Preservation of the Architectural and Urban Planning Traditions of Small Historical Towns of the Kaluga Region

Abstract

Historical and cultural monuments of small towns and the surroundinglandscape are a national treasure. The modern development of small towns requires a careful approach to their historical and cultural heritage. The development of unique historical territories of small towns should be based on historical, ecological, and landscape principles. The architectural appearance of the past centuries is preserved in the urban development in combination with religious buildings. The unique flavor of small towns is given by the variety of surrounding natural landscapes. Throughout many centuries of the history of the Kaluga region, the emergence of cities has been continuously associated with the natural process of securing the borders of the state in new territories and their settlement. Most of the ancient towns retained their medieval layout until the end of the 18th century.

During the reign of Catherine II, the political, industrial, and administrative-territorial transformation of the state caused a fundamental reorganization of the Russian fortress-towns, whichled to the development and approval by the Senate of the new regular city plans. Great merit in the transformation of Kaluga and the province belonged to the urban planner P.R. Nikitin, under whose leadership the regular plans of the towns of the Kaluga province were developed.

Today, the historical and cultural environment of small historical towns is mostly lost in favor of the commercial activity component. The experience of transforming towns in historical periods in accordance with the requirements of the time is unique for many reasons that still need to be investigated. When designing spatial development and landscaping of historical small towns, one should take care of the surrounding nature and preserve the national historical, urban planning, and architectural heritage, which contains a huge resource for providing a high-quality and uniqueliving environment.