ARKHANGELSKOYE ESTATE
The
State Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum is located in Krasnogorsky district
of Moscow region, 20 km to the west from the capital. The estate is
an outstanding example of the Russian manorial architecture. Archangelskoye
is famous for the estate's magnificent beauty and unique art collections.
Until 1810 Archangelskoye used to belong to Princes
Golitsyn, but the golden age of the estate started when Prince Nikolai
Yusupov, the rich grandee and the patron of arts, became the owner of
the estate. The estate turned into one of the most popular centers of
Moscow high life. Russian Imperial families, noblemen, politicians,
famous poets and writers visited Archangelskoye.
The architectural ensemble of Archangelskoye contains
the Great Palace, Archangel Mikhail Church, the theater, the burial-vault
"The Colonnade" and the regular park of the 18th century with
the Small Palace "Caprice".
The Great Palace at Archangelskoye was designed by
French architect Charles de Hern and constructed by Russian masters
in 1786-1790. High entrance arch, decorated with tracery cast-iron railing,
leads to the gala yard, in the depth of which the palace is situated.
Double colonnades solemnly decorating the yard conjoin the palace with
the wings. The belvedere above the second floor of the building makes
the palace a unique one. One of the palace wings houses the famous painting
gallery and the library that used to belong to Prince Yusupov.
The stone Archangel Mikhail Church was put up in the
1660s on the site where the wooden temple used to be in the 16th century.
In front of the north facade of the church the wall with a massive arch
embrasure was constructed.
The theater was built in 1817-1818 by architect Gonzago.
It still features the decorations and the curtain made by the famous
Italian artist.
The burial-vault "The Colonnade" is the
latest construction on the territory of the estate. Monumental, domed
building with granite colonnades was built in 1909-1916 after death
of one of the Jusupovs. The building was never used as a burial place
though.
The
regular park of the 18th century occupies the central part of the Archangelskoye
Estate. It was laid out at the same time when the Great Palace was founded.
The park's terraces are decorated with marble statues, busts, vases,
and benches made by Italian masters. In the western part of the park
one can see the Small Palace "Caprice" and the Teahouse pavilion.
In the eastern part there is the Pink Fountain pergola. Large conservatories
and dwelling houses used to be in the southern part of the park, but
in the 1930s Archangelskoye sanatorium blocks were constructed on their
site.
Nowadays the Archangelskoye Estate is the museum containing
unique collections of paintings, engravings, sculpture and applied art
of the 17th-19th centuries. The museum boasts one of the largest Russian
collections of rare books. It numbers about 16,000 volumes.
For a long time the State Archangelskoe Estate and
Museum was supervised by the Ministry of Defense. In November, 1985
it was closed for restoration, and since January, 1997 Archangelskoye
is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture.
Since 1998 the Archangelskoe Estate is the place where
the concerts of classical music take place.


