Spiritual Forum

A blacksmith in Russia's Sverdlovsk region turns his house into a fairytale work of art, with rich colors and ornamentation.
Visitors to the village of Kunara, near the city of Ekaterinburg in Russia's Urals, are greeted by a fairytale sight.

A talented local blacksmith named Sergey Kirillov dedicated much of his life to turning his home into a work of art.

Sergey moved into the house with his wife Lidia in 1951. At the time it was an ordinary wooden building, and had been the home of his grandfather.

With time house began became dilapidated, and Sergey started to repair it, while at the same time crafting elaborate decorations. Soon the hobby became his life's main passion.

"He used to start decorating the house right after coming home from work. He did everything on his own, without any assistants or helpers. He dedicated all his leisure time to this house, he never stopped working, always thought out something new", says Lidia Kharitonova, his wife.

The house combines the structure of a traditional Russian decorative house (known in Russian as a 'terem' or 'teremok') with rich colorful ornaments and visual elements suggestive of fairytales, children's art, and Soviet-style imagery.

Locals say the pavement by the house is black because of the brake marks made by surprised and curious drivers.

Widely known in Russia and abroad, Kirillov's house won the All-Russian Amateur Wooden Architecture Contest in 1999.

Kirillov lived for four years after that, and died in 2003. Now his wife Lidia still lives in the house, and despite her advanced age, is active in preserving the decorations.

Lidia never locks the doors of her house, because she says nobody would try to rob such a beautiful place