Noble gentlemen and noble ladies, dinner parties and social evenings, candles, music, sparkle ... And now you cause sincere applause, whirling in a waltz, you find a refined taste, talking about painting, in the morning you will have a rich, skillfully served breakfast, and then you go hunting with a pack of your hounds, warning people in the kitchen before that what to serve for lunch ...
So it seems to many the life of the average Russian nobleman of the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. Indeed, looking at the magnificent estates built at that time for noble people, it is difficult to imagine that it was possible to live differently here.
Unfortunately, many of the noble estates did not survive to this day: they were ravaged by the bankruptcy or death of the owner or destroyed in the post-revolutionary period. But those magnificent palaces, cozy parks, lush gardens, which have been preserved, still delight us with their views. Now the state is carefully monitoring their condition, because they are included in the register of monuments of Russian architecture. Thanks to this, we can visit many of these estates. Read about Znamenka estate in Peterhof in this article.
What is a homestead?
A manor or estate is, to use modern terms, a noble house. Only very luxurious, with a huge plot on which there are several parks, ponds, fountains; several buildings: stables, human wings for peasants, finally, the main house itself, or rather - the palace. The estates were inherited or given to the landowner during his service at the court. In the province, estates became quiet, cozy corners of a measured and lazy life, while in the capital’s palaces a special atmosphere of proud nobility reigned. You can feel this atmosphere even now if you visit a small but majestic city near St. Petersburg. It's about Peterhof.
Peterhof
Literally, the name of the city means "Petrov Dvor". And indeed, the rapid development of the city, and then even settlements, began during the reign of Peter the Great. But Catherine II in 1762 took the city under the Palace Department. Since then, a huge number of luxurious buildings have been built there. The first of them was the English Palace, then huge parks with fancy fountains, the Farm Palace, the Palace Cottage were set up ... The city became an open-air museum! Indeed, in addition to palaces and parks, Peterhof also has a rich and interesting urban architecture: royal stables, the royal hospital, public places, and, of course, numerous estates in which the most notable elite of secular society of that era sought to settle.
Peterhof manor Znamenka
One of these beautiful architectural monuments is the Znamenskaya Manor, which now has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is impossible to determine the date of construction of the estate, since the buildings, along with numerous changes of owners, were constantly being rebuilt, new ones were being built. The first owner of the Znamenka estate was one of the court servants of Peter the Great, I. I. Rzhevsky, at his disposal she passed into 1710. However, the real construction of the estate began only with its next owner - the favorite of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Count Alexei Grigoryevich Razumovsky. Under his leadership, a two-story palace was built, a stone church of the apostles Peter and Paul. Later, under Senator Myatleev, another floor was added to the palace. And after the chamberlain, the estate Znamenka was acquired by Emperor Nikolai the First. In many ways, he changed the look of the palace, which after perestroika began to look more luxurious. The monarch chose the architectural project of A. G. Bosse in the Russian Baroque style. Also at the end of the nineteenth century, under the direction of the architect N. L. Benoit, the Joseph Pesnopevts chapel was erected on the road to Peterhof.
Approximately in the form that the imperial family left her, we see the Znamenka estate in St. Petersburg now. Despite the fact that during the Great Patriotic War, buildings were badly damaged (by the way, German military units were located in them), the estate was restored in the seventies of the twentieth century under the leadership of Soviet architect Mikhail Mikhailovich Plotnikov.
Gorgeous neighbors
Manor Znamenka fits perfectly into the general panorama of Peterhof. On the eastern side of the estate is the Alexandria Palace and Park Complex, which until 1917 was one of the imperial residences. From the opposite end is the Mikhailovskaya Dacha estate, built in the nineteenth century. The southern part of the estate Znamenka overlooks the Peterhof road, while the northern part - on the shore of the Gulf of Finland.
Walk in the park
The estates of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries would not be considered a full estate if the main building were not surrounded by a vast park. Manor Znamenka is no exception. Around the palace there is a large park - in general, the estate covers an area of 74 hectares. Gardening masters such as Bush and Erler worked on his device. Mostly deciduous trees and shrubs are planted in the park. In the Upper Garden there were two ponds - Big and Small.
In 2013, the personal park was assigned to the regional nature reserve “South Coast of the Neva Bay”.
For lost tourists
In the photo of the Znamenka estate, this park is most often represented. Why are there no photos from the palace of the estate? The fact is that excursion programs in the estate Znamenka of St. Petersburg are not carried out. So you have to be content with walks in the park. Most of the time local people spend time here, as tourists coming to Peterhof have more popular sights that require special educational programs. So, despite the rich history, the Znamenka estate is not very popular for visits.
Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
But in the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul to this day are worship. They resumed in 2000, after in the nineties of the twentieth century the temple, which was severely destroyed during the war, was restored by the efforts of parishioners. This church is the oldest in Peterhof. This fact alone makes the temple worthy of the attention of a tourist. The complex is located at: Peterhof city, St. Petersburg highway, house number 115.
Namesake manor
And now we’ll move a few hundred kilometers to the east and turn our eyes to a more modest estate, bearing the same name as the former imperial residence. It will be about the Deevskaya estate in the village of Znamenka, which is located about two hundred kilometers from Ufa.
Estate building
This manor was built relatively recently. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the owner of the distillery Nikolai Vasilievich Deyev built himself a huge two-story house of red brick, apparently, he planned to live a fun life with balls and other festivities in a big family. Around the mansion there was a park with a pond. However, after the October Revolution of 1917, the wealthy master lost his brainchild.
During the war, the building was not destroyed due to the territorial location in the very center of the state - that is, there were no air attacks, bombings or other military operations.
Since 1948, in a magnificent building, almost a palace (we can judge the decoration of the Deevsky estate of the village of Znamenka from the old photo), a secondary rural school was located.
Sad story
In the late seventies, a new, modern building was built for the educational institution - no one needed the estate. A sad fate awaited her. For lack of owners, she lost proper care, ceased to be protected and gradually began to be plundered by local residents. They dragged not only objects of luxurious life: expensive mirrors, solid furniture, crystal chandeliers and marble statues that once adorned the spacious halls of the palace, the marauders also liked the floor covering (natural parquet), thieves tried to tear pieces of stucco molding and pull glass from windows. Later, a red brick was also used, which was taken away from the estate with whole cars. Perhaps, somewhere in a hundred or two kilometers from Znamenka, someone is now walking along a path paved with the same brick, once laid in a strong masonry that promised to serve for more than a century.
Now, unfortunately, no one cares about the restoration of the architectural monument, just as nobody was interested in the fate of the estate at the end of the twentieth century, when the building could still be saved. Now, in order to restore the estate, it will be necessary to invest enormous funds, and whether they will be turned back is a dubious question.
Architectural brothers
By the way, the Deevsky estate in Znamenka has not only a namesake by name, but also a brother by architectural design. According to the same plan, the Elaginoostrovsky summer imperial palace was built at the end of the eighteenth century (it is called by the name of its first owners). This manor is open to visitors and turned into a museum, so anyone can admire the decoration of the beautiful palace. Another building constructed in exactly the same way is in Italy.