Today's topic for the article is Russian houses. And, I decided to tell you about the classic, historical housing of the Cossacks, called “Kuren”. The Cossack is an estate formed at the beginning of the Middle Ages, consisting of fugitive peasants, moving towards national self-determination. But, today the topic is not "Cossacks", but the housing of a Cossack.

Kuren 'is not a classic, chopped hut. Basically, these are frame-adobe houses, or solid-adobe houses. Since for a peasant, adobe is an incredibly affordable building material. Personally, in my opinion, a frame-adobe house is better. for its strength is higher. But, it is more difficult to make.

Saman, is a block "brick", consisting of hardened, not burnt clay, reinforced with straw. Since the Cossacks were classically peasants, straw from the mow was always present. And, it was technologically easier to make such a block. Plus, it had a relatively lower weight, with a larger volume, in contrast to solid clay bricks.

Even today, adobe construction technologies are still alive. And, you can search YouTube channels dedicated to the construction of adobe houses of a wide variety of budgets. And also see the difference between houses with a wooden frame covered with adobe and houses where the adobe block itself (like a brick) performs the bearing function.

Due to the peculiarities of the availability of other building materials, such “kurni” houses had their own limitations. So, a simple Cossack could not get the glass that already existed at that time. And, often the issue was resolved at hand. For example, by pulling a bullish bubble. Or, by inserting a mica plate. Because of this, the windows were made for only a little light. Not for viewing. Can you imagine how dark it was.

Of course, these factors have undergone evolution. Indeed, over time, people became available - glass, candles, oil lamps. Not just a "splinter" (a small piece of wood that is angled to control combustion and acts as a substitute for a candle).

It should be clarified that in the summer, glass substitutes were often not required. Since the windows were either wide open or closed with lattice, carved shutters.

Kuren was not a big house. Classically, like the huts, he very often had one living room, in combination - a kitchen and a bedroom. And also, a room called "canopy". An analogue of the current "hallway". The canopy played the role of a thermal barrier, protecting the living room from external freezing temperatures in winter.

Kuren was heated by a central stove. Around which there are lines of kuren. The oven was also used for cooking. Which often violated the thermoregulation of the room. For the use of the stove in the summer, in very hot weather, heated the air in the kurna even more. Perhaps the stove was the most expensive object in the house. For it was laid out by an experienced stove-maker, and it was made of fired, heat-resistant bricks.

Also, the original word "kuren" comes from the word "smoke" (or heat the stove). A house that is heated by smoking. What actually meant sometimes - the absence of a chimney. Where the smoke from the hearth came out through the breathing roof. But, over time, such heating became a thing of the past, and the name was assigned to the Cossack dwelling.

Since the kuren of a poor family had one living room, several generations often lived in it at the same time - old people, young families, and children. And also, without dividing into men and women.

This fact is one of the unpleasant ones. For, firstly, it is very unhygienic. And secondly, people were deprived of their personal, intimate space. And the children, practically from birth, witnessed the sexual relations between father and mother.

However, this was the case in most settlements that were not associated with the Cossacks. Such a life is only a manifestation of poverty. After all, then there was also the best housing. And the best conditions.

And, those families that were considered well-off could afford better conditions, more rooms, and more huts per family in the family area.

The ceiling in the kurna, as in many ordinary huts, was low. If ever there was. Sometimes, the house could be limited only by ceiling beams, followed by a roof immediately, usually woven from sheaves of straw. Everything here depended on the personal financial condition of the peasant, and on the cohesion of his settlement.

But, of course, the kuren did not always have an adobe nature. In some settlements of the Cossacks, kurnem. the log hut was also called, of the most different category of wealth. But, here we are talking about the assignment of the name kuren to any Cossack dwelling. Post factum.

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