3/2014 УДК 72.03:908 I.V. Aksenova MGSU RECONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING HISTORY OF THE DEMIDOVS’ ESTATE «ALMAZOVO» SITUATED NEAR MOSCOW The currency of the topic covered in the article is not only the necessity of national cultural traditions revival, but also the possibility of applying the restored historical objects in modern life as multifunctional cultural and touristic complexes. At present, this is one of the most prospective tendencies in tourism, entertainment industry and educational programmes. The revival of historical estates and cultural traditions is nowadays insuffi ciently used but inexhaustible source for economical and cultural development of Russian regions. Attracting investments allow preserving ancient buildings in future. The Demidovs’ estate “Sergievskaya dacha” in Almazovo (belonged to the Demidovs, the Ural owners of mines and metallurgical works) is an object of historic and cultural interest of Federal signifi cance and it is of great scientifi c. educational and architectural value. To date the published information about the estate is laconic and sometimes contradictive. The results of historic and architectural researches based upon detailed study of literary materials and especially archives are offered in the article. All building stages of the estate are considered. Unique unpublished drafts of demolished and not erected (because of a disease of the owner) buildings and elements of landscape architecture, which form an entity of the whole complex, have been discovered by the author. The scientifi c importance of researches carried out by the author consists of the possibility (to the great degree of trustworthiness) to reconstruct the building history of the whole estate complex. The volume of the obtained information allows to speak of the possibility of the estate restoration and to work out the project for its new contemporary usage as a museum of the noble family way of life. This will encourage the development of tourism in the region and draw the attraction of investments in order to preserve the estate. Key words: historical site, cultural and touristic complexes, Demidovs’ estate, Almazovo in Moscow Region, archives, estate building history, historical and architectural investigation, museum of noble family household, retrospective reconstruction, historical objects usage. In 1762 the Emperor Peter III abolished compulsory state and military service by his “decree of liberty and freedom for the Russian nobility”, which led to a wave of estate building. Believing in the possibility of creating a perfect world, the repre- sentatives of the upper class laid out their estates in accordance with their philosophy and ideas of heaven on earth. This was the beginning of “the golden age of Russian estate” and its importance for Russian culture cannot be overestimated. After the Revolution some estates were irrevocably gone, others were more for- tunate: medical and social institutions were established in them. However, during perestroika period they were left derelict since the State no longer set aside any money even for repairs, let alone restoration. According to the information from “The Society of Russian Estates Investigation”, around 7000 estates have survived in Russia as historical and cultural monuments [1]. However, most of them are in poor condition and every year their number is going down. 36 © Aksenova I.V., 2014 Архитектура и градостроительство. Реконструкция и реставрация In contemporary European countries the practice of retrospective reconstruc- tion, which re-establishes the atmosphere of the past, is becoming ever more popular [2]. At present time this is one of the most attractive ways of developing tourism, leisure and educational programs. In Russia the examples of activities in restored es- tates, which are close to historical practices, also exist, though they are still rare. For instance, the Cultural Museum of the Russian Estate, the Vlakhernskoye-Kuzminki Estate of the nobility Golitsins, set up in 1999, has become one of the best-known and most dynamic cultural and educational centers in Moscow [3]. And at the Mary- ino Estate (the family estate of the Stroganov-Golitsins outside St. Petersburg) it has been possible to restore the unique spirit of a 19th century estate and visitors come here for various events (holidays, banquets, festivals) [4]. Although the restoration of historic estates, and, together with them, national cultural traditions, is still rare, it is an inexhaustible resource for the economic and cultural development of the Rus- sian regions. Under the aegis of the national “Russian Estate Restoration” foundation, pilot projects to promote interest and restore neglected estates are being developed, as well as the projects to fi nd social and cultural uses as multi-purpose cultural and tourist centers for recreation and as health [2]. Restoration is acceptable only by us- ing scientifi c methods which restore on the basis of documentary evidence. «The 19th century Almazovo Estate» near Moscow is a historic and cultural mon- ument of national importance. According to its offi cial designation, the surviving elements of the monument include fi ve historic buildings of the Church complex (an almshouse, the Church of St. Sergius and the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the Church gate and the east and west clergy houses), its system of ponds and canals and the remains of the park [5]. The other buildings (including the country house) gradually fell down as far back as the 19th century. In the view of the experts, at the peak of its prosperity the estate was notable for its extremely distinctive layout with a unique system of artifi cial lakes, which turned it into “a Little Venice in the Mos- cow Region” [6]. Even today ancient avenues, plant-fi lled estate canals and ponds, as well as the location of the now non-existent country house, can still be made out from satellite photographs. *** The development of the land adjoining the Medvezhyi lakes, where the present- day village of Almazovo is situated, started in the late 14th century. In 1646 a noble- man of the Boyars’ Council of the Vladimir Legal Department of the Royal Gov- ernment, Semeon Almazov, became the owner of the settlement. After the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh was built, the former small village became known as Sergievskoye or Almazovo. In 1753 Sergievskoye was acquired by Nikita Akinfi ev- ich Demidov (1724—1789), a grandson of the founder of the Demidov mining and metals dynasty [7]. Nikita Akinfi evich, a creative and gifted man in many fi elds, was a representative of the new generation after Peter the Great. In accordance with European fashions he decided to convert this ordinary village of Almazovo near Moscow with its everyday life into an estate, unusual by its beauty and splendor. On the general land survey of 1766 (Pic. 1), “the village of Sergievskoye in the Bogorodsky District of the Moscow Province of the Koshelev area, the estate of the privy councilor N.A. Demidov”, is mentioned as “former monastic properties” [8]. Architecture and urban development. Restructuring and restoration 37 3/2014 Sergievskoye could be reached from the Strominsky road (now the Shcholkovskoye Highway) through Nikolsko-Trubetskoye. The road passed through the estate and led to the Vladimir Highroad. In the 1760s and 1770s extensive construction work was carried out in the estate. The local topography gave N.A. Demidov the idea of creating a system of reservoirs, which on the one hand, enabled him to lower the water table and drain wetlands, and, on the other hand, create a unique water park in the estate. Thirteen years later almost the whole estate had already been established in Sergievskoye. Unfortunately, the architect of the estate is unknown. Pic. 1. The Central Part of the Estate at the Time of the Survey 1766—1768 (RGA- DA — Russian National Archive of Historic Documents. Fond / F. (Archive) 1354. Opis / Op. (Inventory) 246): 1. Main canal; 2. Main avenue; 3. Great pond; 4. Small pond; 5. Artifi - cial “Mount Zion”; 6. Original wooden country house on the island in the centre of the round pond; 7. Wooden bridge; 8. Stone bridge; 9. Outbuildings; 10. Stone St. Sergius Church with wooden bell-tower; 11. Clergy building; 12. Hamlet for servants; 13. Orangeries; 14. Site where the the- atre was to be built in 1773; 15. Garden; 16. Swan pond; 17. Small Menagerie; 18. Side (pig) pond; 19. Bathing pond The estate had a transitional character, ranging from regular classicism, charac- terized by simple forms, to landscapes imagined in the romantic style [9]. Although quite geometrical, the setting was very picturesque which, in contrast to Western classicism, is peculiar to Russian architecture. A unique technique of landscape art was applied to its layout, reinforcing the pivotal composition of the central avenue (2) with the parallel main canal (1), situated 60 meters to the north. In the west the canal ended in the smaller pond (4) and the artifi cial Mount Zion (5), in the east it ended in the greater pond (3). This artifi cial, rectangular-shaped but rounded reser- voir is adorned by an island, situated on the same axes as the main canal [10]. More or less in the middle of the canal a round pond was dug, in the centre of which a small, eight-sided island with a country house was located (6). The house (at fi rst one-storied, then two-storied with an attic storey) was placed across the canal so that its eastern and western facades looked along the axes of the canal. The glazed walkways on the arched bridges united the house with wooden outbuildings on the opposite banks of the canal — another technique which has no parallels in Russian estate architecture. More or less in front of the country house, against the other side of the avenue, there stood the stone Church of St.