Wooden architecture is the main travel sight owf Tomsk. For centuries Tomsk was the main center of the development of Western Siberia. As Tomsk was the capital of the Siberian region, which was rich in wood, wooden houses were mainly built in the city in the period from its foundation in 1604 to the end of the 19 century.
And even when stone houses appeared on the main streets of Tomsk most of the houses still were built from wood. Eventually, there was developed a peculiar architectural style, which is often called the «Tomsk lace». The main feature of the style is wood-carved decorative elements, which were placed on the different parts of the wooden houses, including windows, walls and cornices.
Now there are over a hundred such wooden houses in Tomsk. And most of them are still inhabited by people. The wooden architecture of Tomsk is known beyond the limits of the city.
The most interesting wooden houses are on Krasnoarmeyskaya, Gagarin, Tatarskaya and Alexey Belents streets.
