While being in Moscow, we suggest you to visit and enjoy Tsaritsyno estate. This is a huge picturesque park (more than 100 hectares) and an elegant palace which is an important monument of so-named Russian gotical style (pseudo-Gothic) designed by two Russian architects Vasily Bajenov and Matvey Kazakov by order of Ekaterina II. Moreover this is the biggest pseudogothical building in Europe and the unique palace designed in this style.
Big palace of Tsaritsyno
Tsaritsyno has a very dramatic history. Vasily Bajenov, a very talented architect who designed Kremlin palace put all his soul and inspiration to design the new project that Russia hadn’t seen before in order to satisfy the tsarina.
Two architects Vasily Bajenov and Matvey Kazakov
By 1785 году the construction of the residence was almost over and Ekaterina came to Moscow from Saint-Petersburg (which was a capital of Russia that time) to see her new palace. But after she examined the residence, she was exasperated: the vaults seemed her to heavy, rooms too low, scaircases too narrow.. She decided that it was not possible to live in such a palace. Bajenov was dimissed from further construction and the creation of the new project was charged to his pupil Matvey Kazakov. This fact especially hurt the architect. There are many versions of why Ekaterina rejected the palace. One of them was intrigues and masonic relations of the architect, the other one was his rebellious disposition and that he always exceeded the estimate.
Figured gate
Years were passing and Ekaterina never stayed in the palace. Neither her descendants. The estate fell into decay without being used.
Big bridge
By XX century Tsaritsino represented just romantic and mournful ruins telling about unrealizable dream of the famous architect. The first tentatives to make a museum appered in 1960. But the restoration was very complicated and expensive. Besides there were always many disputes around the estate: many of people thought that Tsaritsyno, as a historical object, should stay a ruin like a romantic symbol of the epoch where lived the architect. However after passing Tsaritsyno into the property of the city in 2005, great restoration works were started and in 2 years it was recreated completely.
Figure bridge
Nowadays Tsaritsyno is not just a museum, it’s a big cultural and educational complex where important art expositions, concerts, children master classes are held. Come and enjoy this wondeful place full of mysteriousness, romantism, beauty and gracefulness.
