Vlakhernskoye-Kuzminki

The riding house fronted by Pyotr Klodt's statues of horse tamers.

Vlakhernskoye-Kuzminki is an estate formerly belonging to the Stroganov and Golitsyn families of the Russian nobility. Today, it is incorporated into Kuzminki-Lyublino historical park located in Moscow's Kuzminki District. The estate was named after the Icon of Theotokos Vlakhernskaya, a copy of which was kept in the estate church.

History

In 1702 Peter the Great granted the estate to Grigori Stroganov. No buildings were erected on the property until after the death of the first owner in 1714. The new owner, Alexander Stroganov, began construction on the estate; in 1754 the estate passed to his widow. After the marriage of her daughter Anna in 1757 to Prince Mikhail Golitsyn (1731–1804), the property passed to the Golitsyn family. From 1833 onwards, Vlakhernskoye-Kuzminki was a part of Golitsyns mayorate. In 1889 a part of the estate was donated to Vlakhernsky hospital. In the course of the First World War, the manor house was converted to an officers' hospital.

The Manor house

The manor house was rebuilt several times in the second half of the 18th century. Side wings are connected with the main house by two semi-circular galleries. In the 1830s, the entrance of the manor court was decorated with iron cadelabra and griffins, designed by J. Colombo. The manor house and its western wing burned down in 1916. In the late 1920s, a new building of the Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine was built on the spot. The western wing was renovated in the 1950s. The wings of the manor house are operated by the Museum of History of Moscow and exhibit various collections, including those of the Museum of Russian Estate Culture.

The Estate Church

The Church of the Blachernitissa today.

The church of the Blachernae Icon of Theotokos is located at the heart of the estate. The first wooden church was built here in 1716 by the Stroganovs in honour of the Blachernae Icon, a Stroganov family patron. The construction of a stone church in the Baroque style began at the end of the 1750s. In the 1780s, the church was rebuilt in Neoclassical style. In the 19th century, it was rebuilt by Domenico Giliardi and Konstantin Bykovsky.

The church has two side altars dedicated to Saints Alexander Nevsky and Sergius of Radonezh; several members of the Golitsyn family are interred at the church.

The church was closed in 1929 by order of the government and many of its ceremonial items were removed, the bell tower was also ruined and the building itself was badly damaged. The church and the bell tower were restored in 1995 under the guidance of Yelena Vorontsova. In October 1995 the refurbished church was consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexy II.