Everyone experiences ambivalent feelings when it comes to the suburbs. Homesteads, estates and parks…
Forward into Russian history
On the one hand, these are places that are closely and deeply connected with history, artistic life, real Russian life and customs, and on the other hand, the state of many memorable places causes anxiety and regret. Russian history and Russian soul - concepts, in general, are different, but sometimes they are so intricately intertwined that without one component it is impossible to fully understand the other, and, therefore, to get an answer to the question: what, in fact, is it, a Russian person?
Heads and repositories of Russian culture in the suburbs
Manors are the place where every second person has been. The names of some estates and estates near Moscow are well known to the general public: Abramtsevo, Arkhangelskoye, Marfino, Kuskovo and others. This is true, because 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 say that by the end of the 19th century. in Russia there were from 50 to 100 thousand estates andestates. Naturally, the activity of social, economic, artistic and creative life and the historical estates of the Moscow region were closely connected.
composers drew inspiration, worked and found rest in places connected with nature.
And probably there is no such Russian creator and thinker of the 18-19th centuries, whose fate and life would not be connected with a Russian country estate. And such traditions of Russian art as suburban architecture, gardening culture and architecture, landscape design have their roots in the Moscow region, the estates and nature of which carefully preserves them.
Be sure to recall that the traditions of Russian hospitality, Russian cuisine, hunting, collecting rare books and collecting works of art were also associated with the nobility's household culture.
Start getting ready
Within the 100-kilometer zone from the Moscow Ring Road, you can count about 200 estates and estates. By the beginning of the 20th century there were about 1000 of them in the Moscow region. All of them are memorable in their own way and deserve attention, but the times are now such that you need to visit interesting places with at least a little preparation. Moscow region usefully stock up on general information:
- about location, distance, route (metro, train, bus, car);
- aboutfeatures ("unusual") of the place: state museum-reserve, house-museum, departmental place, just buildings associated with history, literature, painting, architecture;
- if the place is associated with museum exhibitions, it would be nice to know about ticket prices, opening hours and places of rest and food. There are also options when museums, estates of the Moscow region belong to a certain department and the entrance is difficult, but, as avid travelers write, there is always “a hole in the fence at the back”, and you can still get there;
- correlating the possibilities of the environment with one's own goals: just relaxing in a picturesque place, literary, historical, architectural and artistic impressions, etc.
Such "targeting" will help save time and get real pleasure from visiting an interesting place.
Historic Sites
One of the traditions of high Russian society since the time of Peter the Great was the donation of estates and villages for faithful service. This is how many noble estates arose in the Moscow region, for example, the Glinka estate, granted by Peter I, as a village near Moscow, to his associate Yakov Bruce, a military and statesman, scientist and diplomat. After his retirement, Bruce was engaged in perestroika, scientific experiments, and even earned a reputation as a “magician and warlock.”
The history of the Glinka estate is an example of the history of Peter the Great, Russian military science, and the customs of Russian society in the 17th-18th centuries. If you just list famous historical figuresand their estates in the suburbs, the list will be impressive:
- Serednikovo is the family estate of the Stolypins. I immediately recall Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, the Russian reformer of the early 20th century. Even earlier, Serednikovo was associated with the childhood of the poet M. Yu. Lermontov. Later, Chaliapin and Rachmaninov visited here. Today, Serednikovo is the most "cinema" estate in the Moscow region, with an interesting film town, including the scenery of England in the 18th century;
- Conversations - give an even deeper immersion in history. Local historians call Conversations the place where Dmitry Donskoy pitched his tent, heading for the battle with Mamai (Kulikovo Field);
- Gorki (Lenin) is today a museum associated with the life of the leader of the world proletariat. The "highlight" of the museum exposition is the Rolls-Royce car that drove Vladimir Ilyich. But what is curious, the first mention of the estate dates back to the 16th century, and the interiors of the buildings have been preserved from the 18th-19th centuries.
Of course, there is no way to mention all the historical estate museums of Moscow and the Moscow region, but you can always find information. And interestingly, history sometimes intersects closely with literary and artistic events.
Literary places
Bolshie Vyazemy was granted by Peter Ι to Prince Golitsyn "for saving 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 the poetic homeland of Pushkin: he passed herechildhood, 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 visited during 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. reserve, here from September to April, musical evenings and concerts are held. Like Pushkin's places, Zakharovo must be mentioned near Vyazyomy.
About other literary and poetic places:
- Muranovo is a typical “noble nest”, which we have an idea of from books and films about Russia in the 19th century. There are many well-known literary names in the interweaving of families and destinies: Engelhardt, Baratynsky, Putyata, Gogol, Aksakov, Tyutchev. But fate decreed that the archive of the family of the poet Fyodor Tyutchev ended up in Muranovo and therefore a museum named after him appeared here;
- Melikhovo - A. P. Chekhov Literary and Memorial Museum-Reserve. The museum exposition contains more than 20 thousand paintings by artists, including I. Levitan, D. Polenov, P. Seregin - friends of the writer.
- Znamenskoye-Gubailovo - presented by the first Russian tsar (after the Great Troubles) Mikhail Romanov to the boyar Volynsky (the ancestor of Dmitry Donskoy's comrade-in-arms) in the 16th century. Later, in the 18th century, the commander Dolgoruky-Krymsky owned the estate. And at the beginning of the 20th century. the estate turned into a "literary nest" of Russian symbolist poets. The trees of the old park remember V. Bryusov, K. Balmont and A. Bely;
- Peredelkino - no doubt deserves separate words. This is a "writer's town" associated with the names of many significant Soviet and Russian writers and poets. Today in Peredelkino there is a house-museum of K. Chukovsky, B. Pasternak, B. Okudzhava, a museum-gallery of E. Yevtushenko. Near the village is the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior and the Patriarchal Metochion - the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
About Russian architecture
Church architecture occupies a significant place in Russian architecture. Without delving 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” (multiple-sided) premises.necessarily included a church, it is very interesting to see and appreciate how the churches were built. Of course, the canons and the “Russianness” of the style were kept. But the more interesting 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 2-storey church of the 18th century. the famous Russian architect V. Bazhenov and his students took part. The manor palace was built in the same style of Masonic architecture. A separately built bell tower (architect Tamansky) and a web of paths in the park and numerousponds create unforgettable moods, especially in the summer-autumn period;
- Brattsevo is a manor within Moscow, where there is an English park. For starters, you can visit Moscow buildings: the estate palace of Countess Stroganova, the Church of the Intercession, see 2 estate bridges and 5 estate buildings in order to become infected with the beauty and spirit of estates and estates near Moscow. And then it will be easier to travel around Moscow.
Patrons and Russian artists
Patronage (patronage to the development of science and art) originated in Russia in the 18th century. and flourished in the middle of the 19th century. Wonderful collections of Russian and Western European art, collections of rare books were collected in country estates and city palaces.
Therefore, many estates and palaces of the Moscow region are known thanks to their patrons, although, as always, there is no unambiguity in history, but there are many intersections. A one-story manor house of the 18th century, which is an example of Russian wooden architecture, has been preserved in Abramtsevo. The owner of Abramtsevo was the writer S. Aksakov ("The Scarlet Flower"), his friends - Gogol, Turgenev, Tyutchev - visited here.
When in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The 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 as its task the development of Russian national art. After the 1917 revolution, these traditions were continued by I. Grabar,P. Konchalovsky, V. Mukhina. And today, the museum exposition of Abramtsevo has more than 25 thousand exhibits: paintings, graphics, sculpture, works of arts and crafts and folk art.
Other, maybe the most, most…
Also worth mentioning are the estates of the Moscow region, open to the public:
- Arkhangelskoye is one of the surviving 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 Odoevsky, Golitsyn, Yusupov became the basis of a rich museum exhibition;
- Kuskovo is the estate of the Sheremetevs. The Palace, the Italian house, the Dutch house, the Grotto have been preserved. The State Museum of Ceramics is located on the estate;
- Klin is a place associated with the last years of the life of the composer P. Tchaikovsky. Today there is a house-museum that recreates the atmosphere of creativity, life and life of the great musician.
About the sad… (but not only)
Many estates and estates are in a state of decay. The reasons that abandoned estates in the Moscow region have a place to be are the lack of owners, the lack of interest of the owners, the use of buildings for other purposes. Sober-historical views on the problem say:
- The life and flourishing of estates and estates are a thing of the past along with the 19th century.
- Too destructive events took place in the life of Russia in the 20th century to start restoring everything connected with the historical past so quickly.
- But there isunderstanding that this is the past, which you need to know about and which must be preserved, which means that sooner or later the 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 is a place associated with artists of the late 19th century. - the beginning of the 20th century, and now just a sanatorium, could become an art museum;
- Marfino - a former military sanatorium, with still preserved sculptural griffins, a pond and a park, will turn into a picturesque place;
- the same Bykovo - will stop slowly collapsing.
Moscow region in the information space
There is a lot of information about the estates of the Moscow region, open to the public. 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 a place associated with any historical, literary and artistic events. In this regard, the research of the architect Natalya Bondareva is simply priceless. In her works, one can find descriptions of almost 300 estates, estates, churches in Moscow, the Moscow region and nearby regions.
Natalya Bondareva has been doing this work since 1996 and, no doubt, deserves words of gratitude and appreciation for what she does for her contemporaries and future descendants, describing the estates of the Moscow region, photos of which are placed in open sources. Anyone can expand 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 notclosed.
