Shchudrov chamber is the oldest building preserved in Ivanovo. It is located in the Art Square on August 10 Street, not far from Revolution Square. The village of Ivanovo was founded in the 16th century on this site, and the Shchudrov chamber was built in the 17th century.
Stone Chambers of this type were built in many cities of Russia in the 17th century, and they have been preserved in all the surrounding cities of the Golden Ring. Ivanovo is a young city, so only the Shchudrov chamber has been preserved here. The "capital" of stone chambers in Russia is the city of Gorokhovets in the Vladimir region, where 7 stone chambers have been preserved, including one three-storey chamber. In Ivanovo, the stone chamber is small, so sometimes it is called a "small chamber".
Shchudrov chamber was built in 1680 in the estate of the Princes of Cherkassy. Previously, the Kokui stream flowed near the chamber, but now it has dried up. Only Kokui Boulevard remains of it. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Shchudrov chamber was used as a "clerk’s hut". The size of the building is small, it has two rooms. In one room the clerk received visitors, in another room documents and books were kept. They recorded taxes levied on peasants from the area.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the building of the clerk’s chamber was bought by Osip Shchudrov. He was a serf, but became rich in trade, and later decided to engage in the production of calico fabrics. He added two more floors to the building and placed fabric production workshops in them. In 1926, the city authorities of Ivanovo included the Shchudrov chamber among the city monuments and made its restoration. The second and third floors, built in the 19th century, were dismantled. So the Shchudrov chamber appeared in its initial appearance of the end of the 17th century.
Now it is a branch of the Ivanovo Museum of Local History. Access inside the Shchudrov chamber is closed. A small Art Square has been created in front of it, where sculptures are installed. On the next street there is the Museum of the First Soviet (Council), as well as the Museum and Exhibition Center.
