Treasure of the tower. V. Speys

      Peter I was still at the shipyards of Amsterdam, when Andrei Denisovich Vinius went to Germany with ten young men to train them from foreign craftsmen. Vinius wrote to Peter in detail about his request to send young men to study in Saxony, including the 20-year-old Akinfiya, the son of the weapons business of Master Nikita Demidov, whom he brought to Freiberg in the spring of 1698. Akinfiya Vinius attributed to Wolf, Martin Zimmerman, the famous smelting master who worked in the field of copper and silver smelting.

      And the first Russian students will be sent to Freiberg in 1706, when the Mining Academy was established. The main specializations are mineralogy, geology, metallurgy, materials study…

      When Vinius led to Zimmerman Demidov, he, having learned the purpose of his arrival, replied:

      “Your Excellency, Andrei Denisovich, Peter the First, the tsar of All Russia, has decided on the construction of smelting plants in the Urals for making iron from the local magnetic ores. Local masters do it wrong and burn the ore. I will have to go to Russia in 1701, as you told me, that an envoy from your tsar will come for me. “Zimmerman’s words were skipped past his ears, Vinius said:

      “You, Mr. Wolff, prepare this young man, the son of the famous armoire Nikita Demidov.” During these two years that he will comprehend the skill of mining and smelting, you will be paid from the royal treasury. I personally will see to it that the money arrives on time. The ambassador in Saxony from the Russian Empire will pay you a fee for training this young man. And yet take it for yourself to stay, provide food and lodging.

      – Of course, if this is so important for Tsar Peter the Great, then I am ready to teach the young man and transfer the skill of melting not only iron but also copper ore. In our places, good copper ore, we also melted precious metals. I will teach him all this. And here we have a cabinet of minerals, where a rich collection of stones and kinds of various ores are collected. On occasion, he can there comprehend the external differences of iron and copper ores and learn a lot of interesting things.

      “Well, that’s good, Mr. Zimmermann.” Allow me to bow out. Goodbye and you, Akinfiy, wish you a successful study in acquiring knowledge of ore and smelting.

      Vinius approached Akinfiy, hugged him, and patted his shoulders.

      “Thank you, Your Excellency, I will justify the king’s highest confidence and learn how to make iron for the Russian Empire.” – Highly answered the guy. Vinius gave him his hand to shake. Demidov squeezed the narrow hand of Andrei Denisovich, leaving an indelible impression of the iron grip of the blacksmith’s son’s handshake from childhood, accustomed to the blacksmith’s craft of his father Nikita Demidov. Vinius rubbed his right palm involuntarily with his left hand, softening the bruised fingers of his hand. Then he climbed onto the soft seat of the droshky, harnessed by two German stallions, and drove to Dresden to other young men to distribute them to the masterful manufactories of Saxony…

      Wolf Martin looked thoughtfully at this tall and broad-shouldered guy, not in the age of an adult with a beard and strong hands that had not yet grown, without knowing how and with which to begin learning this delicate craft of smelting, which he managed to master in perfection only by the age of 40. Yes, and where to settle in his house. The grown-up daughter has a separate room, and he lives in his own. Again, take the daughter to her, move her bed, and put the student in the room Gretchen. Yes, there is no other way out. No, it was when my wife died, and the girl was still small. This, of course, is an inconvenience, but judging by the money that the king promised for studying this Russian guy, you can live with it. Zimmermann So he decided, let it be better to live with me in one room. And now, when the smelting of silver is not yet ripe, he must finish the work already, and then take him to his home. While the silver smelting furnace was warming up from the charcoal, Zimmerman always dined at that lunchtime. A beautiful and slender girl came up to him with a knot in the basket and, untying the white cloth, began to take lunch from the basket. Zimmermann motioned Akinfiya to him and said something to the student. But the guy did not understand, because he did not know the German language. The girl smiled with a snow-white smile Akinfiya and gestures began to invite him to join the meal.