Architecture of steam mills of Orenburg in the 19th–20th centuries

The article deals with the development of industrial architecture in the provincial city of Orenburg. A comparative architectural and art historical analysis of steam mills is carried out from the first buildings in 1878 to 1912. A brief description of provincial Orenburg as a large commercial and industrial center of the region is given. It is suggested that the first steam mill, built in brick style by a merchant from St. Petersburg in 1881, is a prototype that set the beginning of the visual appearance of historical industrial architecture in Orenburg. All the steam mill buildings in Orenburg that have survived to the present day are considered. The article is supplemented with archival materials related to the history of industrial facilities and their equipment. The study suggests that the industrial architecture of Orenburg at the turn of the century represented by steam mills evolved over an extremely short time, and its compositional, architectural and artistic features underwent global changes associated primarily with scientific and technological progress and the introduction of new materials and technologies. The steam mills are made in the brick style, while the decorative elements belong to historical modifications of Medieval architecture. It is hypothesized that the industrial facilities of the early 20th century with their compositional and decorative qualities set the grounds for the development of provincial Art Nouveau.