The Martyn Brothers House (russian: Дом братьев Мартын), also known as the Red Cottage (russian: Красный домик), is a building in Rostov-on-Don, located at the intersection of Bolshaya Sadovaya Street and Fortress Lane. The building was built by architect in 1893, in the centre of the former

Fortress of Saint Dimitry of Rostov The Fortress of Saint Dmitry of Rostov (russian: Крепость Святого Димитрия Ростовского) was a fortification structure of the Russian Empire. In the middle of the 18th century it was of great military and strategi ...

. The first owner of the building was a British citizen, Ivan Romanovich Martyn. The Martyn Brothers' House has the status of an object of an object of cultural heritage of federal significance. The building currently houses the Sholokhov Centre, part of the

National Sholokhov Museum-Reserve The National Sholokhov Museum-Reserve ( rus, Музей Шолохова, r=Muzyey Sholokhova) is a museum complex in Rostov oblast, Russia which commemorates the life and work of author Mikhail Sholokhov. The main exhibits are located in an apa ...

, and functions as an exhibition space and a venue for cultural and educational projects.

History

The two-storey red brick house was built in 1893 to the design of Rostov architect . The house was built in the spirit of

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

, combining elements of Russian and German architecture. A pointed tower with a

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

stands on the corner of the house. The building was originally owned by a British citizen Ivan Romanovich Martyn, then by his wife, P. I. Martyn. The house then passed to their sons – Vasiliy, George, and Ivan. The Martyn family owned the foundry and mechanical plant "John Martyn and Co.", located near the house. In the 1910s, George Martyn was Consul of the United States, and had his reception room in the building. In the 1920s, the building was nationalized. On the ground floor were various institutions, and on the upper floor were

communal apartment Communal apartments (singular: russian: коммунальная квартира, ''kommunal'naya kvartira'', slang. ''kommunalka'') appeared in the Soviet Union following the October Revolution of 1917. The term ''communal apartments'' is a produ ...

s. After the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

, the building was renovated, during which time the roof windows were lost. In the 1980-1990s the building was occupied by the House of Artists, and housed a salon-shop, an exhibition-

vernissage A vernissage (from French, originally meaning " varnishing") is a preview of an art exhibition, which may be private, before the formal opening. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only to invited guests, it is often called a ''pri ...

and an antique stall. In 2007, the building was transferred to the

, and restoration works began. Repairs lasted between 2008 and 2014, with the building opening as the Sholokhov Centre on 22 May 2015, marking the 110th anniversary of Mikhail Sholokhov's birth, and Russia's Year of Literature. The centre provides exhibition space and a venue for cultural and educational projects. It hosts lectures, museum classes, creative meetings, and theme nights. Its first exhibition was "Traces of Cossack Antiquity", displaying artefacts from the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

's collections.

References

{{Reflist Houses completed in 1893 Tourist attractions in Rostov-on-Don Buildings and structures in Rostov-on-Don Cultural heritage monuments in Rostov-on-Don Gothic Revival architecture in Russia Museums in Rostov Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Rostov Oblast