Decorative Facades

The facades are considered the most attractive parts of the Krushevo houses. The houses have symmetrically or asymmetrically formed facades. They are characterized by proportion, balance, rhythm and silhouette. Depending on the positioning and the orientation, the houses can have one or two main facades. The most important and the most attractive elements of the facades are the balconies, consoles and gables. At the detached houses, such are the houses in Krushevo , there is no particular need of consoles, yet they are regularly present. Their presence is a result of the aesthetic needs in the formation of the facades. The balconies are a very frequently present element. They are usually built over the entrance door and fit into the axes of the symmetry of the façade. There are on, two, even three balconies – at houses with two main facades. They are fenced with richly ornamented wrought iron. We can also notice the ensemble of the double door and the elliptical rosette over it and the two side windows with semicircular or elliptical ending, set at the balcony. The serve to link the space of the chardak. The triangular gable is a final touch that gives an artistic formation of the houses^, facades. It is a final touch that gives an artistic accent on the vertical formed on the main façade. That vertical represents a compositional unity, most frequently formed from the entrance door to the house, the balconies on the first and second floor and the gables. Otherwise, the gables were painted with floral decoration, a combination of zoomorphic and floral elements, architectural or mythological scenes.

The typological analyses of the houses show usage of clear and unique basic principle according to witch houses can be divided in different types. The chardak and the porch with their position, largeness and function are the basic element in the various disposition of the rooms. Actually, the entire spatial organization of the houses is based on the relationship of these rooms and the other ones. As a result, the chardak and the porch influence the formation of the typological markings of the houses. Depending on their disposition, there are three basic types of houses in Krushevo: hoses with square basis and with the chardak and porch set on the corner; houses with rectangle basis – central solutions with porch and chardak in the middle; and houses with l-form of the basis, with centrally set chardak or with chardak on the corner. Naturally there are variations to these types. The richness of solutions of the Krushevo houses is enlarged by the detached houses, which are atypical for Krushevo. What is constant is the compositionally clear organization of the space with clear typological characteristics. Furthermore, a rule without exception is the usage of the same form and disposition of the rooms at all levels. The only exception is the cellar basis that adjusts the terrain.

The development of the houses in Krushevo in the second half of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century went into a direction of different treatment of the building techniques 9the brick was used as a building material), and the decorative, stylistic detailing of the facades. In the architectural formation of the facades there were no consoles, gables or the wooden horizontal or vertical trims on the facades. They were replaced by elements with purely decorative purpose – profiled horizontal wreaths between the floors, roof wreaths, and pilasters, plaster trimmings around the windows and the doors. The colour had a significant role in the artistic composition of the facades – the most common were yellow and blue. As with the typology, the houses kept the same typological characteristics even in the phase. The painted decoration of the walls and the ceilings continued, and the built in stoves to heat the rooms was a novelty.

The Krushevo houses are exclusive unity of the topography and the climatic conditions, form and function, the aesthetic of the intentions and the needs of the owners, the formational elements, the colours, the texture of the materials and the architecture. The houses also unify different influences in original ways. Their physiognomy and individuality bear the features oh the building tradition of the Vlaches and the artisans^, experience of the Macedonians. In combination with the autochthonous and original development, there are eastern and western influences from the time they were built.

The houses of Krushevo are part of the old city architecture from the 19^th century. With their spacial, constructional and esthetical solution they are considered among the most representative objects of the Macedonian city architecture. The creative spirit of generations, the esthetical patina of centuries and the original history of artistry and the architecture of Macedonia are deeply carved in the houses of Krushevo.

The texts on Kruševo were written within the project "Krushevo - habitat for the People" of the Journalists Legal Environmental Center "Erina", realized within the Open Competition Fund of the EU Phare Cultural Development Project. We are sincerely grateful to the authors for the opportunity to use their texts..

The web-site of the project "Krushevo - Habitat for People" can be found at:

www.krushevo-erina.org.mk

About the churches in Macedonia

© Vertikala - progressive ideas and technologies

 The hosting of this web-site is sponsored by

All rights reserved. Any reproduction of the content or any of its parts or any modification, in any form or by any method, known or yet to be invented,  for any use besides private, without prior written permission by the authors is prohibited.