The history of the town of Kirishi
Kirishi during Great Patriotic War
The historical and ethnographical exhibit
The Kirishi lace

The history of the town of Kirishi

Building of the Kirishi AdministrationSchool of Arts in KirishiBuildings of the “Kirishinefteorgsintez” plant

The town of Kirishi located on the bank of the Volkhov River is one of the youngest towns in Leningrad region. It turned 35 years in January 2000.

Earlier settlements existed here, though. The water-way "from the Varangians to the Greeks" took traders and travelers here in old days. The first mentioning of the village of Kirishi having 20 households and 105 residents refers to 1693. The village of Kirishi of those days lied on the bank of a small lake connected with the River of Volkhov by a narrow and short channel. Several wooden houses remain of that village today.

Modern Kirishi is a rapidly developing industrial center. Population of Kirishi district numbers 70 ths. people. More than 700 enterprises operate in Kirishi district, "Kirishinefteorgsintez" JSC (Kirishi Refinery) being the largest of them.
Forests lakes and clean streams, pinewoods and birch groves, peatbog berry-fields create the beauty of the area. The "Chisty mokh (Clean moss)" reserve is in a few kilometers from the town.

 

Kirishi during Great Patriotic War
Monument “A War-ravaged village”Helmets and shells of World War II  times

In the years of Great Patriotic War Kirishsky district happened to be in the midst of fierce battles. Desprite a big section of it was liberated in December 1941, a smaller area named by the Germans "Kirishsky platsdarm (beachhead)" stayed under them till October 1943. When the Soviet Army finally marched into Kirishi, they saw ruins, trenches, shell-holes and piles of battle-worthy ammunition everywhere.

Rapid revival of the town was caused by construction of the largest in the Russian north-west refinery in the 1960-ies.

The museum section devoted to Great Patriotic War displays relics found in the battle fields: bomb cases, guns, bullet boxes, coins, glasses etc. Many of them were donated to the museum by locals and war participants.

The historical and ethnographical exhibit
Ethnographic collection of the museumEthnographic collection of the museum

Besides the war exhibit, the museum has three more sections.

The historical one is devoted to the past of Kirishi district displaying stone axes, flint arrow-heads, sinkers and other archeological finds.

The ethnographical section presents domestic utensils still in use in northern villages - oven forks, stirring rods, scythes, sickles etc. Beautiful embroidered towels, everyday and holiday clothing, hand-made mats are of major attention.

Samovars made of tough-pitch copper, irons, painted distaffs of the mid 19th-early 20th centuries convey their identity.

The third section shows the achievements and development of modern Kirishi.

The Kirishi lace
Zakhozhskoye lace from the museum collection Zakhozhskoye lace from the museum collection Zakhozhskoye lace from the museum collection

Tatting has been a traditional local craft since the 18th century. The Kirishi lace is a later name for the Zakhozhe'e lace. The name originates from a remote area that was hard to reach ("zakhodit'"). It included the villages of Ikonovo, Dunyakovo, Motokhovo and others. The Zakhozh'e lace was a trade bringing additional income to the families, with lack of plough-land and low yields of crops in this marshy neighbourhood.

Oroginally the Kirishi lace was tatted using flax thread. Flax was grown right here, in Zakhozh'e. Later on, traders used to bring industrially produced threads and silk.

Lace-makers usually worked in the evenings, gathering in groups and moving from one house to another. Making their wonderful pieces (usually dresses or coats), they amused themselves telling endless stories and fairy-tales. The Kirishi lace traditionally uses floriated ornamental pattern and is done in moving wooden bobbins. The local pattern is unique and recognizable. It is created on the background of skew lattice and is often decorated with sharp barleycorn-like knots. Remembering the Vologda lace in a way, it differs in technique, density and size of produced articles.

More than 300 pieces, created mostly in recent years, are displayed in the museum. The names of E.Makhova, V.Shpilina, T.Baskakova and other talented lace-makers are well known in the town.