Tsaritsino park

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Pond in Tsaritsino

Tsaritsino museum and reserve in Moscow (near Tsaritsino metro station and commuter suburb train station) was founded in 1984 in the park of the same name. The estate is known since late 16th century, when it belonged to Tsarina Irina, sister of Tsar Boris Godunov. At that time it was called Bogorodskoye. In 17th century it belonged to the Streshnevs and then to the Galitzines. In 1775 when the estate was bought by empress Catherine the Great it received its present name which means “Tsarina’s” (“Queen’s”). In 1776-85 architect Vasili Bazhenov built a new palace for the Empress here but in 1786 Catherine ordered it to be partly pulled down. Until 1797, architect Matvey Kazakov was working on the construction but the palace remained unfinished. Currently, in Tsaritsino there are a history and architecture museum with a landscape park with an adjacent forest, an art museum, the Biryulyovo dendropark and a cascade of the Tsaritsino ponds.

The 18th century architecture ensemble was built (though not finished following to the order of empress Catherine II) in pseudo-Gothic style, after projects of architects Bazhenov and Kazakov, and it is the only 18th century architecture ensemble of such dimensions in Russia. Around the palace, in the park there are a number of pavilions, pergolas, arbours, artificial grottos, decorative bridges (early 19th century, architect I.Yegotov), a Russian Orthodox temple “Source of Life”, as well as a modern recreation center with a (quite expensive) restaurant. For a long time most buildings were ruined (and alpinists used them for training). Currently a restoration of the architecture monuments is under way (to be precise, this is more a new-building since the ensemble was never finished). A number of buildings house the Russian museum of folk and applied art. The atrium of the “Bread House” is used for concerts of Moscow musicians.