Hacienda Arkhanguelskoye

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.