Everyone experiences dual feelings when it comes to the Moscow region. Manors, estates and parks ...
Forward to Russian History
On the one hand, these are places closely and deeply connected with history, art life, real Russian life and customs, and on the other, the state of many memorable places is alarming and regretful.
Russian history and the Russian soul are different concepts, in general, but sometimes they are so intricately intertwined that without one component it is impossible to fully understand the other, and, therefore, get an answer to the question: what, in fact, is this, Russian person?
Foci and repositories of Russian culture in the Moscow region
Homesteads - a place where every second has been. The names of some estates and estates near Moscow are widely heard by the general public: Abramtsevo, Arkhangelsk, Marfino, Kuskovo and others. This is true, since in the 17-19 centuries. the noble estate was a kind of cultural and historical phenomenon, along with large and small cities, monasteries, villages, villages, cathedrals and churches.
Historians claim that by the end of the 19th century. in Russia, there were from 50 to 100 thousand estates and estates. Naturally, the activity of social, economic, artistic and creative life and the historical estates of the Moscow Region were closely connected.
And since it was a stone's throw from the estate near Moscow, it was natural that the best Russian writers, poets, artists, composers took inspiration, worked and found rest in places connected with nature.
And probably, there is no such Russian creator and thinker of the 18-19 centuries, whose fate and life would not be connected with the Russian suburban estate.
And such traditions of Russian art as suburban architecture, landscape gardening culture and architecture, landscape design are rooted in the suburbs, estates and nature which carefully preserves them.
It is necessary to remind you that the traditions of Russian hospitality, Russian cuisine, hunting, collecting rare books and collecting works of painting were also associated with the noble local household culture.
Getting ready
Within the 100-kilometer zone from MKAD, approximately 200 estates and estates can be counted. By the beginning of the 20th century in the suburbs there were about 1000. All of them are memorable in their own way and deserve attention, but now the times are such that you need to visit interesting places at least slightly prepared.
With regard to the topic, we can say that if you want to visit the most beautiful estates of the Moscow Region, you should usefully need to stock up with general information:
- about location, distance, route (metro, train, bus, car);
- about the features ("unusual") of the place: state museum-reserve, house-museum, departmental place, just buildings related to history, literature, painting, architecture;
- if the place is associated with museum exhibits, it would be nice to know about ticket prices, opening hours and places of recreation and food. There are also options when museums and estates of the Moscow Region belong to a certain department and entry is difficult, but, as avid travelers write, there is always “a hole in the fence behind”, and you can still get there;
- correlation of the possibilities of the environment with their own goals: just relaxing in a picturesque place, literary, historical, architectural and artistic impressions, etc.
Such "focus" will help save time and get real pleasure from visiting an interesting place.
Historical places
One of the traditions of higher Russian society since Peter's times was the donation of estates and villages for faithful service. That is how many noble estates appeared in the Moscow Region, for example, Glinka's estate, granted by Peter Ι, as a village near Moscow, to his associate Jacob Bruce, a military and statesman, scientist and diplomat. After his resignation, Bruce was engaged in perestroika, scientific experiments and even earned a reputation as a “magician and warlock”.
The history of Glinka's estate is an example of the history of Peter the Great, Russian military science, the mores of Russian society of the 17-18 centuries.
If you simply list the famous historical figures and the estates belonging to them in the Moscow Region, the list will be impressive:
- Serednikovo is the Stolypin family estate. I immediately recall Peter Arkadyevich Stolypin, a Russian reformer of the early 20th century. Even earlier, Serednikovo was connected with the childhood of the poet M. Yu. Lermontov. Later there were Chaliapin and Rachmaninov. Today Serednikovo is the most “cinematic” estate of the Moscow Region, with an interesting film town, including the scenery of England in the 18th century;
- Conversations - provide an even deeper immersion in history. Local historians call Conversations the place where Dmitry Donskoy spread his tent, heading for the battle with Mamai (Kulikovo Field);
- Gorki (Leninsky) is today a museum connected with the life of the leader of the world proletariat. The highlight of the museum exposition is the Rolls-Royce car, which drove Vladimir Ilyich. But curiously, the first mention of the estate dates back to the 16th century, and the interiors of the buildings are preserved from the 18-19th centuries.
Of course, there is no way to mention all the historical museums-estates of Moscow and Moscow Region, but information can always be found. And interestingly, history sometimes closely intersects with literary and artistic events.
Literary places
Large Vyazyomy were bestowed by Peter the Great to Prince Golitsyn “for the salvation of the young tsar during the Streltsy revolt”. In addition, the estate is closely connected with the life of Boris Godunov, Pavel Ι, Kutuzov, Napoleon, Bagration, L. Tolstoy.
But what is especially important - Vyazemy is Pushkin’s poetic homeland: his childhood passed here, here he got acquainted with the beauties of Russian nature, heard folk songs, studied the life and customs of the Russian nobility and Russian peasants.
The first poetic creations of Pushkin were born here, and here he was in difficult periods of his life. Legends also live in this place: the locals call the Golitsyn Palace “the House of the Queen of Spades”, and you can learn something about the fate of Princess Golitsyna, the prototype of the old countess with the secret of three cards.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that Big Vyazemy is the Pushkin Museum-Reserve; here, from September to April, musical evenings and concerts are held. As Pushkin’s places, next to Vyazemy, Zakharovo must be mentioned.
About other literary and poetic places:
- Muranovo is a typical “noble nest” of which we have an idea of books and films about Russia of the 19th century. There are many famous literary names in the interweaving of births and fates: Engelhardt, Baratynsky, Putyata, Gogol, Aksakov, Tyutchev. But fate ordered so that the archive of the family of the poet Fyodor Tyutchev got into Muranovo, and therefore a museum named after him appeared here;
- Melikhovo - A.P. Chekhov literary and memorial museum-reserve. The museum displays more than 20 thousand paintings by artists, including I. Levitan, D. Polenov, P. Seregin - friends of the writer.
- Znamenskoye-Gubailovo - donated by the first Russian tsar (after the Great Troubles) Mikhail Romanov to the boyar Volynsky (ancestor of his comrade-in-arms Dmitry Donskoy) in the 16th century. Later, in the 18th century, the estate was owned by the commander Dolgoruky – Crimean. And at the beginning of the 20th century. the estate turned into a "literary nest" of Russian symbolic poets. The trees of the old park are remembered by V. Bryusov, K. Balmont and A. Bely;
- Peredelkino - undoubtedly, deserves separate words. This is a "writing town" associated with the names of many significant Soviet and Russian writers and poets. Today in Peredelkino there is the house-museum of K. Chukovsky, B. Pasternak, B. Okudzhava, the museum-gallery of E. Evtushenko. Near the village there is the Church of the Transfiguration and the Patriarchal Compound - the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
About Russian architecture
Church architecture plays a significant role in Russian architecture. Without diving deep into this area, it is worth noting that a typical Russian church is still recognizable because of the shape of the domes, the “tent” (multi-occupancy) of the premises.
And since the typical parks and estates of the Moscow region 17-19 centuries. necessarily included a church, it is very interesting to see and evaluate how the churches were built. Of course, the canons and the “Russianness” of the style were maintained. But the more interesting are the deviations:
- in Dubrovitsy you can see the most "baroque" (from the Baroque style) church of the Moscow Region. The palace was built in the same style, but later it was rebuilt in the spirit of classicism;
- Bykovo - in the construction of a two-story church of the 18th century. The famous Russian architect V. Bazhenov and his students took part. The palace of the estate was built in the same style of Masonic architecture. The separately constructed bell tower (architect Tamansky) and the web of paths of the park and numerous ponds create unforgettable moods, especially in the summer-autumn period;
- Brattsevo is a manor in Moscow, where there is an English park. For starters, you can visit the Moscow buildings: the manor palace of Countess Stroganova, the Church of the Intercession, see 2 manor bridges and 5 manor buildings to catch the beauty and spirit of the estates and estates near Moscow. And then it will be easier to go traveling around Moscow.
Patronage and Russian artists
Patronage (patronage of the development of science and art) originated in Russia in the 18th century. and reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century. In the suburban estates and city palaces, remarkable collections of Russian and Western European art and collections of rare books were collected.
Therefore, many estates and palaces of the Moscow region are known thanks to the owners, patrons, although, as always, there is no unambiguity in history, but there are many intersections.
In Abramtsevo, a one-story manor house of the 18th century has been preserved, which is an example of Russian wooden architecture. The master Abramtsevo was the writer S. Aksakov (“The Scarlet Flower”), his friends — Gogol, Turgenev, Tyutchev — were here.
When in the 2nd half of the 19th century industrialist and philanthropist
S. Morozov became the owner of the estate
; artists M. Vrubel, V. Vasnetsov, D. Polenov, I. Repin, V. Serov actively worked here. It was here that the "Abramtsevo Circle" was born - an artistic and creative union that set itself the task of developing Russian national art.
After the revolution of 1917, these traditions were continued by I. Grabar, P. Konchalovsky, V. Mukhina. And today the museum exposition of Abramtsevo has more than 25 thousand exhibits: painting, graphics, sculpture, works of decorative, applied and folk art.
Others, or maybe the most, the most ...
Also worth mentioning are the estates of the Moscow Region, open to the public:
- Arkhangelskoe is one of the preserved estates from the end of the 18th century, including an architectural and park ensemble in the style of classicism. And the art collections of the former owners of the Odoevsky, Golitsyn, Yusupovs became the basis of a rich museum exhibition;
- Kuskovo - the estate of the Counts Sheremetyevs. The Palace, the Italian house, the Dutch house, the Grotto have survived. The estate is home to the State Museum of Ceramics;
- Wedge is a place associated with the last years of the life of composer P. Tchaikovsky. Today, here is a house museum that recreates the atmosphere of creativity, life and life of a great musician.
About sad ... (but not only)
Many estates and estates are in a state of destruction. The reasons that the abandoned estates of Moscow region take place to be - the lack of owners, disinterested owners, the use of buildings for other purposes.
Sober-historical views on the problem say:
- The life and heyday of estates and estates are a thing of the past since the 19th century.
- Too destructive events took place in the life of Russia in the 20th century to begin so quickly to restore everything connected with the historical past.
- But there is an understanding that this is the past that needs to be known, and which needs to be preserved, which means that sooner or later issues of restoration and restoration will be resolved, and the abandoned estates of the Moscow Region will delight us with their beauties.
And then:
- Dugino - a place associated with artists of the late 19th century. - beginning of the 20th century, and now just a sanatorium, could become an art museum;
- Marfino - a former military sanatorium, with sculptured griffins, a pond and a park still preserved, will turn into a picturesque place;
- the same Bykovo - will cease to collapse slowly.
Moscow region in the information space
Information about the estates of the Moscow Region, open to the public, is plentiful. It is publicly available, and you can find information of a very different nature about estates, houses, churches, simply beautiful parks, and thus discover for yourself personally a place associated with any historical, literary and artistic events. In this regard, the studies of the architect Natalia Bondareva are simply invaluable. In her works, one can find a description of almost 300 estates, estates, churches in Moscow, the Moscow Region and surrounding areas.
Natalya Bondareva has been engaged in this work since 1996 and, undoubtedly, deserves words of gratitude and appreciation for what she does for contemporaries and future descendants, describing the estates of the Moscow Region, the photos of which are published in open sources. Anyone can add to their knowledge in this area.
But it is important that such people are not alone today, which means that the road to the past, and through it, to the future, is not closed.