Rentereya, Tobolsk

About museum

Rentereya is a building presumed to have been constructed in 1714–1717 to a design by the Tobolsk architect S. U. Remezov. It is named after the tax levied on peasants — the rente. The building had two tiers: the first with asymmetrically placed arches, and the second with a clear linear arrangement of six chambers connected by an enfilade of doors. The façade is decorated with columned window surrounds topped by keel-shaped kokoshniks and an ornamental cornice that dates back to the 17th century. There was a plan to crown the building with a tower surmounted by a spire and a double-headed eagle, but Remezov later abandoned this idea. The building has been called the "Swedish Chamber", the "State Chamber" and the "Dmitriev Gates". It housed the precious Siberian "yasak" — a tax collected from the indigenous people in furs. The two tiers of the rentereya reflect two cultural epochs.