Kursk

Kursk (Russian: Курск, IPA: [ˈkursk]) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. It has a population of 440,052 (2021 census).

Kursk is the oldest city in the oblast, recorded in 1032 as part of the Kievan Rus'. It became the seat of a small eponymous principality in the 13th century, before passing to Lithuanian rule in the late medieval period, and then to Moscow in the early modern period. Kursk has served as the seat of regional administration since 1779. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German struggle during World War II and the site of the single largest battle in history.

Kursk was originally built as a fortress city on a hill dominating the plain. The settlement was surrounded on three sides by the Kur River (Amur basin) to the west and the Tuskar river to the south and east. Forest thickets approached it from the north. By 1603, Kursk had become the military, administrative, and economic centre of a vast territory in the south of the country. The new fortress was built under the leadership of governors Ivan Polev and Nelyub Ogaryov. The Kursk fortress was given a particularly important role, since in these places the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, who made regular slave raids on Russia, traditionally crossed the Seym river, and their main road, the Muravsky Trail, passed east of the city. In this regard, Kursk, despite not being part of the Belgorod Protection Line, became one of the most important fortresses in the southern region. In 1616, there were 1600 people in the Kursk garrison.

By 1782, the buildings of Kursk were located on the heights of two hills and in the valley of the Kur River. There were meadows and pastures on the banks of the river. The city streets that laid on the slopes of the hills had steep ascents and descents in many places, and travel in the city was made uphill almost everywhere. The presence of six ravines that cut through the hill of the Nagornaya part significantly hampered the development of Kursk. Heavy rains sometimes eroded the soil of the hillsides and formed ditches and gullies. The plan of Kursk in 1782 was to be implemented in the conditions of the existing buildings of the city. In the 1880s, Kursk was already a significant settlement. It housed 14 churches, not including the churches of the Znamensky Monastery. Most of them were of stone and built around the time period of 1730 to 1786. By 1782, Kursk was composed almost entirely of wooden houses. Fences and services went out in the direction of the streets, and houses were hidden in the depths of the courtyards. Many streets and lanes were no wider than 2.5 to 3 metres. The only stone mansion that has survived in present time after redevelopment is located at the corner of Pionerov (former Troitskaya) and Gaidar (former Zolotarevskaya) streets.

There were powerful fortifications and natural obstacles in the center of Kursk. Settlements were located around the city. Cossack and Pushkarnaya were on the slopes of the hills and in the valley of the Kur River, Yamskaya – away from the city, on the plain. At that time, Yamskaya was a small village concentrated around the Vvedenskaya church. The settlements Streletskaya and Kozhevenny were located in the lowlands and were often flooded by the Tuskar river.

The principle of regularity was applied in the structure of the general layout of Kursk. On the plan of 1782, Kursk is shown as consisting of two parts: the cities of Nagornaya and Zakurnaya. They are separated from each other by the Kura river valley. Each of these parts is divided into regular rectangular blocks located on both sides of the planned main streets – Bolshaya Moskovskaya (Lenina) and Kherson (Dzerzhinsky). In the city Nagornaya part, 19 streets were planned, and in the Zakurnaya part, 24 streets. At the entrance to the city, at the beginning of both Moskovskaya and Kherson streets, it was planned to arrange the entrance squares. The remains of the former prison were destroyed, and the moat was buried according to the plan of the city, which was most confirmed in 1782. A square called “red ” was made in its place. The construction of small areas was also envisaged for a number of churches throughout the city. The territory of both parts of the city, where it was not limited by rivers and deep ravines, was planned to be surrounded by a ditch and a rampart. The area occupied by the city according to the new plan totalled approximately 3060 thousand square fathoms, which corresponds to 12 square kilometres. The main drawback of the project was that it did not take into account the complex relief of the Kursk area. The structure of the plan, correct and orderly on paper, required significant revision, additions and even minor changes. The numerous proposals of the Kursk governors A.A. Prozorovsky, F.N. Nicknames, A.B. Debalmena, and A.A. Bekleshov, included in the city planning, made it possible to bring the scheme closer to reality.

The purpose of the redevelopment was complete accounting and control of residents. For this, the city was divided under the governor Alexander Bekleshov into 4 parts, each of which was managed by a private bailiff. The redevelopment of the city was begun by the provincial surveyor Ivan Fedorovich Bashilov, the district surveyor Ivan Shoshin, the provincial architects Vasily Yakovlev, Lavrenty Kalinovsky. Since 1783, decisions on redevelopment issues were made by a commission in the amount of 3 officials, namely the provincial land surveyor, the mayor and the city magistrate's ratman. The new urban structure – a rectangular quarter with residents of the same income, one estate – greatly facilitated the accounting and control of the inhabitants by the authorities. The center of the city, built up with stone buildings, was to take on a new, "ceremonial" appearance. These requirements were met by the resettlement of residents on the basis of class. The most significant government buildings erected in Kursk by the end of the 18th century. In accordance with the plan confirmed by Catherine II, these were public places, a prison, a guest house, the main public school, and a house of a noble assembly. The construction of the bank office, magistrate and post office was located along the red lines of the development of Florovskaya and Moskovskaya streets. The general plan for the development of Kursk was adopted in 1782. It was built according to a regular plan with a clear rectangular grid of streets. It was based on the two main streets Moskovskaya and Khersonskaya (now Lenin and Dzerzhinsky), converging at right angles on Red Square.

A city hospital, a regimental infirmary, an almshouse, and salt shops were built. The most notable private houses of the late 18th century that have survived to this day are the houses of the landowner Denisiev (corner of Sadovaya and Semyonovskaya) and the official Puzanov (Dzerzhinsky, 70), as well as the "house of the treasurer" (corner of Radishcheva and Marata). The main significance of the general city plan of 1782 is that for about 150 years it remained the only document that determined the development of the city of Kursk. The next master plan appeared only in 1947, after the Second World War. The number of residential buildings from 1786 to 1836 increased insignificantly, from 1989 houses to 2782 houses. If any building did not correspond to the confirmed plan, it was demolished.