Travel to Russia - Moscow Photowalk in Arkhangelskoye estate

Arkhangelskoye estate has a long story and describes life style of reach people living in Russia and who have been close to Russian tsar family, politicians, artists, writers.

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. Now its used as music venue for classic concerts and exhibitions.

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.

Arkhangelskoye Estate is situated twenty kilometers west of Moscow. 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 the Golitsyn family, 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. At that time the estate acquired the position of becoming the most popular centre of Moscow’s high life. Among the Arkhangelskoye visitors were royal families, nobility, well-known poets, writers and politicians. 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". 

I invite you to have a nice Photowalk in this gorgeouse plase to enjoy the arkhitecture, nature and taking pictures. You will have an unequalled opportunity to appreciate the 18th century park that was built approximately the same time as the Great Palace. You will see the terraces of the park that are decorated by delightful statues, exquisite vases and busts. Everything in the park was designed by Italian architects. To the east of the park, the famous Pink Fountain pergola can be seen. Large conservatories and homes used to be in the southern part of the park. The tour will take approximately 6 hours. Below you can see the pictures I took at list time of visit.

Useful info: Its worth to see the Estate around in the park and alleys only. For the price of 1-2 USD it is worth to see the inside of the palace because it is not repaired and has poor collection now.

Travel to Russia - Moscow Photowalk

Dear members, I invite you to share my hobby - I love taking pictures of beautiful places and picking the most interesting camera angles. I invite you to take a Moscow Photowalk.

Once, the pedestrian walks were considered one of the most pleasant entertainments of Moscow noblemen. There was even a special etiquette for such walks. Today, the routes of high society are still around and full of unexpected findings.

The first architectural constructions of Moscow were Monastic towers erected between the 10th and12th centuries. They were a part of the defensive strengthening of Moscow. Some of the most outstanding buildings built during the 12th century were: the Vasily Blazhenniy Cathedral, the Pokrovsk Cathedral on Red Square, both cathedrals of the Kremlin, and Cover Church in Fili, constructed at the end of the 17th century on Naryshkin's ancestral lands.

Fine examples of architecture in Moscow from the 18th century are connected with names of architects V.I.Bazhenov ("Pashkov's House") and M.F.Kazakov. About 40 buildings were constructed from their projects in Moscow. M.F.Kazakov became one of the founders of Russian Classical style. Under his projects outstanding buildings, such as the Senate building in the Kremlin, Golitsynsky Hospital, on what was formerly known as Big Kaluzhskaya Street and nowadays as Leninsky Prospect, the Petrovsky Palace (Leningradsky prospect, 40) and the Columned Hall of the House of Unions.

O.I.Bove designed 34 buildings in Moscow in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He designed Bolshoi Theatre, Church of All Grieving on Ordynka, the Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospectus and a grotto "Ruins" in Aleksandrovskiy Sad , which are all that remain of his work.

The first eight-storied building to be named the first Soviet skyscraper was constructed in 1923-24 on Kalashniy Lane near Arbat Square. The underground was the most remarkable architectural construction of 30th years. Building of its first stage is connected with Kaganovich's name who went to Berlin to study the Berlin underground and decided to build a piece of art.

I invite you to enjoy this walk with no rush and pick the route according to your interests. Usually this kind of route takes half a day, minimum. For prices please check my page Travel deals in Russia and FSU Countries.

Have a great journey!

Travel to Russia - Black Sea coast

Hello, dear members!

Today I want to tell you about deals on the Black Sea coast if you like travel to Russia and looking forward to know more about places for trekking, hiking and adventure tours.

I spent a grate time during last summer at the Black Sea coast. I took couple of weeks and my idea was observe the entire coast of the Black sea. I placed in my plan to visit all small towns by taking a suburban trains. I found a lot of National Reserves located near small towns with trekking routs about 7-10 kilometers which was nice combination with a lazy sunbathing and some horses back riding. 

The services level still remains soviet stile but this location is developing rapidly so it is not hard to find chip and clean place to sleep upon arrival. Another part of my plan was to visit Abkhazia which left unforgettable memories in my soul. This country worth additional attention so will write about it in one of my next posts.

Below you can see small part of my pictures I took wile my travel to the Black Sea.