The history of the appearance of the Samovar in Russia

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Traditional tea ceremonies in Russian are immediately presented as heart-to-heart gatherings at a samovar with bagels. The hot water machine has become a real symbol of comfort, family hearth and prosperity. Samovars were often described in works of art, depicted in paintings. They were inherited and given as a dowry to brides. And the most famous were the products from Tula, which are popular to this day.

Samovars and Russia

The history of the origin of the water-heating machine remains unknown, but the first samovars appeared in the days of Ancient Rome. There they were called auteps and resembled a tall jug.

The similarity of the product was also in Ancient China. The design was called Hogo and looked like a deep bowl. According to one version, samovars appeared in Russia under Peter I, who was very fond of innovations and brought curiosities from Europe to his homeland. However, historians consider it false, since the first mentions of a water heating machine occurred only in the middle of the 17th century, after the death of the emperor.

The origin and formation of the trade

It is still unknown how exactly the hot water machine got to Russia, but the Russians liked the curiosity. The samovar business originated in the Urals, where there were large deposits of copper and brass. Metallurgical factories began to be erected in these places, and in 1740 the word "samovar" first appeared in the documents of the factories.

What does Tula have to do with it then? The fact is that for the manufacture of water heating devices, not only materials were needed, but also specialists. In those days, it was the Tula masters who were famous for their highest professionalism. This led to the fact that samovar production smoothly migrated to Tula. In addition, from there it was much closer to deliver products to Moscow and St. Petersburg, compared to the Urals.

The first Tula samovar in 1778 was made by samovar makers Ivan and Nazar Lisitsyn. The brothers, together with their father, opened their own factory, and after a quarter of a century there were already 26 people working in the production. Samovars were very popular. The Lisitsyns' products were distinguished by a wide variety of shapes and finishes.

At the factory, they created egg-shaped water-heating machines that resemble barrels, with taps in the form of dolphins and other intricate figures, loop-shaped handles and curls. Samovars were also decorated with chasing and engraving. After another 25 years, there were more than 28 enterprises in Tula, which every year produced 120 thousand water heating machines.

Varieties of samovars

The Tula samovar was used by all segments of the population: from tsars to peasants. However, for ordinary families, a hot water machine was a real luxury. In those days, metal products were expensive, and not everyone could afford even tea. There were several main types of samovars.

1. Traktirny - were available in almost every tavern or inn. They usually boiled water in products and prepared food for travelers.

2. Coffee - appeared at the beginning of the XIX century. Since then, the samovar has become suitable for making both tea and coffee. It differed from an ordinary product only in design and resembled a flattened cylinder with flat handles. Also attached to it was a frame with a loop on which a sack with ground grains was suspended.

3. Samovar-kitchen - it was possible to cook a full meal in it. The product was divided into several compartments with separate covers and their own taps. Thanks to this, it was possible to simultaneously cook the first course and boil water for tea. Mobile kitchens were often found in roadside inns, at the post office, they were taken with them on the road.

The most famous Tula samovar was "Parichko". The model was considered the most versatile, since it operated on both liquid and solid fuels. Such a samovar did not ignite and did not burn even in the absence of water inside. In addition, the samovar had maximum thermal efficiency.

How a hot water machine works

The manufacturing technology of the samovar has not changed to this day, and with this, the method of its use. The first step was to pour some water into a special tank so that the metal does not melt during heating. The burner was filled with embers, chips, and cones. A pipe for ignition or boots was put on top. The samovar was gradually filled with water, heated up, began to characteristically "sing", and only then seethed with boiling water.

The 19th century was the heyday of the samovar business, and after the Bolshevik revolution, mass production began to decline. In the 70s of the twentieth century, combined samovars appeared that could be boiled both in the traditional way and with the help of electricity.

Currently, several factories have survived that produce hot water machines as souvenirs. And you can get to know the history more closely and see the very first models in the Tula Samovar Museum, which is located in Tula.