Architecture of Cossack settlements in the 16th–18th centuries

• Elena V. Ponomarenko Scientific Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning, branch of the Central Institute for Research and Design of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation; Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Palabras clave: Cossack Freemen, Fortress, Irregular Layout.

Resumen

The research objective is to show how Cossacks’ early settlements emerged and their architectural development shaped itself in the Middle Volga and South Urals. The methodology of the study is based on a comprehensive architectural historical analysis of the layouts, composition and character of early Cossack settlements in the region in the 16th – 18th centuries. In result, in the aspect of historical development, the process of formation of architectural and town-planning heritage of Cossacks may be represented as a series of an artificial environment’s distinct states. In conclusion, the most significant element in the fortress-settlement composition was the fortress itself.