Krepostnaya St., 13, Vyborg, Leningrad Region, Russia, 188800
The Citizen's House is an old residential building in the center of Vyborg on Krepostnaya Street (house 13a), a medieval architectural monument.
A low two-story tower-type house with a basement and thick walls made of granite boulders, along with similar buildings such as the burgher’s estate, the House of the Merchant Guild of the Holy Spirit, and another guild house, is part of a group of four small private “fortresses” from the 14th–17th centuries—medieval burgher houses that can only be seen in Vyborg on Russian territory.
The exact date of the house’s construction is unknown, but historians believe the building was erected in the 16th century when Vyborg belonged to the Swedes. Medieval fortress houses at that time were built on the principle “my house is my fortress.” It is known for certain that during a remodeling in the mid-17th century, the window openings were enlarged and an additional story was added. The building has been residential for almost its entire existence. Such houses could serve both as homes and as reliable shelters during wartime. Since the building is one of the few constructed before the city’s re-planning carried out by engineer Torstenson in the 1640s, it is located not along the street’s red line but deeper within the plot. During renovations, the originally slit-like windows were expanded, and a low annex was added. The small rooms of the house, connected by a wooden staircase, are intended for living. However, according to some researchers, in the 17th century the owners housed Vyborg’s first printing press here, while others believe that Emperor Peter the Great once came here to rest at his “dacha.” Neither claim is definitively proven, and the house reliably keeps its secrets.
For centuries, the building was hidden deep within the city block, but at the end of the 19th century, Frezeskaya Street (now Krasina Street) was laid very close to the house. In the 1880s, architect Jakob Arenberg conducted measurements and sketches of the ancient building on behalf of the Historical Society, but this did not affect its use: to this day, this house remains residential—the oldest residential building in Vyborg. The current appearance of the living quarters (two apartments) was acquired after repairs carried out in the 1960s, when ceiling heights were increased and stove heating was replaced with central heating.
Outside, beneath the barely “alive” plaster, not only the familiar red bricks are visible but also huge granite boulders. The house has a tower and a basement; its thick walls block street noise from entering the living spaces, especially since modern soundproof double-glazed windows have been installed: this combination is astonishing. But what can you do? After all, the oldest residential house in Russia, which survived the reign of Swedish King Charles IX, the capture of Vyborg by Peter the Great, was handed over to Finland by Lenin and returned by Stalin, and withstood the collapse of the Soviet Union, is still inhabited. According to the “Housing and Utilities Management Company,” seven people live in it.
https://charmtravel.ru/sights/samyj-staryj-dom-v-rossii/
https://www.spb.kp.ru/daily/26609.7/3625639/
