MANOR HOUSE
One-storey Manor House, built in the late 18th century is one of a few preserved buildings of the Russian wooden classicism. Its primary symmetrical silhouette is easily viewed even now, in spite of multiple renovations. This is the oldest building of the estate. The eastern façade of the house opens onto the park, the western one with two porches – to the courtyard. The right porch, the main one, leads to the entrance hall, anteroom and a dining room, the left porch was used by servants. The main enfilade including a hall, a reception room and a bedroom stretched along the eastern façade while the western everyday enfilade consisted of living rooms for the members of the family. These two parts of the house were interconnected by a corridor. The staircase from this passage lead to the two-room mezzanine, attached to the house after 1797. The Aksakovs bought the estate in 1843. They used the hall and the reception room for everyday life and divided the bedroom getting instead two living rooms. The study of Sergey Aksakov was located directly after the dinning room of the western part. The room of the mezzanine facing the park was the study of Konstantin Aksakov. The other room was occupied by guests, among them was Nikolay Gogol. Later on Ivan Aksakov used it as a study.
The Mamontovs became the new owners of the estate in 1870 and found the house in a bad condition. In the diary of Abramtsevo lifetime headed "Chronicle of the place Abramtsevo" Savva Mamontov wrote: "The house needed much renovation, a lot was done anew. There was no foundation... The roof, absolutely rotten, was covered with iron plates. The floors were warped and came down, the layers crumbled and we needed to replace them. All the stoves were in ruins, they were of no use. The lower logs of the house were replaced – say, once had touched it we got much work to do". If the large Aksakov's family considered the house spacious, the Mamontovs, people of a new generation, found it small. The new owners not only renovated the house but attached a wing to the southern part and extended the mezzanine to the north. The most part of the articles of the present exposition of the Manor House devoted to the Aksakovs and their circle – photos, pictures, furniture, books – were carefully put together by Savva Mamontov and his wife Elizaveta. They bought them in Moscow antiques and junkman's shops. Here, in the Manor House is also placed an exposition devoted to the Abramtsevo Colony – portraits of the Mamontovs and participants of the Colony, Abramtsevo landscapes, interiors of that period and many other items.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
http://abramtsevo.net/eng/guidway/manor-house.html#sigProGalleriae825dcb3d5 |
