Yesterday I visited a very interesting site on the south side of Kiev, which I'd been looking forward to seeing. Lena, who I've been in contact with on Facebook, braved some pretty nasty weather to show me buildings and houses from different areas of Ukraine. I've got several pictures, but one of the overall impressions I really liked about Pirogovo, was in the attention to detail. The buildings had been brought from all over Ukraine, transported intact, but were not haphazardly jumbled together, or jammed into a small area. Each region had its own spacious area, to reflect as accurately as possible how a typical village may have been organized. There were usually at least a couple of examples of the architecture from each region, along with a number of churches.
One topic which Lena and I discussed related to the importance of religion, particularly in the village. The church was not only a place to worship, but also a gathering place, and a social place for the village. Even today, I see signs of reverence for and homage paid to religion, even among non-believers. In the US we have religious fanatics, and we have 'Sunday' Christians, and everything in between, but I don't see that day-to-day acknowledgment of religion as a part of life. Not fanatical, not 'beat-you-over-the-head' with their beliefs, but the typically quiet reserved Ukrainian observation of traditions. Maybe it's just all the beautiful churches here in Kiev, who knows:)
The building on the right is I believe the oldest structure in Pirogovo. It was built in 1587, and I think it was from the Carpathians, though I am not positive. One disclaimer, I took shots of buildings from all of the regions, but I didn't think to mark them, and about halfway through the tour, I lost my writing instrument in a place I was NOT about to go fishing for it.
I like this shot as it is representative of most of the farms we saw. On the left in the background is the main building, the owner is a little better off, indicated by the larger windows. Also, thatched roofs appeared to be the standard through most of Ukraine, though we did seem some wooden as well, and even a couple of tin roofs. In the foreground, the square 'box' is the opening for the well, also an indicator of some wealth. To the right is the storage shed, and in front of that is a bench (to the left of the tree), apparently the social gathering area for most Ukrainian farms. I believe the log in the foreground on the right is a trough of some sort for animals.
One of my primary reasons for wanting to visit Pirogovo was to see the interior of the 'typical' farmhouse. One of my chapters is set inside a farmhouse, and throughout my character's travels in the countryside, I reference her staying at farms. The above is a typical interior. It is a single room for living, cooking, eating, and sleeping. In the background on the left is the bed for the parents, and along the wall on the right is the sleeping 'shelf' for the children, and I assume, any (very infrequent) guests, such as my character.
Here is another interior picture of a farmhouse (or hata), a bit cruder than the previous. While some of the details are different, the overall look and feel of the room is very similar to the room above, adult sleeping on the left, children on the right, the fireplace in the foreground, etc.
A typical hata as it would have looked in the late 18th or early 19th century, even in some cases up to the present day. The flowers signify that the household has a daughter, and I thought it was a pretty shot)
Finally, a rustic but beautiful village church. We were able to go inside one of the churches, though it wasn't this one. The icons and paintings were very beautiful, and the church was an actual working church.
One topic which Lena and I discussed related to the importance of religion, particularly in the village. The church was not only a place to worship, but also a gathering place, and a social place for the village. Even today, I see signs of reverence for and homage paid to religion, even among non-believers. In the US we have religious fanatics, and we have 'Sunday' Christians, and everything in between, but I don't see that day-to-day acknowledgment of religion as a part of life. Not fanatical, not 'beat-you-over-the-head' with their beliefs, but the typically quiet reserved Ukrainian observation of traditions. Maybe it's just all the beautiful churches here in Kiev, who knows:)
The building on the right is I believe the oldest structure in Pirogovo. It was built in 1587, and I think it was from the Carpathians, though I am not positive. One disclaimer, I took shots of buildings from all of the regions, but I didn't think to mark them, and about halfway through the tour, I lost my writing instrument in a place I was NOT about to go fishing for it.
I like this shot as it is representative of most of the farms we saw. On the left in the background is the main building, the owner is a little better off, indicated by the larger windows. Also, thatched roofs appeared to be the standard through most of Ukraine, though we did seem some wooden as well, and even a couple of tin roofs. In the foreground, the square 'box' is the opening for the well, also an indicator of some wealth. To the right is the storage shed, and in front of that is a bench (to the left of the tree), apparently the social gathering area for most Ukrainian farms. I believe the log in the foreground on the right is a trough of some sort for animals.
One of my primary reasons for wanting to visit Pirogovo was to see the interior of the 'typical' farmhouse. One of my chapters is set inside a farmhouse, and throughout my character's travels in the countryside, I reference her staying at farms. The above is a typical interior. It is a single room for living, cooking, eating, and sleeping. In the background on the left is the bed for the parents, and along the wall on the right is the sleeping 'shelf' for the children, and I assume, any (very infrequent) guests, such as my character.
Here is another interior picture of a farmhouse (or hata), a bit cruder than the previous. While some of the details are different, the overall look and feel of the room is very similar to the room above, adult sleeping on the left, children on the right, the fireplace in the foreground, etc.
A typical hata as it would have looked in the late 18th or early 19th century, even in some cases up to the present day. The flowers signify that the household has a daughter, and I thought it was a pretty shot)
Finally, a rustic but beautiful village church. We were able to go inside one of the churches, though it wasn't this one. The icons and paintings were very beautiful, and the church was an actual working church.
"The flowers signify that the household has a daughter." That's interesting; I've never heard or read about such a custom. Would the flowers have been different for an only son? You might consider expanding/explaining this custom in your book.
ReplyDeleteAfter I wrote this I was corrected slightly by my guide. Planting flowers does not signify a daughter, flowers painted on the hata is the actual custom, to indicate an eligible daughter lives there. I have kept in touch with Elena, my guide, so if you need the source she can probably provide it.
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