In mid-December last year, we went out to see a couple of estates in the Smolensk region. For some reason I didn’t bother to write about the first part in LiveJournal, so let’s get straight to the second. Sheremetyev estate.
Below the cut are several photos with non-trivial lighting!
Estate Vysokoye in mid-19th century V. was a vacation spot for the Sheremetevs; during this period of time, a wooden “Countess House” with a belvedere was erected here, and a large landscape park was laid out. In the last third XIX century famous architect N.L. Benoit commissioned by A.G. Sheremetev began construction of a new estate complex.
Nikolai Leontievich Benois (1813 - 1898) - architect, father of the famous artist L.N. Benoit. He worked mainly in St. Petersburg and Peterhof. The buildings in the latter are associated with romantic stylization and are among the best examples of neo-Gothic. For creativity of Benoit Characterized by brilliant mastery of various historical styles: Baroque (Maid of Honor in Peterhof), forms of Romanesque architecture (Church of the Virgin Mary in St. Petersburg), Old Russian architecture of the 17th century. (church in the village of Vysokoye, Smolensk region 1861-1871).
Indeed, the beauty and scope of the plan, as well as its implementation, betray a master experienced in the field of architecture, which was N.L. Benoit. Estate ensemble of Vysokoye - shining example large-scale estate, incorporating buildings of different styles (Russian and romanesque styles, european architecture 17th century, Gothic), but united by the talent of the architect into a single whole.
Numerous structures are located along the perimeter of a vast rectangular plot on a high terrace above the floodplain (hence the name of the estate). There are so many of them that their functional purpose is not always clear. The estate's farm yard is huge: there is a stud farm in the form of a closed square, with an oval arena adjacent to the inside; poultry house with a romantic faceted tower; milk farm; cowshed, etc. The monumental forms of the Church of John the Baptist with “terem” staircases on three sides of the world are fascinating... and of course the magnificent palace, placed on the edge of Benoit Hill, and later supplemented with a new volume by the architect M.F. Meisher...
The High Complex is in oblivion. Only part of the stud farm (dormitory) and the school (for their intended purpose) are functioning, the rest of the buildings are abandoned and are in ruins...
While driving here, the weather changed many times. Either rain, then snow, then sun, then moon... We arrived at the place already in deep twilight. I didn’t really want to shoot anything in the dark at the end of the day, and the place wasn’t conducive - it was windy, it was dark, and the silence was interrupted by dogs barking and distant voices. Atmosphere! Take out a tripod and run with a flashlight? no, thank you) And then the idea came to chase my companion with an external flash. A couple of minutes of fiddling with synchronization... and I ended up with a lot of strange photos)
That's all for me! Thank you for your attention.
Materials used when writing this post
Today I visited the Sheremetyevs’ (or Sheremetevs’, as indicated in a number of sources) estate in Vysokoye, Novoduginsky district. An excursion to this wonderful place was organized for me by my Vyazma reader, for which I thank him very much;) I won’t say that I’m a great connoisseur of architecture, but in my amateurish opinion, the estate in Vysokoye is not inferior in scale. Apparently, this is one of the largest noble nests located in the Smolensk region. I would especially like to note that the author of this architectural monument was Nikolai Leontyevich Benois. The same master who created Peterhof. Those. a destroyed and plundered estate in the Smolensk outback and the famous palaces of Peterhof are the work of one world-wide famous master. It's sad that they didn't save it. This could be the center of attraction for tourists...
So, to get to Vysokoye you need to get to Vyazma, then turn to Sychevka and go to Torbeevo. There will be a left turn and a sign for Vysokoe. The next 10 km will be spent fighting for the safety of the wheels and suspension of the car. In some places the road is dirt, in others there is ancient asphalt that has not been repaired for many years. You won’t pass Vysoky, you’ll run into this locality. Overall, there was a feeling that this was quite a lively place. And life in it is supported by the Vysokovsky Agricultural College. There is an academic building and a dormitory here.
At the entrance to Vysokoe you will be greeted by a 19th-century building and a destroyed jet plane. (all photos are clickable!)
There was once a poultry house here.
It looks like a former school building.
Home for the Sheremetev children, according to sources.
The only object of the architectural ensemble that they are trying to put in order is the Tikhvin Church.
Divine services are held in the church, and an Orthodox parish is registered. The temple was built in 1867-1871.
The Tikhvin Church was created in the likeness of the Trinity Church in the Sheremetyev estate in Ostankino near Moscow.
Next to the church is the Sheremetv Palace.
By the way, the estate in Vysokoye had every chance of being revived. This was discussed in detail a couple of years ago: in 2014, billionaire Alexey Semin expressed his readiness to revive four estates in the Smolensk region. These included the Sheremetyev estate in Vysokoye. To do this, the state had to lease the estates to the entrepreneur for 49 years for symbolic money. But, alas, this story seems to have ended in nothing. In March 2015, a major fire occurred in Kazan in the Admiral shopping center, which belonged to Semin. People died, Semin left for France, hiding from the investigative authorities. Along with Semin, the hope for the revival of the estates also left.
Weeds, household garbage and wall paintings are all that greets the traveler here.
Everything inside the building is also deplorable. Leaking vaults exposed tiles.
We still haven’t figured out the purpose of this hole. Obviously not for storing old TVs.
And here is Vazuza. The place is beautiful, quiet, romantic.
Unfortunately, on the territory of the estate there were many buildings whose purpose we do not know. Even on the Internet, with a cursory analysis, there is no information on this matter. Here, for example, is a building on the bank of Vazuza. What was there?
It doesn't look like a mill or a power plant.
The source of the Vazuza is located about 15 km from this place, in the village of Maryino, Vyazemsky district.
Well, we are returning to the estate. We pass an overgrown pond, on the banks of which 150 years ago, apparently, the Sheremetyevs whiled away their time.
This is the building of a former stud farm. Nowadays there is a recreation center and a dormitory for the agricultural technical school.
Sheremetev estate in Vysokoye December 17th, 2012
One of the most interesting estate complexes in the Smolensk region, which has preserved many buildings, is the Sheremetev estate in the village of Vysokoye. On the steep bank of the river there is a magnificent architectural and park ensemble designed by the famous architect N.L. Benoit. The architectural ensemble, which includes 19 estate buildings, was built from 1867 to 1873 under the leadership of Benoit’s friend and assistant, K.F. Muller. Almost all the buildings of the estate have survived to this day: the main house, the manager’s house, the children’s house, the countess’s house, the poultry house, a huge stud farm, a school building, a dairy farm and others. Above all these various buildings rises a majestic two-story Russian-style temple, also built according to Benoit's design.
The estate greets us with the oldest building - the “countess’s house”, built in the middle of the 19th century. Until the 1860s, in the village of Vysokoye there was a small wooden manor house and several service buildings owned by M.P. Melnikova, a representative of the ancient noble family. In 1858, her daughter Alexandra became the wife of Count D.N. Sheremetev - great-grandson of Peter the Great's field marshal and the first Russian count B.P. Sheremetev, son of the famous theatergoer, founder of the Ostankino estate, Count N.P. Sheremetev and his wife, serf actress Praskovya Zhemchugova. " an old house" is an example of a relatively modest manor building in the traditions of late classicism. The one-story rectangular volume is complemented by two closed porches along the street facade in the form of small projections with assembly porticos of the entrances.
Next on our way was a house for children, built in 1869. 
In the architecture of the building, the motifs of French classicism of the 17th century are noticeable. 
The entire surface of the walls and corner blades are covered with rustication. The low-volume end façade, facing the road, is finished with a gable and has a wooden balcony on the second floor with carved brackets, balusters and columns supporting the pitched roof. 
Above most of the second floor is made into an attic, the smaller part takes on the appearance of a tower volume with a separate high roof. 
Opposite, across the road, is the manager's house. 
Another architecturally interesting building is the poultry house (1872). Unfortunately, it is in ruins. 
The poultry house is located on the shore of a small pond. Brick building in the spirit of Romanesque architecture. 
At the southern corner there is a tall octagonal tower, imitating medieval fortress architecture.
The walls of the tower are completed with machicolations. A spiral staircase inside it leads to the upper platform, where a similar small tower was erected. 
Marble lions against the backdrop of the school. Previously, the lions were on pylons at the entrance to the estate. 
Each lion holds the Sheremetev family coat of arms.
The motto of this family is inscribed on it in Latin: “God protects everyone.” 
We visited the estate in late autumn, when the leaves had fallen, which gave us at least some opportunity to take general shots. However, it was impossible to avoid a huge number of tree branches in the frame. Main house, the construction of which was completed in 1871, was built by order of Countess A.G. Sheremeteva. The palace is a large building with whitewashed brick walls and decorative details painted in a light tone. 
1901-1902 according to the project M.F. Meishera in the northern part of the palace, due to the lowering of the terrain, becomes three-story. 
IN facade decor motives of late classicism are combined with imitation of Western European medieval architecture. 
Its mansard roof, rusticated corners and trims are inspired by French classicism XVII century. 
There are two more entrances on the southern end façade: one is in a corner wooden projection, in front of the other there is a strongly extended porch with a metal canopy on posts. 
The two blind windows on the ground floor of the southern part of the house have cement frames imitating Renaissance frames. 
The huge fortune that the Sheremetevs inherited thanks to the talent and luck of their ancestors allowed subsequent generations not to worry about their daily bread, but to do what brought them pleasure. Here is the last of the owners of the estate in the village of Vysokoye, Count Alexander Dmitrievich Sheremetev. I wrote a rather interesting page in history. The Count was interested in firefighting. In 1890 he created the first rural Russia an exemplary fire brigade of 13 people with all the necessary equipment and equipment, and in 1891 he built a fire tower “like city ones” on the estate. After 2 years, Sheremetev created a fire brigade with a total number of more than 1000 people, which consisted of 14 departments (according to the number of surrounding villages). The count traveled through the surrounding villages, looked for dilapidated wooden buildings there, bought them, and then gave the order to set fire to the newly acquired “property” and fire brigade, trained and provided with the necessary equipment, went out to put out the “fire.” The count himself took a direct part in this action. And to give it even more solidity, a fire truck was purchased, something that even the provincial town could not boast of. 
Let's move on to another grandiose building of the estate - a stud farm (1873) 
The main volumes of this extraordinary structure in the Russian style are one-story; two-story buildings were erected in the middle of the northern and southern sides. 
All the decor on the main facade of the southern building imitates the decoration of the facades of the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin towers of the 17th century in Moscow. Relief images of horse heads are inserted into the torn triangular pediments of the upper windows. 
According to the will of A.G. Sheremeteva, it was subsequently adapted into a hospital, a hospice house and, only partially, stables. 
High gables along the axis of the western and eastern facades mark the arched passages to the large courtyard. 
Milk farm. Brick outbuilding in romantic forms in the "Swiss taste". Now it’s difficult to guess any “taste”. 
The barn is located in the southeastern part of the barnyard. Initially, several barns formed a closed square with a courtyard. Now only the western building has survived. 
In its center is the entrance to the courtyard, highlighted by a gable on the facade. Small side projections are also completed
with tongs under the slopes of a high roof. The slot-like openings for through ventilation on one side are made single,
and on the other - double. Openings were made in the field of tongs for filling grain, to which open stairs were led from the ground. 
Some other buildings have been preserved (cow barn, laundry), but they are no longer so interesting. And the outstanding Tikhvin Church, which is located on a hill and is the dominant feature of the estate, deserves a separate story. 
In March 1917 A.D. Sheremetev left for Paris, taking with him only a family heirloom - the Tikhvin icon Mother of God.
Material used from the site
The anniversary of the hero city is marching like a rapid jack across the no less heroic Smolensk region. Every weekend in our region, somewhere, someone celebrates an anniversary - such is the will of our Governor, this week the Tyomkinsky and Novoduginsky districts were lucky. Fulfilling my professional duty, I went to Novodugino and, in order to combine business with pleasure, decided to film crew State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, which is working on documentaries series “Estates and Fates”, visit the Vysokoye estate (or rather, what’s left of it). The result exceeded all my expectations!
First, a little history...
We had a king who became the first emperor, his name was Peter I. In 1706 he granted count's title Boris Petrovich Sheremetyev, and he became the first count in Rus' (no one had received such a title before him). Boris Petrovich’s grandson Dmitry Nikolaevich Sheremetyev, at the age of 54, married Alexandra Grigorievna Melnikova, who after that also became Sheremetyeva. In the village of Vysokoye, Smolensk province, on the banks of the Vazuza River, it was located family estate. In 1867, by order of Sheremetyeva, the famous architect Nikolai Leontyevich Benois began work on the arrangement of Vysokoye. The estate was re-planned, a manor house and a church "In the name of Holy Mother of God Tikhvinskaya", a stud farm and a number of auxiliary buildings, as well as a garden with a pond. And everything would have been fine, but in 1917 there was a revolution, the Sheremetyevs immigrated from the country, and the estate was nationalized.
High today
You can get to the Sheremetyev estate by driving 10 km along a dirt road from the village of Torbeevo, where quite interesting ruins of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord have been preserved, through the village of Alexandrino, where the estate that belonged to the Lobanov-Rostovskys has been preserved. The road to Vysokoye is quite picturesque with real Russian national landscapes.
When entering Vysokoye, one of the barn buildings of the estate catches your eye, which is very different from the Soviet-era outbuildings typical of our region, and... an L-29 training aircraft made in Czechoslovakia, standing on a pedestal, half of which has been carefully dismantled local residents for scrap metal. I'm afraid to even imagine how this pepelats got here.
After another 300 meters, the abandoned buildings of the estate, overgrown with grass and bushes, come into view. It’s an interesting thing, but throughout the entire trip I had the feeling that all these buildings, the church and the manor house and the modern village of Vysokoye, as well as its inhabitants, live in some kind of parallel worlds, eras, even universes, and the buildings overgrown with grass and lost in time seem to look at everything that is happening with mockery and majestic irony and wait for their time, which will certainly come.
Walk around the estate
The majestic Tikhvin Church appeared completely unexpectedly from behind the surrounding trees; its scale and richness of architectural forms are amazing. There are no domes on the church for a long time, and there are no bells in the bell tower, but on the facade there are excellent inscriptions in the style of “Igor and the boys” and “Putin is a thief.” At the entrance to the church there is this interesting announcement:
Immediately behind the church there is a manor house, assess its scale and make overall plan The photo does not allow for the large number of trees growing both outside and inside the building. The front porch and staircase were completely destroyed, the manor house and most of wooden elements, verandas and ceilings. All these are the consequences of a fire that occurred during the Soviet era.
The building of the former stud farm, which now houses a rural recreation center and a dormitory for an agricultural technical school, also deserves special attention. The shape of the plant is very interesting: the building consists of narrow galleries located along a rectangular perimeter, inside of which there is a courtyard and a building with a huge dome.
Vysokoye is not one of the most famous Sheremetyevo estates, and it only became Sheremetyevo in the middle of the 19th century. In Vysokoye, Smolensk province, there was the family estate of Countess Alexandra Grigorievna Sheremeteva, née Melnikova. In 1857, she married the 54-year-old widow Count Dmitry Nikolaevich. Here is how S.D. Sheremetyev (Dmitry Nikolaevich’s son from his first marriage) writes about this: “This marriage was a surprise for many in the house... Soon everyone started talking about the kindness and intelligence of Countess Alexandra Grigorievna. Indeed, her manner of actions and manners were not left nothing better to be desired... Everyone glorified her firmness and desire to be useful to her father..." She gave birth to Sheremetyev's son Alexander, who later became a composer, author of spiritual works, and symphony conductor.
In 1867, by order of Countess A.G. Sheremeteva, the famous architect N.L. Benois began work on the arrangement of Vysokoye. He had to re-plan the estate, create a whole complex of buildings, landscape the territory, and lay roads. On the high bank of the Vazuza River, it was decided to build a manor house and next to it the church “In the Name of the Most Holy Theotokos of Tikhvin”. The rest of the buildings are located a little further away: a magnificent stud farm in the pseudo-Russian style, a pseudo-Gothic poultry house, expressive buildings of a bathhouse, a dairy, barns, and a drying shed. Not all buildings have survived to this day. But what has been preserved will not leave anyone indifferent. Apart from the main house and the church, all the buildings are toy-like in their own way; they seem to have stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale book. The neglected state of the estate only deepens the impression of something unreal. Although the estate is located on the outskirts of the village (nearby there is a hospital and a technical school), there are somehow few people around. Maybe the territory of the estate complex is simply too large. Most of the buildings are in poor condition. The wind blows through the main house, the huge majestic church is empty. The landscape park going down to Vazuza looks more like an overgrown river bank. It’s sad... Who needs the old Sheremetyevo estates now?..
Bibliography: Sheremetyev S.D. Memories. St. Petersburg, 1898
Barteneva M.I. Nikolai Benois. St. Petersburg, 1994
Sheremetyevs in the fate of Russia. Memoirs, diaries, Letters. M., 2003
The main house is located in one of the most beautiful corners of the estate, on the high bank of the Vazuza. The visual center of the house was a wide terrace with a staircase overlooking the river valley.
The ends of the house are not just slightly different, they are opposites. Unfortunately, only one end has been preserved in its original form (it was even renovated). The other one burned down not long ago.
Once upon a time, the count's office was located in the five-sided bay window. The main decoration was carved wooden bindings, symbolizing the so-called “dacha-Russian” style. This wood trim probably contributed greatly to the fire.
The house looks quite harmonious, although sometimes it seems that it was built in all styles at once. Previously, the terrace overlooking Vazuzu was decorated with cast iron pillars and openwork cast railings. The walls themselves are smoothly plastered, treated with rusticated corner blades and window casings.
Openwork cast railings have been preserved here and there on the flights of stairs. Narrow stairs lead to the third floor.
It is painful to look at the process of destruction started by the fire. It’s especially creepy inside the house; it seems that it can no longer be restored.
Next to the house is the Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God. The owners wanted it to resemble the famous Trinity Church in the Ostankino estate of the Sheremetyevs.
The church, built by Benoit in the “Russian style”, is distinguished by its rich decorative decoration. In many ways, the temple gravitates towards the best examples of Russian architecture of the 17th century.
Along the axis of the church there is a tented bell tower, decorated on the sides with a pair of wide porches. The tower clock on the bell tower played a prayer, “specially chosen by Count Dmitry Nikolaevich Sheremetyev, and the melody of the prayer was set to notes for bells by M.A. Balakirev.”
From afar, the golden domes of the church in the village of Vysokoye were visible, and the ringing of bells could be heard far around the area. Neither the domes nor the bells were any longer there. Will there be?
The church was built with great difficulty and was consecrated in 1871. This is a pillarless five-domed temple with light domes, covered with closed vaults.
Once upon a time, colored glass was inserted into the windows (based on Russian frescoes). They were made according to Benois’s drawings at the factory of the “Russian painter Sverchkov” in Munich.
