Park "Krasnaya Presnya" (Studenets Estate). Krasnaya Presnya Park "Krasnaya Presnya" on Google panorama

Walking along the well-groomed paths of the park, I suddenly caught myself thinking: there is something else very pleasant and comfortable in the atmosphere. It was quiet, unobtrusive music flowing from the speakers. She was echoed by the numerous voices of birds living in the park. It was very strange, but harmonious. All this set the mood for relaxation, rest and solitude.

This lyrical mood is promoted by the carefully preserved nature and picturesque views of the park. In autumn, the old linden alley is well preserved, along which, oddly enough, champignons grow under the canopy of trees.

Crossing the oval bridge to the island, I found myself in a real recreation area. There are free comfortable sun loungers and ottomans. People are sunbathing right in the city center. Beauty!

Mothers with strollers, children running barefoot on soft grass - what could be better for those who do not have the opportunity to go out of town in the summer?! Right there, nearby, on the island, there is a huge white tent, where you can probably hide from the unexpected rain. But at that moment some kind of seminar or training school of design was taking place there. No one bothered anyone: some were sunbathing, others were babysitting children, others were undergoing training.

By the way, the park has a wonderful playground for children with a special coating, various swings and a trampoline. The children from there don’t want to go home.

There is a small stage nearby. Obviously, interesting performances and celebrations take place here. Yes, they also play movies for free right in the open air. There is a poster at the entrance.

Sports activities in the park

I was pleasantly surprised by the rental of sports equipment. There’s a lot of stuff here – bicycles, roller skates, velomobiles, electric cars for children. The prices are quite reasonable.

I also noticed a basketball and mini-football court. But the most interesting thing is the skate park for extreme sports enthusiasts. Teenagers here perform various tricks on rollerblades, bicycles and skateboards. Exciting action.

Five times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) at 10.00 everyone can practice ancient Chinese breathing exercises with instructors. Entry is completely free.

History of the park

The small park “Krasnaya Presnya”, located on 16.5 hectares right in the center of Moscow, is rightfully considered unique in the capital. This is due to the only picturesque “Dutch” ponds in Moscow, which have been preserved on the site of the ancient 18th century estate “Studenets”.

The estate belonged to the princes Gagarin. M.A. Gagarin laid out a garden in this place in the so-called “Dutch style,” which included artificial ponds. The very name of the estate comes from the Studenets stream that once flowed here, which was famous for its clear springs. Residents of the area always came here for beautiful water, which was considered healing.

Subsequently, in the 20s of the 19th century, the estate passed into the hands of the Moscow Governor-General A.A. Zakrevsky, who built a beautiful house here and was involved in the arrangement of the park together with the architect G. Gilardi. Now the estate is being restored, but they say that this has nothing to do with real historical reconstruction. It is expected that there will be a regular remake.

In addition, several years ago, unfortunate restorers, while carrying out work, broke the vein of the spring that supplied the ponds with water. They began to dry out. At the moment they are somehow filled with water, but in some places it is blooming very strongly. Obviously the water-biological balance was disturbed.

In 1932, a recreation park for Muscovites was created on the site of the estate. Some of the ponds were filled in, but new bridges were built in the Empire style.

The cast-iron front gate of the park, recreated by architects in 1998 from photographs of the 30s of the 20th century, is very interesting in appearance.

Upon entering the park, you are immediately greeted by Lenin, whose monument was erected here in 1976. He looks very sad and dilapidated. He sits, thinks, writes something in his copper notebook...

Since it was lunchtime, the few alleys of the park were filled with “white collar workers,” or in other words, “office plankton,” who “floated out” here to breathe the fresh Moscow air, forgetting about all their business affairs. In general, the park is, as it were, in the embrace of the business life of Moscow - it is surrounded by the World Trade Center and the Expo Center. And Moscow City is very close.

Come to the park to feel secluded and tranquil, to relax and unwind.

Some more photos of the park:

How to get there:

The park is located at Mantulinskaya street, building 5. How to get there: you can walk from the metro as follows:

• from the Vystavochnaya metro station - 751 m;
• from the metro station “Ulitsa 1905 Goda” - 1288 m;
• from the Mezhdunarodnaya metro station – 1331 m.

The park was founded in 1932 on the territory of a monument of landscape architecture of the 18th century - the Studenets estate. This is the only example of a park from Peter’s time “in the Dutch manner” preserved in Moscow. It is believed that the name “Studenets” appeared due to a spring well near the road. The water from this well was famous throughout Moscow for its taste and mineral qualities.

The first information about this place dates back to the 14th-15th centuries, when the entire territory on the banks of the Moscow River at the confluence of the Studenets stream was occupied by the village of Vypryazhkov, owned by Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. In the second quarter of the 15th century, the village passed to the Novinsky monastery, which owned it until the beginning of the 18th century. At this time, the lands were granted to the Siberian governor, Prince Matvey Petrovich Gagarin. He laid the foundation for the estate, planned a park with artificial ponds, and built a wooden palace.

In 1721, Gagarin was convicted and hanged for bribery and embezzlement, and all his property, including his estate, was confiscated. Under Anna Ioannovna, the lands were returned to his son Alexei. Under him, the estate became a place for country festivities called “Gagarin Ponds.”

Alexei Gagarin's daughter Anna married Privy Councilor Count D.M. Matyushkina and received the estate as a dowry. Her daughter Sofya Matyushkina, in turn, married Count Yu.M. Vielgorsky and also received the estate as a dowry. Her son Matvey Vielgorsky sold the estate in 1816 to the merchant N.I. Prokofiev, from whom it passed to Count Fyodor Tolstoy. His daughter Agrafena Tolstaya married the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Arseny Zakrevsky, and received the estate as a dowry. Zakrevsky is credited with arranging and transforming the estate.

Under him, the manor house was rebuilt (project), a unique system of canals and ponds was created, and a landscape layout of the park with asymmetrically located pavilions was created. Zakrevsky’s main idea was to create here a kind of monument to the Patriotic War of 1812. He filled the park with sculptures of military leaders, erected a monument to the war in the form of a Tuscan column (architect V.P. Stasov, preserved). An octagonal gazebo-fountain “Octagon” (architect D.I. Gilardi) was placed above the well with spring water. At the end of 1973, the gazebo was moved to another location. It has survived with some losses.

In 1831, Zakrevsky sold the estate to P.N. Demidov, who in 1834 donated it to the state with the aim of establishing a school for the Russian Society of Gardening Lovers in it. After the nationalization of the estate in 1918, the Society of Gardening Lovers was located here. Many new plantings appeared on the territory, but at the same time many monuments were lost, bridges were demolished, some canals were filled in, sculptures were destroyed, and the palace was destroyed. In the 1920s The park was crossed by a railway line from Trekhgornaya Zastava.

In 1998, the park's main entrance gates were recreated, but in a new location. In 2010, restoration of the manor house began.

The remains of the summer theater and the monument to V.I. have been preserved from the Soviet period. Lenin (sculptor N.I. Bratsun, architect V.N. Eniosov).

The main plantings in the park are poplar and linden alleys, and there are willows. The area of ​​the park is 16.5 hectares.

The ancient noble estate Studenets is located on the left bank of the Moscow River, in the Presnensky district of the capital, on the territory of the Krasnaya Presnya cultural and recreation park. Official address of the estate: Mantulinskaya street, property 5.

The Studenets estate, founded along the ancient Zvenigorod road, near the Three Mountains tract, is one of the earliest Moscow estates and is a unique garden and park complex of Peter the Great's time.

Its history dates back to the 14th century. It is believed that the name “Studenets” was born from an icy spring, a stream that flowed through this area and subsequently filled the amazingly beautiful artificial canals and ponds of the park with its clear waters. In the 14th century, the village of Vypryazhkovo on Studenets, which was the progenitor of the modern estate, belonged to the Serpukhov prince Vladimir Andreevich the Brave - the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo, cousin of Dmitry Donskoy and grandson of Ivan Kalita. After the death of the prince, his widow, Princess Elena Olgedovna, transferred the ownership to Metropolitan Photius in 1431. The same, in turn, transferred it to the Novinsky Vvedensky Monastery founded in 1430. Here, on the Studenets stream, the patriarch's ponds were built. The monastery owned the land until the first quarter of the 17th century, after which it gradually began to become the appanage property of Russian tsars and princes and was used for the needs of the palace economy.

At the end of the 17th century, the lands of the village of Vypryazhkovo were granted by Peter I to his closest associate, Prince Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, who built his own country yard on them.

The Gagarins are one of the oldest Russian noble families, a branch of the princely family of Starodubsky, whose founder was Prince Ivan, the youngest son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. A descendant of Prince Ivan in the seventh generation, Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Golibesovsky-Starodubsky, received the worldly nickname “Loon”, which was later passed on to his ancestors in the form of a transformed surname. From Mikhail Ivanovich Gagara came four branches of the Gagarin princes, one of which belonged to the owner of the Student, Prince Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, the most colorful character of the Petrine era.

Portrait of Prince Matvey Gagarin. Artist Salvator Tonchi.

Peter's time is a bright page in Russian history, an era of change and discovery, the formation of new ideas about aesthetics in art. Peter I's fascination with Europe is widely known. In 1697-1698, the young king made a long journey through Holland, the most advanced country of that time, the world's first bourgeois republic and the main maritime power, where he observed the way of life of the Dutch, studied ship craftsmanship, working in a shipyard as a simple carpenter, inspected factories, workshops, laboratories, visited theaters, museums, met with engineers, scientists and artists. The tsar also paid attention to park ensembles; he visited all the famous gardens of the Netherlands, and his travel notes were full of descriptions of European parks.

In Holland, on the orders of Peter, specialists from various fields of activity, including gardeners, were hired to work in Russia. Upon his return to his homeland, the tsar sent Russians abroad to study crafts and sciences, in particular, gardening and landscape art. Books on landscaping parks, botany, and small-scale architecture were purchased abroad; albums with illustrations and plans of the best palace and park ensembles were purchased, which Peter personally examined and studied during his trip with the aim of further applying the acquired knowledge in practice. The great transformer sought to develop refined tastes in gardening in Russia and introduce the latest techniques of decorative art. According to historians, Peter had a strong aesthetic sense and was gifted with an extraordinary sense of beauty. Involving masters from Europe to work in Russia, he invariably chose the best and most gifted. Peter's favorite garden master was the Dutchman Jan Roosen (Rosen), whom he invited in 1712 to create the Summer Garden conceived and designed by the Tsar in St. Petersburg. With the founder of the Moscow hospital, the Dutch doctor Nikolaas (Nikolai Lambertovich) Bidloo, who built a garden “at his house” on the Yauza on land allocated by the tsar, Peter personally corresponded, guiding, prompting, advising on how to dig canals, ponds, throw bridges and lay alleys to create a real “Dutch garden”.

The classic prototype of Dutch gardens throughout the 17th century was considered the “canal garden” of Frederik Hendrick, created in 1621. The small garden is located on a flat area, has two main axial alleys, intersecting at right angles and dividing it into four parts. Rectangular parterres are accented by trimmed alleys, water channels are emphasized geometric. The owner's house closes the main compositional axis of the park. It was these gardens - with a strict linear composition, a simple and clear rectangular layout, a system of small decorative ponds - that Peter admired in Holland during his travels and subsequently sought to create ensembles in their homeland in their image and likeness.

Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, owner of the Studenets estate on the Moscow River, belonged to the inner circle of Peter I. One of the Tsar’s favorites, he accompanied him on European trips, and upon returning from them, he actively participated in all his affairs and endeavors. In his youth, he served as a steward at the Moscow Court, later he was a governor in Irkutsk and Nerchinsk, and for some time he was ambassador to China. According to contemporaries, Peter respected Gagarin for many excellent qualities.

After Russia's victory over Sweden and the annexation of new territories, the issue of connecting the internal regions of the country with the Baltic and with the new capital under construction became urgent. To solve this problem, Peter planned to turn the river beds with the help of canals into convenient transport arteries. The first such waterway to connect central Russia with St. Petersburg was the Tveretsky Canal in Vyshny Volochyok. In 1703, M.P. was appointed head of its construction. Gagarin (that’s why the channel was called Gagarinsky for a long time). During the implementation of the canal construction project, Gagarin proved himself to be a capable engineer who, with the assistance of the Dutch craftsmen involved in the work, was able to skillfully use the hydraulic potential of the area. In 1708, immediately after the completion of the construction of the Tveretsky Canal, Peter established the governor's post in Moscow, appointing M.P. to it. Gagarin and entrusting him first of all with strengthening the ancient walls of the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod with new bastions.

It was probably during this period that M.P. Gagarin, who became the governor of Moscow, arranges a “canal garden” in the Dutch style at his Studenets estate. After all, his royal patron is sincerely passionate about Holland and dreams of creating a Russian Amsterdam. Focusing on Peter's tastes and probably wanting to pleasantly surprise him, Gagarin hurries to arrange a Dutch garden in Studenets. It is quite possible that the creation of the park ensemble was timed to coincide with a very specific event: at the end of 1709, at the behest of Peter I, a grandiose eight-day celebration was scheduled in Moscow on the occasion of the victory of Russian troops near Poltava, Prince Gagarin was entrusted with organizing the celebration. Naturally, the new governor dreamed of giving Peter a magnificent reception in his newly built estate.

During the construction of the estate complex M.P. Gagarin benefited from the experience of working on the construction of the Tveretsk Canal; the technical knowledge and skills of Dutch specialists and the strength of Russian builders involved in digging work came in handy.

The flat nature of the land plot, the abundance of water: the Moscow River, the ponds of the former patriarchal estate that existed since ancient times, streams and springs - these natural conditions created a surprising resemblance to the landscapes of Holland and provided the opportunity for the successful implementation of the planned garden project. All natural factors were taken into account and used to create a large-scale and picturesque hydropark, consisting of a whole labyrinth of water channels and islands between them, unfortunately, only partially preserved to this day. For Russian estate culture of the 17th-18th centuries, it was traditional to place palace and park complexes on the banks of rivers or near ponds in order to maximize the use of all the advantages of such a location and develop the water resources of the area for utilitarian and decorative purposes. The park ensemble of Student was created in the spirit of these traditions - with the active and free role of water in its landscape. But the main difference that distinguishes Studenets from a number of estate ensembles of other eras that preceded or followed Peter’s era is the amazing strict simplicity, clarity of layout and vastness of the water surface in the composition. In the project carried out by Gagarin, two elements were effectively combined - water and air. The dryness of the lines of the regular composition of the ensemble is gently diluted by an airy perspective, in which distant plans dissolve and disappear, and water and greenery create a picturesque, pleasing to the eye picture.

Although the canals of the eastern part of the park disappeared at the end of the 19th century, using the elements of the park’s water system that have survived to this day, it is possible to recreate the original structure of the layout of Studenets. This is a measured, regular “Dutch” garden with straight lines of canals, extensive water surfaces and clear axial alleys of low trimmed trees. However, in the western part of the park several very old, over 300 years old, oak trees have been preserved. As you know, Peter I loved large old trees and, when forming new park ensembles, ordered them to be preserved. The presence of 300-year-old oak trees in Studenets apparently indicates the desire of the creator of the garden to follow the wishes of the king. Perhaps there were other tree species present here, because in addition to oaks, Peter also loved lindens, elms, larches, hornbeams, beeches, chestnuts, and several thousand seedlings of these species were brought from Holland to Russia. The Dutch garden was traditionally decorated with fancy gazebos and galleries, trellises for climbing plants, grottoes, and sculpture. Flowers were also actively used: the gardens abounded in flower beds, mainly of “fragrant” flowers.

The fate of the creator of the Studenets estate, a comrade-in-arms of Peter I, Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, was tragic. Luck often spoiled him, accompanied him on the path of career growth, until one day it turned away from him and left him forever. The sovereign highly appreciated Gagarin's merits and business qualities during the construction of the hydraulic complex on Tvertsa and the Moscow governorate, therefore, after the establishment of the governorate in 1708, he was appointed governor of Siberia.

During his leadership of this region, Gagarin did a lot for it: he completed the stone Kremlin in Tobolsk, decorated the Siberian capital with numerous stone buildings, made rich contributions to the Tobolsk Sophia-Assumption Cathedral and other churches, donated funds for the needy captive Swedes who were in Siberia, strengthened Russia's relations with China. Initially, Prince Gagarin followed the instructions of the sovereign, but later he began to autocratically rule the rich and vast region, without denying himself personal luxury and pleasure, the fame of which spread to the capital. At dinner, the prince served about 50 different dishes on silver and gold dishes; the horseshoes of Gagarin’s horses were silver, the wheels of the carriage were also shod with silver; in Moscow, on Tverskaya Street, the prince built for himself chambers that were stunning in their splendor, in which the walls were mirrored, and the ceilings were glass aquariums with live fish; among the wealth he owned was the most precious ruby ​​known at that time, brought to him from China (later it was presented to Prince Menshikov, and from him passed to Catherine I). It seems that the prince thought less and less about the benefit of the state and more and more about his own. There is also an opinion that Gagarin not only abused financial spending of government funds, but even intended to separate Siberia from Russia and create a separate state under his control.

Ill-wishers did not fail to inform the Tsar about Gagarin’s actions, and Peter sharply changed his attitude towards him. Officially, the governor who had been at fault was put on trial for financial fraud, but many called the rebellion he was planning to be the real reason for his disgrace. The “Big Detective” commission, having conducted an investigation and considered the case, accused Gagarin of embezzlement. Trying to save himself, he wrote a letter to Peter, admitting his guilt and asking for mercy. But the tsar did not forgive the excess of the power given to him in Siberia and, apparently wanting to put an end to official embezzlement once and for all, he ordered the prince to be publicly executed. In 1721, the former Siberian governor was hanged in St. Petersburg as a warning to his contemporaries and descendants. And his body, as a sign of intimidation against corrupt officials, remained hanged on the gallows for many months for everyone to see. Simultaneously with the execution of the prince, all his property was confiscated, the confiscated estates were granted to Pashkov, Bruce, Devier, Mamonov, Moscow and country yards were transferred to Olsufiev. The closest relatives of the executed prince were also punished. His son, Alexei Gagarin, was demoted to sailor.

During the reign of Anna Ioanovna, Studenets was returned to the grandson of M.P. Gagarin - Matvey Alekseevich, who refurbished the estate. During the reign of Elizabeth I, “Gagarin’s dacha” was a popular place for celebrations, where various entertainments were held: performances by magicians, tightrope walkers, numerous musicians and singers, the release of fireworks, illuminations, etc.

Despite the ups and downs in the fate of the owners of the Studenets estate, throughout the 18th century the original appearance of the “water” regular park created there did not change significantly. Several plans of the estate from the second half of the 18th century have been preserved in archival materials. At that time, it was listed in documents as the Gagarins’ country house, and in unofficial sources it appeared as “Gagarin Ponds”. The plans of 1763, 1767, 1778 show that a stream flows along the western border of the park, feeding the western half of the canal. In the western corner of the estate there is a small formal garden. The eastern part of the canals is connected to a pond dug below the spring water well. Written sources also mention “the manor’s wooden house, with dug ponds with islands” and “The hay fields are good. Drill wood."

A fragment of the village of Studenets, the property of Mr. Matvey Alekseevich Gagarin. 1763. Copy of the RGADA drawing.

In the second half of the 18th century, noble festivities organized at Gagarinsky Ponds were widely known in Moscow and enjoyed success with the honorable public. “Moskovskie Vedomosti” dated June 27, 1754 reports: “This week on Tuesday... at the walkway on the Three Mountains, there was such a crowd of people that would rarely be remembered in previous years... Finally, to the house of the famous Prince Gagarin located there for many carriages in It was close to approaching, but it was hardly possible to disperse through the ponds due to the crowded conditions. Moreover, whatever is noble and rich, beautiful and magnificent in the local imperial capital, everything could be seen here.” The same publication a year later informed readers that on June 24 “... a great gathering of people was on the Three Mountains, where on this holiday there is usually a walk, and especially on the glorious ponds of Prince Gagarin located in the vicinity of this place.”

In 1804, Studenets changed its owner - its new owner was Count Fyodor Andreevich Tolstoy, senator, privy councilor, landowner, bibliophile, member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, collector of manuscripts and ancient books. In 1818, the dacha in Studenets passed as a dowry to his daughter Agrafena Fedorovna upon her marriage to Arseniy Andreevich Zakrevsky, Minister of Internal Affairs, and later Governor-General of Moscow. The new owners, the Zakrevskys, live for a long time at the dacha, relax, drink three-mountain water, sail on boats, fish and enjoy the views of the beautiful garden.

Portrait of Count A.A. Zakrevsky. Unknown artist. 1810s.

Portrait of Countess A.F. Zakrevskaya. Unknown artist. 1810s.

A.A. Zakrevsky took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and when renovating the estate, which was devastated during the hostilities, he decided to give it a special memorial character, to turn the park into a kind of monument to the recent war. By his order, a new wooden house with outbuildings was built (it has not survived to this day). The park is decorated with monuments, pavilions, grottoes dedicated to the war and its heroes: M.B. Barclay de Tolly, N.M. Kamensky, P.M. Volkonsky, A.P. Ermolov and others. The main symbol of patriotism in the renovated estate complex is the Studenets key, because it was here that Russian soldiers received communion before the battle with the enemy in the fall of 1812. An octagonal Octagon pavilion is being built above the Holy Spring.

The Zakrevsky family was visited by many famous people in the renovated estate. It is known that once General A.P. visited Studenets. Ermolov, to whom the owners solemnly demonstrated the monument erected in his honor. Perhaps D.V. also visited. Davydov is a famous poet and partisan of the war of 1812, - in any case, he often visited another Zakrevsky estate - in Ivanovsky near Podolsk.

The wife of A.A. Zakrevsky, Agrafena Fedorovna Zakrevskaya, who was affectionately called “Grushenka Tolstaya” from her childhood, was known in the world as a beautiful, brilliantly educated and well-mannered, independent-minded woman with a lively and sharp mind. She was the object of admiration for many. E.A. dedicated poems to her. Baratynsky, admired P.A. Vyazemsky, before his marriage A.S. was infatuated with her. Pushkin. The latter in his letters to A.I. Vyazemsky called her “copper Venus.” She often inspired him and was the muse of his work. A.F. Zakrevskaya appears in one of the chapters of “Eugene Onegin” as “the brilliant Nina Voronskaya,” “Cleopatra of the Neva.” And after his marriage, the poet never ceased to admire Zakrevskaya’s beauty, intelligence and manners, recreating her image in poetry and prose. In the unfinished stories “Egyptian Nights”, “Guests Arrived at the Dacha”, “We Spent the Evening at the Dacha”, Pushkin again and again turns to the plot of Cleopatra, in the heroine of which the same prototype was clearly visible - the “soul of society” and the mistress of the Studenetsk estate . It is not known for sure whether the great poet visited Studenets. But he had a close acquaintance with A.A. Zakrevsky, repeatedly turned to him, was acquainted and maintained contact with many members of the family, so he could well have visited the student’s dacha in the late 1820s, when he lived for a long time in Moscow.

The first half of the 19th century was a period of new, bright prosperity for the Studenets estate. Many art historians attribute the creation of the new main house and other buildings in the park to the famous architect Domenico Gilardi (although some call the authors V.P. Stasov and A.G. Grigoriev). The drawings of the buildings are close in their execution technique to the manner of Gilardi, and some strongly resemble his other buildings, however, there is no exact evidence of the work of D.I. Gilardi is not currently working on the project for the updated Student. Two monuments of that era have survived to this day - the Octagon Pavilion and the Column Monument in the park, which underwent restoration in the 1960s, previously completed in the form of a winged figure with a sword. When the Zakrevskys rebuilt the estate, a landscape layout with picturesque paths and paths appeared in the park between the columns with picturesque paths and paths among asymmetrically placed monuments and pavilions; the canals were cleared and filled with clean running water; The islands are connected by wooden walkways. The Dutch motifs of Peter's time, previously visible in the construction and design of the park complex, were replaced by Italian ones. Contemporaries enthusiastically called the Zakrevsky dacha “absolute Venice with the Gardens.” In general, A.A. Zakrevsky did not seek to change the foundations laid down in the composition of the park during construction at the beginning of the 18th century; the park retained the features of the original image, but under Zakrevsky its design was updated, and the idea of ​​​​this renovation acquired a memorial character, introducing additional semantic meaning to individual architectural elements of the ensemble and making The park is a kind of monument to the heroes of the War of 1812.

General plan of the Studenets estate. 1830s - 1840s. A copy of the RGADA drawing. Plan of Moscow by Schubert.

The main manor building with outbuildings. RGIA. 1830s.

The main manor house with outbuildings.

Octagon Pavilion. RGIA. 1830s.

Pavilion in the garden. RGIA.

Gazebo in the garden. Monument at the grave of horse A.A. Zakrevsky, so-called "Tomb of Zakrevsky's horse."

The Studenets estate in the 19th century enjoyed no less interest among the public than when it was owned by the Gagarins. On holidays, the Zakrevsky dacha was open to the public, various events were held on its territory, and performances were given. So, for example, on August 19, 1828, a balloon was launched in Studenets, but in which “the aeronaut Mrs. Ilyinskaya undauntedly rose quite high under a huge balloon on a fragile boat, lit several rockets at her zenith and landed very happily in a meadow near the dacha. There were a lot of curious people."

Student. General view of the estate. Painting by an unknown artist. 1820s.

Student. View in the park. Painting by an unknown artist. 1820s.

Around 1834, after the resignation of A.A. Zakrevsky from the post of Minister of Internal Affairs, Studenets was acquired for 400 thousand rubles by Pavel Nikolaevich Demidov, a wealthy nobleman, owner of the Ural iron smelters, a famous philanthropist and philanthropist. The new owner, however, did not use the estate for personal purposes, but as another act of charity, for which he was very famous, donated it to the state at the beginning of 1834 for the founding of a public institution, adding another 15 thousand rubles to the gift for repairs main house. The wife of Emperor Nicholas I, Alexandra Feodorovna, included Studenets among the charitable institutions of the Department of Empress Maria Feodorovna, and in 1835 she allowed the Society of Gardening Lovers to open a gardening school in the estate “for the purpose of training experienced gardeners.”

Portrait of Pavel Nikolaevich Demidov. Artist P.P. Vedenetsky.

The horticulture school set up extensive flower nurseries and greenhouses on the estate, in which plants were grown for sale. The Studenets standard roses, more than a sazhen in height, were very famous; collections of dahlias repeatedly received first prizes at exhibitions. Seedlings of various species of trees and shrubs were grown on the islands of the park. Grapes and peaches successfully ripened in the greenhouses; there were 60 varieties of pears and 15 plums in the garden. Pupils of the school learned the theoretical and practical fundamentals of gardening and were engaged in the acclimatization of plants.

During the period when the horticulture school was located in Studenets, visitors also constantly gathered in the estate. In the summer, every Sunday there were festivities, musical evenings, performances, dinners, boat rides along the garden canals, fireworks and other spectacular spectacles.

Studenets was still famous for its springs and springs. Studenetskaya water, in which there were no organic impurities, was highly valued in Moscow: it was used to prepare artificial mineral waters, taken to the imperial court when it was in the capital, and to the houses of the nobility and wealthy merchants, “used” in production at the nearby Trekhgorny brewery

In the new period, the estate continued to undergo reconstruction; some reconstructions took place in it, which were not of a global nature. Art critic E.I. Kirichenko provides information about the participation in construction work in Studenets in the second half of the 19th century by the architect M.D. Bykovsky. The CIAM archives contain interesting plans for the northern part of the park, dating back to 1908, which show a very unique landscape structure and layout of a small garden in the Art Nouveau style, and the garden’s assortment list is rich in a variety of ornamental plants.

The Studenets estate on the topographic plan of Moscow in 1838.

The Studenets estate on the Khotev plan of Moscow in 1852.

The Studenets estate on the plan of the capital city of Moscow in 1878.

The School of Gardening of the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria Feodorovna existed in Studenets until the 1917 revolution. Afterwards, the estate was nationalized, and in troubled times the park complex had a hard time. The cultural heritage of tsarism suffered seriously as part of the ideological struggle of the new Soviet system with traditional orders. The canal park, which found itself in the center of the district of revolutionary workers, was no exception. Unrest, misuse and mismanagement did not have the best effect on its appearance and condition. In 1931, the park was transferred to the management of the Trekhgornaya Manufactory, and in 1932 it was decided to create a cultural and recreation park “Krasnaya Presnya” on its basis. It would seem that this could save the park from destruction. But the desire of the new government to change everything in its own way exceeded the limits of reason. Transformations began: some of the ponds were filled in, the banks of the canals were covered with concrete, which had an adverse effect on the state of the waters, many ancient picturesque bridges were destroyed, new ones were built, not distinguished by the sophistication and harmony of style, most of the monuments in memory of the heroes of the War of 1812 disappeared forever. Of the memorial objects in the park, only the Tuscan Column on the island has survived to this day, although the winged figure that once adorned it has been lost. The old manor house was actually destroyed in the first half of the 20th century; by the 60s, only the foundation and one outbuilding remained. The beautiful Empire gates that formed the entrance to the park were dismantled. In 1955, the building of the Krasnaya Presnya cinema was built on the site of the demolished buildings of the gardening school.

The Studenets estate on the Moscow plan of 1952.

The surviving Octagon water pumping pavilion was moved 22 meters to the side in 1975 due to the construction of high-rise buildings of the World Trade Center and lost its original meaning to form the spring spring of the Holy Spring, and the key itself was removed into an underground collector leading to the Moscow River. On the territory of the former estate, some outbuildings and sports facilities were also erected, breaking into the park and disturbing its original structure and layout.

Relocation of the Octagon pavilion. Copy of the drawing by E.M. Handel. 1975

Nowadays, the former country dacha continues its life in an urban environment, located almost in the very center of a noisy metropolis. In 1960, the central part of the park (about 18 hectares) was declared a historical and cultural monument of federal significance and taken under state protection. However, in 2011 the status of the protected site was downgraded to regional significance. Since the 1990s, attempts have been made to partially restore the estate complex.

Gate pylon restoration project. Mosproekt-2, Workshop-13. 1993

Based on archival photographs from the 1930s, in 1998 restorers N.F. Zhurina and A.S. The Queen recreated the park's entrance gates. The memorial traditions of the estate were supported by Afghan soldiers who planted a horse chestnut alley in the park. The choice of tree species was not accidental: it is known that horse chestnut grew in Studenets before; it was planted on one of the islands between the canals by A.A. himself. Zakrevsky on the third anniversary of the birth of his daughter Lydia (in 1829). In 2010, work began on the restoration of the main house of the estate with its outbuildings. They should be completed in the near future, and Muscovites, I would like to believe, will finally have the opportunity to see the reconstructed historical appearance of the once magnificent estate.

Project for the restoration of the main manor house with outbuildings in the Studenets estate. Frontal view. 2006-2008.

Project for the restoration of the main manor house with outbuildings in the Studenets estate. Isometric view. 2006-2008.

Project for the restoration of the main manor house with outbuildings in the Studenets estate. Additional types. 2006-2008.

Summing up and looking back at the historical past of the Studenets estate, it is worth noting that Peter I’s passion for the example of progressive Holland and his active work in promoting the ideas he noted abroad in landscape gardening laid such strong foundations and traditions in this area that in the future Russia gave world culture truly magnificent examples of park landscapes that can compete with their European prototypes. And the “canal garden” by M.P. Gagarin in the Studenets estate is one of the earliest such examples and completely unique for Moscow and Russia.

Octagon Pavilion. Photo by Evgeniy Chesnokov / yamoskva.com

Tuscan column. Photo by Evgeniy Chesnokov / yamoskva.com

The water from Studenets had such healing powers that the owners of the estate installed a well from which all those who were suffering could quench their thirst. But in 1721, Gagarin was accused of bribery and embezzlement and hanged. The Studenets estate was confiscated, but then returned to his son. Under him, the country estate “Gagarinsky Ponds” appeared here.

Then the estate changed hands many times, and in the 19th century the new owner Arseny Zakrevsky, Moscow governor-general and hero of 1812, reconstructed the park according to the design of Domenico Gilardi and rebuilt the main house.

Monuments were erected in the park in honor of the War of 1812, several islands were placed on the ponds, and a one-story wooden house with a mezzanine was added with a kind of observation deck on the roof. Contemporaries called the new estate “absolute Venice in the gardens,” and Trekhgornoye became its official name.

The count hospitably opened the doors for everyone, and all the other countryside gardens were abandoned and deserted. The new owner has beautifully decorated his dacha. From the large gate to the main house, above the river itself, there was a straight, wide and long alley for carriages with two narrow side alleys for pedestrians. On both sides of these alleys there were three quadrangular cliffs of equal size, separated from each other by newly dug ditches, then still with clean running water, and connected by wooden bridges. Each of these islands was dedicated to the memory of one of the heroes under whose command Zakrevsky was: Kamensky, Barclay, Volkonsky and others. On each of them, in the middle of the trees, there was either a temple or a monument to the named commanders...

Then the estate passed to the Demidovs, and after 3 years the new owner donated the estate on Krasnaya Presnya to the state to organize a gardening school.

During Soviet times, the sculptures, the manor house and gardens disappeared. A network of ponds and canals, a monument to the War of 1812 in the form of a Tuscan column designed by V.P., have been preserved. Stasov and a gazebo moved to another place over a well with spring water. In 1932, the Krasnaya Presnya park appeared, and in 2010 the restoration of the estate began.

They say that......in the 19th century the authorities wanted to make a map of all the healing springs, but no one took it upon themselves. Cemetery digger Proshka volunteered. He heard that somewhere in the Three Mountains tract the Tsar Water was hidden underground. The pagans offered sacrifices to her. The spring was filled with blood, and therefore it took many years for the water to clear. And the one who finds her and releases her onto the earth was promised to reveal the secret of all healing springs.
Proshka looked for the entrance to the dungeon for a long time and found it! But I just couldn’t find a way out. On the ninth day, the brave men went in search, but returned with nothing. And on the fortieth day after Proshka’s disappearance, Zakrevsky ordered the hole in the dungeon to be filled up.