Admire the historical architecture, plunge into the times of Imperial Russia, enjoy the scenery at the parks. If this is just what inspires you then you must visit the incredibly beautiful park Tsaritsyno, which is located in the southern part of Moscow. Park Tsaritsyno is a territory of dreams and fantasies full of greenhouses, ponds, mounds, romantic avenues and secluded gazebos. You can touch the beauty thanks to the exhibition of Russian sculptures and European paintings.
This great architectural work was built for Catherine the Great by Russian architect Bazhenov and Kazakov in pseudo-Gothic style.
The palace and park ensemble was founded in 1776 by the order of Empress Catherine the Great Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796 to replace the old mansion of the 16th century. The mansion was owned by representatives of the most affluent and powerful aristocratic dynasties of Russia: the Godunovs, the Streshnevs, the Golitsyns, and the Cantemirs. Archaeological surveys show the land had been previously inhabited by Viatichi Russian: вятичи, an ancient Slavic tribe of the Moscow region (10th–12th cc.).
The history of the palace is extraordinary. Catherine the Great didn’t like the (nearly completed) colossal complex designed by famous architect VasilyBazhenov and ordered it to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. Originally, Bazhenov’s ensemble consisted of 17 buildings including two symmetrical ones for the Empress and her son Pavel Petrovich, future Emperor Paul I.
According to one version of the tale, the main reason for Catherine’s discontent was the architectural equivalence between the two buildings, as she had begun to disapprove of her royal heir by the end of construction.
The Empress never lived in Tsaritsyno palace, and the construction was finished the year she died by another architect, MatveyKazakov. From 1796, the palace had no interior finishing and was deteriorating. Tsaritsyno became a popular attraction in the 18th–19th centuries and walking through the majestic ruins was one of the favourite amusements of idle strollers.
The reconstruction plans for Tsaritsyno were developed from the beginning of the 19th century, but they only began to take shape in 2007, when the fully renovated Grand Palace of Tsaritsyno Russian: Bol’shoy Tsaritsynskiy dvorets or Большой Царицынский дворец was reopened. The reconstruction also embraced the park, the fountains, the alleys, the pavilions, and many other monuments. Today, it is not only an excellent historic palace and park complex but it also contains huge exhibition halls with the total area of 6,000 sq. m.
