfect preservation, although it has gone through the entire XX century with all its cataclysms and what was in these places. This is amazing," said Maria Gogoleva, the Kronid Gogolev Charitable Foundation’s director.
Classical music concerts are held in the city hall now. Some premises are not used. After the restoration, the foundation's employees plan to create a museum of architecture and city planning of Sortavala in the building.
The residents of Tula also take care of historical heritage. They have raised 194 thousand rubles for the reconstruction of an old standpipe. It was built in 1900. Residents used to get water from the standpipe. In 1930, it stopped functioning, and the building was transferred to the housing stock. The last resident of the house died in 2015; realtors bought it and wanted to demolish it. However, the old standpipe was saved thanks to historic preservation activists and the city administration.
On July 10, 2021, a new season of the Tom Sawyer Fest Historical Habitat Restoration Festival started in Kaluga. Volunteers chose a one-story wooden house built at 64 Ryleev Street in 1900 for reconstruction. Activists had already put four old wooden buildings in the city in order.
