One of the interesting and visited places in Leningrad region is Suida. The estate is a branch of the state agency Museum Agency. It is interesting primarily because it once belonged to the ancestor of the great poet Alexander Pushkin.
History
Museum-estate " Suida " was opened in 1986. Today, tourists have the opportunity to visit it thanks to local historian Andrei Vyacheslavovich Burlakov . It was he who opened the museum. And he did it on a voluntary basis. In the early nineties of the last century, the estate was closed. In 1991 they reopened. Burlakov served as director until 2008.
The museum-estate " Suida " stores the belongings of A. P. Hannibal - the very one who is the ancestor of Pushkin. The writer devoted one of his most famous works to him. A bronze candlestick, books, casket, silver spoon, snuff box and other items presented here once belonged to the famous military engineer, favorite of Peter I.
Most of the exhibits were donated from the descendants of Hannibal, the Pushkinists and the old-timers of Suida. At the museum-estate thirty years ago, for example, an old towel with Pushkin's initials appeared. This thing was presented by the great-grandson of the poet. Pushkin holidays are held here annually. For ten years, the journal Lukomorye has been published.
Hannibal Manor House was killed in a fire around 1897. The modern museum occupies part of the original stone building of Hannibal's time - the former guest wing. From 1796 to 1798, Pushkin's relatives lived here: father Sergey Lvovich, mother Nadezhda Osipovna, sister Olga and nanny Arina Rodionovna.
An excursion to the Suida Museum-Estate will be interesting to those who appreciate Pushkin’s work and are interested in history. Not far from the main building is a park with centuries-old oaks that are remembered by Pushkin himself. Here you can see the monument to the famous legendary Arina Rodionovna, visit the church where the poet’s parents were married. The cost of admission is about 100 rubles.
Before you go on a trip, it is worth remembering who Hannibal was. Pushkin wrote the story " Arap of Peter the Great " , which everyone read at school. Later, based on this work, a feature film was shot in which Vladimir Vysotsky played the main role. But what was true in Pushkin's story, but what was fiction?
Ibrahim Hannibal of Lagon
Much is known about this person, but not all information can be considered reliable. Pushkin’s great-grandfather on the maternal side, according to one of the most common versions, was born in 1696. Only in the mid-nineties of the last century it became known that the sultanate of Lagon , located in Cameroon, is the birthplace of Hannibal.
It became possible to determine the homeland of Hannibal after a letter was discovered written by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1742. It began as follows: " I come from Africa, was born in the possession of my father in the city of Lagon , which, in addition, had two more cities under it ... " .
At the beginning of the 18th century, the city was ruled by a prince ( miarre ) named Bruja . Most likely, it was he who was the father of little Abram - Pushkin's great-grandfather . Lagon was a well-fortified city. The walls surrounding it reached ten meters in height. The need for such protection was obvious. From the history of Africa, it is known that Lagon was subjected to frequent attacks by Muslims. Probably, during one of these attacks, the prince's son, along with other local residents, was captured and then sold to the Ottomans.
In captivity
A little more than a year spent the boy, who received the name Ibrahim in Turkey, in the seral of the Sultan, until he was bought out by Vladislavich-Raguzinsky , a well - known statesman, diplomat and merchant, who lived in Constantinople at that time. He represented the interests of Russia in Turkey, Montenegro, Venice, Rome, China. Ibrahim with two other princes bought by the prince was intended as a gift to Peter I.
At the royal court
The years spent next to Peter I, Ibrahim Hannibal will be remembered as the happiest in his life. The king liked the jaunty, smart little arachnochka, and he left him with his person. In the summer of 1705, while in Vilna, Peter baptized Ibrahim in the Orthodox faith. A memorial plaque on the wall of the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Church , installed after the restoration of the ruins of the church in 1865, has survived to this day.
At baptism, the boy received the name Peter Petrov, but, as his descendants testified, he cried and did not want to bear a new name. That is why Peter gave him another, consonant with the previous one - Abram. The full name is Abram Petrovich Hannibal .
Ibrahim became the personal secretary of the king. Peter entrusted many secret orders to Pushkin's great-grandfather. Hannibal was educated in France - graduated from an engineering school. He returned to Russia in 1723. After the death of the king, he sided with the opponents of Alexander Menshikov , for which he was exiled to Siberia, where he stayed for several years.
In disgrace
Since 1729, Hannibal was held in custody in Tomsk. Each month he was given a salary of ten rubles. In 1730 he was appointed major in the local garrison, and in September he was transferred to the Engineering Corps. Here the great-grandfather of the great Russian writer was listed for three years.
In 1733, Hannibal was sent to Estonia, where he trained naval officers in drawing and mathematics. He succeeded in returning to service under Elizabeth. In 1742 , Abram Petrovich was appointed Revelant commandant and awarded several estates. On the territory of one of them in the 20th century , the Suida Museum-Estate was opened.
Extraordinary personality
Much more would be known about this legendary man today if he had not once destroyed the memoirs he had been conducting for many years. Abram Petrovich Hannibal was a rather unusual person for his time. So, he was an ardent opponent of corporal punishment of serfs. And even included a ban on them in the lease of their villages.
Hannibal made a significant contribution to the development of potato growing. This fruit was known in Russia during the time of Peter I. But it did not gain popularity. Catherine II once instructed Hannibal to farm potatoes. The empress believed that it can be used in difficult, hungry years. For the first time, potato fields appeared in the Suida estate.
Hannibal had three daughters and four sons: Isaac, Ivan, Peter, and Osip - the father of Pushkin's mother. The great-grandfather of the poet died in 1781. Pushkin mentions Hannibal not only in the aforementioned story, but also in the poems " To Yazykov , " " To Yuryev, " and " My Genealogy. "
How to get to the Suida Museum-Estate
Near the museum, as already mentioned, is a park. True, according to reviews, it looks more like a forest. But this also has its own charm. Perhaps it was in these places that Pushkin came up with the first lines of the preface to the poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. Tourists usually seek to find in the park the legendary stone sofa, which once belonged to Hannibal. He stands on the shore of a pond . And the area of the park itself is 26 hectares.
You can get to the museum of the Suida estate from St. Petersburg by train: from the Baltic Station to the station of the same name. From Gatchina runs bus number 544. The complex is open every day from 10:00 to 17:00. Below is a more detailed description of the museum-estate " Suida " , namely the relics included in the exhibition.
Bust of the military
The museum has a lot of interesting exhibits. For example, a bust depicting a young warrior. It refers most likely to the 19th century . True, no serious research has been conducted. On the warrior’s head there is a fancy green hat, reminiscent of the one worn by the Egyptian pharaohs. The body of a young man is covered with a fabric dyed in brown. You can also consider outlandish amulets, transmitted by an unknown author in great detail. The young man's face has a dark gray tint, which indicates his African origin.
The relic was once discovered by a priest of a local church in his infield. In the 16th century, a monastery was located here. Later, already under Catherine II, a road was built that connected St. Petersburg with the provinces located in the southern part of Russia.
Trunk
Among the most legendary exhibits, this thing, once owned by Hannibal, takes not the last place. There is a legend that it was in this chest that Pushkin's great-grandfather brought " earth apples " to the estate. Then he began to diligently cultivate outlandish vegetables or fruits. We can say that the chest, which is stored in this museum, has historical value.
Vintage album
Such gizmos were in vogue in pre-revolutionary Russia. The owner of the album, which is stored in a special window of the museum complex, was Maria Skvortsova, the great-great-granddaughter of Hannibal. Here you can read various entries. They relate, according to dating, to 1912, 1914, 1917. Records belong not only to Skvortsova, but also to her relatives and friends. Of interest are graphic drawings. Their author is the artist Hartman .
Cannonball
In the early nineties of the last century, a gas pipeline was built on the estate. Then several archaeological finds were discovered. For example, a cannonball, made presumably in the first half of the 18th century . They found it where the house of Hannibal was once located.
It is known that until his death, Pushkin’s great-grandfather kept things that were related to the name of Peter the Great. There is an assumption that he took the core once in memory of one of the battles of the Northern War.
Tourist route "Suida - Vyra - Kobrino"
There are, of course, no excursions that would be devoted exclusively to the Suida estate . However, in the Gatchina district there are four museums with state status. In addition, there are many places that are somehow connected with the work of the great-grandson of Hannibal.
It is better to go on a trip to Pushkin places as part of an excursion group. In this case, it will be possible not only to get acquainted with the estate of Hannibal, but also to visit places such as the house of Arina Rodionovna, the museum of the Station Warden. The duration of such an excursion is seven hours. Cost - 1400 rubles.