Znamenskoye-Rayok Manor
A jewel of Russian Palladian architecture. The legacy of Nikolai Lvov
Estate history

Fyodor Ivanovich Glebov (see image 2) — an army general, senator, hero of the Russian-Turkish war, holder of many orders, in 1772 married Elizaveta Petrovna Streshneva (see image 3) — the last representative and the only heiress of the old noble boyar family of the Streshnevs, to which belonged Evdokia Lukyanovna, the wife of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. Elizabeth’s father, Peter Streshnev, was against the marriage of his only daughter to a widower with a child, besides, he was 17 years older than her. According to the memories of contemporaries, Glebov’s wife was characterised by a strict despotic temper. Elizabeth wrote about her choice of spouse: "I was never in love with him, but I realised that this is the only person over whom I can rule, at the same time respecting him". Fyodor Glebov, on the contrary, had deeply tender feelings for his wife, often confessed that he lived only for her, and, in order to please the young wife, decided to build for her a white stone manor in place of the wooden one on his estate in the Tver region. The coat of arms of the Shakhovskys-Glebovs-Streshnevs — see image 1.


Fyodor Glebov wanted to build not a mere house, but a place worthy of receiving imperial personages: the Glebov family had a long-standing relationship of trust with the reigning Empress Catherine II. Catherine was the godmother of the Glebovs' eldest son, Peter, and visited the estate. In memory of her visit, the family kept candelabras that were carried in front of the Empress. Thus, Glebov entrusted the design of the new estate to the Palladian architect Nikolai Lvov, whose genius mind and taste was appealed to by Catherine II herself and later by Emperor Paul. Construction began in the summer of 1787. The place for the new manor was chosen south-west of the previous one, in the bend of the Logovezhi River. The pogost was moved, and all the main buildings were built around the Znamenskaya church. The material for construction was taken from brick and tile factories in Znamenskoye village, white stone was brought from the neighbouring town of Staritsa.


The architectural ensemble was built for 12 years. The classical-style estate was nicknamed "a necklace for Elizabeth" because its shape resembled the jewellery that Glebov gave to his wife: the circular colonnade of almost two hundred columns was a chain, the four wings with towers were diamonds, the front gate was a lock, the main house of the estate was a pendant.

Watercolour by an unknown artist — Ballroom in a manor house, 19th century — see image 4

Estate history

Fyodor Ivanovich Glebov (see image 2) — an army general, senator, hero of the Russian-Turkish war, holder of many orders, in 1772 married Elizaveta Petrovna Streshneva (see image 3) — the last representative and the only heiress of the old noble boyar family of the Streshnevs, to which belonged Evdokia Lukyanovna, the wife of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. Elizabeth’s father, Peter Streshnev, was against the marriage of his only daughter to a widower with a child, besides, he was 17 years older than her. According to the memories of contemporaries, Glebov’s wife was characterised by a strict despotic temper. Elizabeth wrote about her choice of spouse: "I was never in love with him, but I realised that this is the only person over whom I can rule, at the same time respecting him". Fyodor Glebov, on the contrary, had deeply tender feelings for his wife, often confessed that he lived only for her, and, in order to please the young wife, decided to build for her a white stone manor in place of the wooden one on his estate in the Tver region. The coat of arms of the Shakhovskys-Glebovs-Streshnevs — see image 1.


Fyodor Glebov wanted to build not a mere house, but a place worthy of receiving imperial personages: the Glebov family had a long-standing relationship of trust with the reigning Empress Catherine II. Catherine was the godmother of the Glebovs' eldest son, Peter, and visited the estate. In memory of her visit, the family kept candelabras that were carried in front of the Empress. Thus, Glebov entrusted the design of the new estate to the Palladian architect Nikolai Lvov, whose genius mind and taste was appealed to by Catherine II herself and later by Emperor Paul. Construction began in the summer of 1787. The place for the new manor was chosen south-west of the previous one, in the bend of the Logovezhi River. The pogost was moved, and all the main buildings were built around the Znamenskaya church. The material for construction was taken from brick and tile factories in Znamenskoye village, white stone was brought from the neighbouring town of Staritsa.


The architectural ensemble was built for 12 years. The classical-style estate was nicknamed "a necklace for Elizabeth" because its shape resembled the jewellery that Glebov gave to his wife: the circular colonnade of almost two hundred columns was a chain, the four wings with towers were diamonds, the front gate was a lock, the main house of the estate was a pendant.


Watercolour by an unknown artist — Ballroom in a manor house, 19th century — see image 4

Nikolai Lvov

Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov is one of the brightest representatives of the Russian Enlightenment, nicknamed by his contemporaries "Russian Leonardo da Vinci" for his versatility and giftedness in many areas. Like the celebrated Italian, Nikolai Lvov was fond of graphics, music, poetry, engineering, botany and chemistry, but Lvov achieved the greatest success and recognition in the architectural field.

"Russian Leonardo" was born on 4 May 1753 in the family of a poor landowner in the estate Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy near Torzhok, he comes from an old Tver noble family. In 1769 he entered the bombardier company of the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, to which he was assigned as an infant. In the Izmailovsky Regiment, where his youth passed, Lvov found a circle of like-minded people, which included poets Gavriil Derzhavin, Vasily Kapnist, Mikhail Muravyev and Ivan Chemnitzer, composer Evstigney Fomin, artists Dmitry Levitsky and Vladimir Borovikov. Lvov kept in touch with his comrades from the regimental school throughout his life. Subsequently, in addition to warm relations with some of them, he was connected with them by family ties: for example, the architect’s wife, Maria Alekseevna Dyakova, was a sister of Derzhavin’s and Kapnist’s wives, and after the death of the Lvovs' couple, Gavriil Derzhavin took the young nephews into his care.

During his studies, in addition to mastering the programme consisting of grammar, mathematics, artillery, fortification, geography, French and German languages, drawing, fencing and "other sciences worthy of their rank", Lvov was much engaged in self-development and it was then that he became interested in art and literature. Lvov stood at the origins of the Russian national opera, writing the libretto of the comic opera "Yamshchiki na podstav", created together with Fomin. The special significance for the history of music of the 18th century is given to the opera by the folk songs in its text, meticulously collected and recorded by Lvov to create "a collection of folk songs with their voices". Nikolai Lvov always highly valued folk art, encouraging the serfs to practise music, singing and dancing. In addition to librettos, Lvov composed poems, plays, odes, fables, epitaphs and epistles; also many of Lvov’s poems were dedicated to his wife.

In 1781, after meeting Giacomo Quarenghi, an architect and draftsman of Italian origin, Lvov visited Italy, where he was imbued with the ideals of antiquity and the architecture of the late Renaissance master of the Venetian school Andrea Palladio, becoming a lifelong follower of Palladianism. Throughout his journey, Lvov described the sights of Italy in his Italian diary, which has survived to this day. On his return to Russia in 1798, he published a translation of Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture.

Nikolai Lvov is the author of the designs for the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Torzhok and St Joseph’s Cathedral in Mogilev commissioned by Catherine II, and the Priory Castle in Gatchina commissioned by Paul I. It is believed that Lvov "created the very typology of private life and private reflection in Russia", being the architect of many estate complexes in the Tver, Moscow, Novgorod provinces and St Petersburg, among them Znamenskoye-Rayok, Derzhavin’s estate, Utkina Dacha, Vvedenskoye.

Nikolai Lvov
Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov is one of the brightest representatives of the Russian Enlightenment, nicknamed by his contemporaries "Russian Leonardo da Vinci" for his versatility and giftedness in many areas. Like the celebrated Italian, Nikolai Lvov was fond of graphics, music, poetry, engineering, botany and chemistry, but Lvov achieved the greatest success and recognition in the architectural field.

"Russian Leonardo" was born on 4 May 1753 in the family of a poor landowner in the estate Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy near Torzhok, he comes from an old Tver noble family. In 1769 he entered the bombardier company of the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, to which he was assigned as an infant. In the Izmailovsky Regiment, where his youth passed, Lvov found a circle of like-minded people, which included poets Gavriil Derzhavin, Vasily Kapnist, Mikhail Muravyev and Ivan Chemnitzer, composer Evstigney Fomin, artists Dmitry Levitsky and Vladimir Borovikov. Lvov kept in touch with his comrades from the regimental school throughout his life. Subsequently, in addition to warm relations with some of them, he was connected with them by family ties: for example, the architect’s wife, Maria Alekseevna Dyakova, was a sister of Derzhavin’s and Kapnist’s wives, and after the death of the Lvovs' couple, Gavriil Derzhavin took the young nephews into his care.

During his studies, in addition to mastering the programme consisting of grammar, mathematics, artillery, fortification, geography, French and German languages, drawing, fencing and "other sciences worthy of their rank", Lvov was much engaged in self-development and it was then that he became interested in art and literature. Lvov stood at the origins of the Russian national opera, writing the libretto of the comic opera "Yamshchiki na podstav", created together with Fomin. The special significance for the history of music of the 18th century is given to the opera by the folk songs in its text, meticulously collected and recorded by Lvov to create "a collection of folk songs with their voices". Nikolai Lvov always highly valued folk art, encouraging the serfs to practise music, singing and dancing. In addition to librettos, Lvov composed poems, plays, odes, fables, epitaphs and epistles; also many of Lvov’s poems were dedicated to his wife.

In 1781, after meeting Giacomo Quarenghi, an architect and draftsman of Italian origin, Lvov visited Italy, where he was imbued with the ideals of antiquity and the architecture of the late Renaissance master of the Venetian school Andrea Palladio, becoming a lifelong follower of Palladianism. Throughout his journey, Lvov described the sights of Italy in his Italian diary, which has survived to this day. On his return to Russia in 1798, he published a translation of Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture.

Nikolai Lvov is the author of the designs for the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Torzhok and St Joseph’s Cathedral in Mogilev commissioned by Catherine II, and the Priory Castle in Gatchina commissioned by Paul I. It is believed that Lvov "created the very typology of private life and private reflection in Russia", being the architect of many estate complexes in the Tver, Moscow, Novgorod provinces and St Petersburg, among them Znamenskoye-Rayok, Derzhavin’s estate, Utkina Dacha, Vvedenskoye.

Architectural ensemble of the estate

The amazingly well thought-out layout of the estate is based on the thoroughly studied architecture of Andrea Palladio, an Italian late Renaissance architect of the Venetian school, the founder of Palladianism and author of the Four Books on Architecture, which Lvov translated into Russian. Classicist trend Palladianism is based on the revival and reinterpretation of ancient traditions, Palladio worshipped antiquity and chose Vitruvius as his teacher, the author of the treatise "Ten Books on Architecture", which derives the famous "Triad Vitruvius" or "three laws" of architecture: firmitas, utilitas, venustas — durability, usefulness, beauty. Andrea Palladio quotes the canons of ancient Roman orders in his "Books", which are translated and used by Nikolay Lvov, which allows us to understand what the architect of the manor relied on in his creations. For example, the manor uses the axial structure characteristic of the 18th century —  a pronounced symmetry of the architectural ensemble.



When entering the manor house (through the Parade Gate, which you see when you approach the manor house), guests had a view of the huge front courtyard. Through the wrought iron lace of the gate, designed in the form of a triumphal arch, you can see an oval courtyard surrounded by white Tuscan columns, like trained guards. The architect’s favourite solar symbol crowns the upper part of the wrought iron gate, and if you stand in front of it at a certain point and look at the main house, the rays of the metallic sun will coincide with the semi-circular window in the dome. The estate is strictly orientated on the sides of the world, the sun seems to be included in the ensemble, its light plays the role of the first violin in the symphony of the classicist triumph of the estate.


The front courtyard is framed by two wings with towers opposite each other. The centre of the composition is the main house crowned with a belvedere. The composition of the front yard directs attention to the front staircase of the house, the entrance to which is marked by a four-columned Tuscan portico. The architectural appearance of the house — a three-storey quadrilateral volume with a round belvedere and solemn porticoes, which Gavriil Derzhavin, the great Russian poet, courtier and friend of the architect, defined as "temple-like", met the canons of Palladio. The general composition of the house reveals a connoisseur of Italian architecture.


The front porch was flanked by cannons, and the centre of the composition of the front yard was a fountain with a sculptural group: Lion, Arion and Dolphin. The fountain functioned due to a complex engineering system linking cascade ponds and specially constructed channels. In Znamenskoye, following Palladio’s example, the ceremonial and household buildings were united into a single system, the parts of which were connected by a columned loggia. Here it lost its practical meaning — shelter from heat and rain, but, having turned into a fence of the front yard, became a symbol of representativeness. Palladio recommended the Tuscan order, that was used in Znamenskoye-Rayok by Lvov, for country villas.


The farm buildings of the manor, as it was mentioned earlier, were organically connected with the front part. And often a simple practical purpose acquired an unusual form and composition. Such a technique was practised by Palladio in the famous northern villas. The northern wing was conceived as two towers connected by a long building of a carriage barn, camouflaged from the courtyard side by the same rows of Tuscan columns. One of the towers housed the library. The southern wing, with two similar towers, housed a greenhouse, the glass part of which faced the garden. Lemons, oranges, pineapples, peaches, apricots and asparagus were grown in the orangery. For the botanical garden Glebov bought overseas trees: pistachio, mulberry, clove, laurel, prunes, pears, bergamot. According to old locals, the tower at the far end of the main house housed a theatre.


The main house, rectangular in plan, has a centric composition. Inside the building is planned according to the enfilade principle and has a clear functional purpose. In the front hall on the third floor there is an internal dome with a hole opening into a light cylinder. The double dome technique, first used by Lvov in the St Joseph Cathedral in Mogilev, is often seen in his works, including the mausoleum of the Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy estate, the Lvov’s family mansion. The source of inspiration in this case was the Roman Pantheon, studied by Palladio. Lvov adapts the reception — a dome with an opening to the sky — to Russian conditions, creating his own "celestial" hemisphere above it. The front hall takes centre stage in the house and stands out for its form and decoration.


The painting of the dome imitates a caissoned surface, which illusorily expands the proportions of the hall. The murals on the walls are mostly moulded grisaille, light ornaments and medallions, as if imitating carved stones, arabesques and picturesque views of manor houses in frames above the doors are in harmony with the motifs of the paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The manor house also found a place for the tablinium, a Roman room where the family archive and portraits of ancestors were kept. The front dining room became it. In the upper part of the walls there is a ceremonial frieze of 24 imperial portraits in oval medallions. The gallery begins with portraits of Tsar Mikhail Romanov and his wife Evdokia Streshneva, which directly indicates the family’s direct kinship with the reigning dynasty.


The park facade is arranged differently: in the central part of the house there is a deep loggia with columns, forming a spacious terrace with side exits to the park. The prototype of a portico of such proportions could be the temple of Hercules in Cori, which Lvov could have seen on his Italian journey.


The estate park is of exceptional value. For while restorers restore lost buildings, no craftsman can revive two hundred year old trees. The landscape park and the orchard surround the estate in a picturesque ring: 27 trees 180 years old and 70 trees about 100 years old.


Planned in the traditions of the second half of the 18th century, it had regular and landscape parts. In front of the house, continuing the axial composition, there was a regular park. The further the two-row linden alley led into the depth of the park, towards the river, the more gradually the regular motifs of the park flowed into the landscape part. The picturesque parts of the park were marked with pavilions and gazebos: the Noon House, the Troegranium, the Rotunda cellar, the Temple of Ceres, a cascade of ponds with piers, bathhouses and grottoes. The park pavilions are now lost. In the centre of the upper Palatny Pond is the Love Island. The island is crowned by an ancient pine tree with a trunk girth of more than three metres. The bottom of the pond is lined with boulders, a favourite material of Lvov. According to the family legend, Fyodor Glebov planted on this island three pine trees symbolising Faith, Hope and Love. And every year he intertwined the branches in such a way that when the trees grew and became stronger nothing could break their close ties. More than two hundred years later, there is one pine tree on this island.



The main idea behind the creation of parks at the end of the 18th century was to create a Paradise on Earth. The change of seasons gives picturesque pictures painted in the colours of the tree crowns, birdsong is complemented by the sounds of falling water on the ripples of the cascade of ponds.



Architectural ensemble of the estate

The amazingly well thought-out layout of the estate is based on the thoroughly studied architecture of Andrea Palladio, an Italian late Renaissance architect of the Venetian school, the founder of Palladianism and author of the Four Books on Architecture, which Lvov translated into Russian. Classicist trend Palladianism is based on the revival and reinterpretation of ancient traditions, Palladio worshipped antiquity and chose Vitruvius as his teacher, the author of the treatise "Ten Books on Architecture", which derives the famous "Triad Vitruvius" or "three laws" of architecture: firmitas, utilitas, venustas — durability, usefulness, beauty. Andrea Palladio quotes the canons of ancient Roman orders in his "Books", which are translated and used by Nikolay Lvov, which allows us to understand what the architect of the manor relied on in his creations. For example, the manor uses the axial structure characteristic of the 18th century —  a pronounced symmetry of the architectural ensemble.



When entering the manor house (through the Parade Gate, which you see when you approach the manor house), guests had a view of the huge front courtyard. Through the wrought iron lace of the gate, designed in the form of a triumphal arch, you can see an oval courtyard surrounded by white Tuscan columns, like trained guards. The architect’s favourite solar symbol crowns the upper part of the wrought iron gate, and if you stand in front of it at a certain point and look at the main house, the rays of the metallic sun will coincide with the semi-circular window in the dome. The estate is strictly orientated on the sides of the world, the sun seems to be included in the ensemble, its light plays the role of the first violin in the symphony of the classicist triumph of the estate.


The front courtyard is framed by two wings with towers opposite each other. The centre of the composition is the main house crowned with a belvedere. The composition of the front yard directs attention to the front staircase of the house, the entrance to which is marked by a four-columned Tuscan portico. The architectural appearance of the house — a three-storey quadrilateral volume with a round belvedere and solemn porticoes, which Gavriil Derzhavin, the great Russian poet, courtier and friend of the architect, defined as "temple-like", met the canons of Palladio. The general composition of the house reveals a connoisseur of Italian architecture.


The front porch was flanked by cannons, and the centre of the composition of the front yard was a fountain with a sculptural group: Lion, Arion and Dolphin. The fountain functioned due to a complex engineering system linking cascade ponds and specially constructed channels. In Znamenskoye, following Palladio’s example, the ceremonial and household buildings were united into a single system, the parts of which were connected by a columned loggia. Here it lost its practical meaning — shelter from heat and rain, but, having turned into a fence of the front yard, became a symbol of representativeness. Palladio recommended the Tuscan order, that was used in Znamenskoye-Rayok by Lvov, for country villas.


The farm buildings of the manor, as it was mentioned earlier, were organically connected with the front part. And often a simple practical purpose acquired an unusual form and composition. Such a technique was practised by Palladio in the famous northern villas. The northern wing was conceived as two towers connected by a long building of a carriage barn, camouflaged from the courtyard side by the same rows of Tuscan columns. One of the towers housed the library. The southern wing, with two similar towers, housed a greenhouse, the glass part of which faced the garden. Lemons, oranges, pineapples, peaches, apricots and asparagus were grown in the orangery. For the botanical garden Glebov bought overseas trees: pistachio, mulberry, clove, laurel, prunes, pears, bergamot. According to old locals, the tower at the far end of the main house housed a theatre.


The main house, rectangular in plan, has a centric composition. Inside the building is planned according to the enfilade principle and has a clear functional purpose. In the front hall on the third floor there is an internal dome with a hole opening into a light cylinder. The double dome technique, first used by Lvov in the St Joseph Cathedral in Mogilev, is often seen in his works, including the mausoleum of the Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy estate, the Lvov’s family mansion. The source of inspiration in this case was the Roman Pantheon, studied by Palladio. Lvov adapts the reception — a dome with an opening to the sky — to Russian conditions, creating his own "celestial" hemisphere above it. The front hall takes centre stage in the house and stands out for its form and decoration.


The painting of the dome imitates a caissoned surface, which illusorily expands the proportions of the hall. The murals on the walls are mostly moulded grisaille, light ornaments and medallions, as if imitating carved stones, arabesques and picturesque views of manor houses in frames above the doors are in harmony with the motifs of the paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The manor house also found a place for the tablinium, a Roman room where the family archive and portraits of ancestors were kept. The front dining room became it. In the upper part of the walls there is a ceremonial frieze of 24 imperial portraits in oval medallions. The gallery begins with portraits of Tsar Mikhail Romanov and his wife Evdokia Streshneva, which directly indicates the family’s direct kinship with the reigning dynasty.


The park facade is arranged differently: in the central part of the house there is a deep loggia with columns, forming a spacious terrace with side exits to the park. The prototype of a portico of such proportions could be the temple of Hercules in Cori, which Lvov could have seen on his Italian journey.


The estate park is of exceptional value. For while restorers restore lost buildings, no craftsman can revive two hundred year old trees. The landscape park and the orchard surround the estate in a picturesque ring: 27 trees 180 years old and 70 trees about 100 years old.


Planned in the traditions of the second half of the 18th century, it had regular and landscape parts. In front of the house, continuing the axial composition, there was a regular park. The further the two-row linden alley led into the depth of the park, towards the river, the more gradually the regular motifs of the park flowed into the landscape part. The picturesque parts of the park were marked with pavilions and gazebos: the Noon House, the Troegranium, the Rotunda cellar, the Temple of Ceres, a cascade of ponds with piers, bathhouses and grottoes. The park pavilions are now lost. In the centre of the upper Palatny Pond is the Love Island. The island is crowned by an ancient pine tree with a trunk girth of more than three metres. The bottom of the pond is lined with boulders, a favourite material of Lvov. According to the family legend, Fyodor Glebov planted on this island three pine trees symbolising Faith, Hope and Love. And every year he intertwined the branches in such a way that when the trees grew and became stronger nothing could break their close ties. More than two hundred years later, there is one pine tree on this island.



The main idea behind the creation of parks at the end of the 18th century was to create a Paradise on Earth. The change of seasons gives picturesque pictures painted in the colours of the tree crowns, birdsong is complemented by the sounds of falling water on the ripples of the cascade of ponds.

UNESCO

The Znamenskoye-Raek and Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy estates, as well as architectural monuments in Arpachev, Vasilev, Gornitsy, Pereslegin, Pryamukhino and Torzhok, have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.


This was the result of the initiative of art historians and urban advocates, in particular architectural historians Olga Alter, Arseniy Petrov and Dmitry Shvidkovsky, who in 2021 wrote an application and proposed to include the serial nomination "Historical Centre of Torzhok and monuments of estate architecture of Nikolay Lvov" (in total more than 200 objects) in the list of World Heritage Sites.


At the moment, most of the buildings are in ruinous condition, which prevents their inclusion in the final UNESCO list.

UNESCO

The Znamenskoye-Raek and Nikolskoye-Cherenchitsy estates, as well as architectural monuments in Arpachev, Vasilev, Gornitsy, Pereslegin, Pryamukhino and Torzhok, have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.


This was the result of the initiative of art historians and urban advocates, in particular architectural historians Olga Alter, Arseniy Petrov and Dmitry Shvidkovsky, who in 2021 wrote an application and proposed to include the serial nomination "Historical Centre of Torzhok and monuments of estate architecture of Nikolay Lvov" (in total more than 200 objects) in the list of World Heritage Sites.


At the moment, most of the buildings are in ruinous condition, which prevents their inclusion in the final UNESCO list.

For visitors

The entrance fee to the estate is 50 rubles.

Summer period
  • From 15.04 to 30.09
  • Work schedule - daily, from 9.00 to 21.00
  • Tours daily, sessions: 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00
  • Tickets can be purchased online at the website of the All-Russian Museum of History and Ethnography in the "Buy a ticket" section (at the link below):

All-Russian Museum of History and Ethnography. Znamenskoye-Rayok. Buy a ticket

Winter period
Collective excursions with a visit to the Main House
For visitors

The entrance fee to the estate is 50 rubles.

Summer period
Winter period
Collective excursions with a visit to the Main House
Contacts
Phone number: +7 (919) 061-18-49

Tver region, Torzhoksky district, Maryinskoye rural settlement, Raek settlement

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