The history of the Konchezero settlement, as well as the history of Petrozavodsk city, began early in the 18th century when one of the four plants of Olonets Province was built by order of Peter the Great for providing the Baltic Navy with all necessary weapons during the Northern War.
The Konchezero plant was built in 1706-1708 at 50 km to the north of the Petrovsky plant situated on Viksha River linking the Konchezero Lake and the Pertozero Lake. At first it worked as a copper works but it began functioning as an ironworks since 1719. The dam on the Viksha River, the copper shop with two furnaces, a blast-furnace, a hammer shop and other buildings had been included into the plant area by 1719. The plant itself was considered as a large wooden building. For working it used waterpower of the Pertozero Lake. All round the plant there was a settlement where workers lived. It was named the Konchezero settlement in the 18th-19th centuries.
When the Northern War was over in the 30s years of the 18th century all the other Petrovsky plants were closed but the Konchzero plant was functioning. When the Alexandrovsky cannon plant had been built in 1774, the Konchezero plant became its subsidiary building. The first buildings of the plant were burnt in 1793. In that period a new stone blast-furnace shop with two blast-furnaces was built. In the 60s of the 19th century the second blast-furnace shop was built there. Only in 1905 the Konchezero plant was closed because of the economic crisis.
The objects of historic heritage of the Konchezero settlement are still well preserved. In the centre of the settlement there are some preserved stone shops of the plant built according to the principles of industry architecture of the 18th century in the classicism style. Nearby there is a plant chapel built in the second half of the 19th century. Not far from the plant buildings there is the Trinity Church built in 1865-1866 for the workers of the plant. The church is considered to be a sample of original architecture not typical for traditional Orthodox cathedrals. More than 10 icons painted by famous Russian painters I. Repin, I. Kramskoy, F. Juravlev, A. Morozov had been kept in the church for a long time. In the Soviet period the building of the church was used as a storehouse. In 1980 the storehouse was closed and the building began to fall into decay. At present funding for arranging restoration works is being looked for.
An ancient dwelling building situated not far from the church was built in the 19th century for the shopkeeper’s family. The building draws attention because it was built as a town house not typical for such settlements. It is a two-storied house with a mezzanine and a carved balcony that keeps some traces of embellishments. The house was given to the church for developing its activity.
