Palekh

Historical information
Temples
Museums
Народное творчество
Accommodation    The administrative center of Paleh region was founded in 1947. The distance to Ivanovo is 64 km. The distance to the nearest railway station Shuya is 2 km.
    It was a village until 1947. It was reorganized into a working settlement by the Decree of Supreme Soviet Presidium from 23.04.1947. The exact date of the settlement’s coming into existence is unknown, but the records in old chronicles available nowadays witness that it had existed until 15 century. In 1628 - 1630 the village of Paleh had been given to boyar Ivan Butourlin for “Moscow State of siege” and belonged to his family until 1861.
    Then the village was past to the Griazevs, the Butourlins relatives, it was divided into two halves: the houses on the sunny side of the street belonged to the Griazevs, and on the dark side of the street - to the Butourlins. The church of the Holly Cross Day was erected in Paleh in 1693- 1696, and the church of Ilia the Holly Prophet was erected on Iliin street in 1790. The church of St. Nickolas the Thaumaturge was erected in 1712. Zemski (belonging to zemstva – elective district council in pre-Revolutionary Russia) public schools for boys and girls were working in Paleh since 1862.
    Icon painting of Vladimiro-Suzdalskaya Rus was born in Paleh in 16 - 17 centuries. Paleh icons were famous for especial fines of works painted in distemper with the use of gold.
    In December of 1924 the Artel (association for common work) of ancient painting was organized, the school of ancient painting was opened under the guidance of this Artel. The school was reorganized into Art professional school in 1935, and in 1936 - into Art College. This secondary professional school with the five-year period of study prepares specialists in lacquer miniature painting.
    In 1964 the community of Paleh painters was reorganized into Paleh art workshops. In 1989 on the bases of them creative industrial organization of Russian Federation painters’ league ”Community of Paleh”, cooperative society “Union of Paleh painters” were created, and a little bit later creative workshop “The citizens of Paleh” contributed to the rebirth of icon painting. In December 1929 embroidery Artel was created in Paleh, and in October 1960 it was reorganized into embroidery factory.
    Since 1935 the working settlement of Paleh is the center of Paleh region. Paleh was most intensively developed since the period of 1960- 1990. Republican highway Ivanovo- Nizhni Novgorod and regional highway Ivanovo - Yuzha go through Paleh. During the years of the Great Patriotic war the home for children evacuated from blockaded Leningrad was opened in Paleh. There are musical and art schools in the settlement. The houses of people creative work, the palace of culture and regional libraries were built. In 1980 the new building of central regional hospital began functioning, it housed polyclinic and therapy room. In 1987 the children’s department was built. There is a State museum of Paleh art in the settlement (it was opened in 1935 as the museum of lacquer miniature). It comprises the department of lacquer miniature, the house - museum of I.I.Golikov, Honored Artist of Russian Federation, the house-museum of P.D.Korin, Peoples Artist of the USSR, workshop museum of N.M.Zinoviev, Peoples Artist of the USSR in the village of Diagelevo.

Complex of the church Znameniya (Signs)
Ivanovo region, Palekhsky district, Krasnoye village
Tel.: (09334) 2-14-21
Situated near the entrance to the village on a hill slope over the motor car road Shuya- Palekh on the place of the grave-yard existing here since the XVII century with a wooden church. Erected of bricks on means of landowner P.N. Baryshnikov in 1804. It is possible that in the first quarter of the XIX century there were added a church porch and porticos from the north and south. It can be that at the same time there were erected a tracery metal fence on brick pillars and main southern gates. In the south-western fence corner there is a priest’s house. A picturesque group of buildings with especially smart southern façade form a complex which is the main composition accent of the village panorama and is very well blended with the surrounding scenery. Church of the Exaltation of the Cross (podvorye of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery) Palekh Ivanovo region, Palekh settlement, Bazarny bystreet , house 1 The church of the Exaltation of the Cross is built in 1774 in the traditions of the old Russian architecture of the XVII century. It consists of four parts: the main one under five-headed composition (of Cross Exaltation). To it there are built two side parts (Kazansky and Nikolsky), the fourth one, upper (of Mikhail Archangel). The bell tower is connected with the church through a church-porch. The bell tower base is a tchetverik, on it there is an elongated octahedron which ended by a dome. on the outer eastern wall there is a composition “The Exaltatiom of the Cross” made by brothers Salapiny in the middle of the XIX century. On the western wall there is inlaid with bricks an inscription with the builder’s name : Yegor Dubov. The church decoration : the works of the old Russian painting there created its glory already at the beginning of the XX century. And wall-paintings in the church professor of art study A.V. Bakushinsky named “the last great wall-painting closing a development cycle of an old Russian religious painting tradition. The church of the Cross Exaltation was painted in 1807 by Palekh icon-painters .The painting was conducted by Moscow artists - brothers Sapozhnikovy. In wall-painting a picture painting manner is combined with an icon painting manner . In 1992 the Cross Exaltation church was transferred to the Ivanovo diocese and became a part of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery. There is a possibility to receive to 6 pilgrims in the house of the podvorye. The church has a motor car parking for ten motor cars., approaches with asphalt surfacing.

    Various crafts were born in the village in ХVI-ХVII centuries. The beginning of growth concerning ancient icon painting craft of Vlarimir-Suzdal Rus in Palekh reffers to this period. In XVIII century art Palekh's icon painters has got the original style named subsequently " Palekh writing ". Palekh icons were famous with special subtleness of performance by distamper paints with use of gold. On December, 5, 1924 the artel of ancient painting has been formed. This date is considered to be the birthday of a new kind of art - Palekh lacquer miniature. Its founders were I.I.Golikov, I.M.Bakanov, I.P.Vakurov, I.I.Zubkov, N.M.Zinovjev.

    Since ancient times was also famous with products of skilled seamstresses of decorative stitch and embroidery. The beginning of this craft originates in XV century. In December, 1929 in Palekh stitch artel had been created, and in October, 1960 it was reorganized in stitch- embroidery factory which has united artels of villages Big Dorky and Krutsy. In 1966 the two-storeyed building of the factory on which more than 400 person worked was constructed.