Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Some 230 years later, a kitschy gingerbread replica of
Tsar Alexey's palace
( pr
Andropova 39; admission R400; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun; Kashirskaya)
was built on the grounds of
Kolomenskoe Park. Come here for the opulent interiors, which allegedly replicate the
originals, based on historical records.
WORTH A DETOUR
TSARITSYNO
495-355 4844;
www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru
; grounds 6am-midnight, exhibits 11am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-8pm
Sat & Sun; Tsaritsino)
is a modern-day manifestation of the exotic summer home that
Catherine the Great began in 1775 but never finished. Architect Vasily Bazhenov
worked on the project for 10 years before he was sacked. She hired another architect,
Matvey Kazakov, but the project was eventually forgotten as she ran out of money. For
hundreds of years, the palace was little more than a shell, until the Russian govern-
ment finally decided to finish it in 2007.
Nowadays, the
Great Palace
( admission R150)
is a fantastical building that combines
old Russian, Gothic, classical and Arabic styles. Inside, exhibits are dedicated to the
history of Tsaritsyno, as well as the life of Catherine the Great. The nearby kitchen
building, or
khlebny dom
( admission R300)
, also hosts rotating exhibits, sometimes
culinary and sometimes less tantalising topics such as icons and art. The khlebny
domis a pleasant place to hear classical
concerts
(
499-725 7291; tickets R150-300;
5pm
Sat & Sun)
in summer.
The extensive grounds include some other lovely buildings, such as the SSmall
all
Pala
g Spriing, the cavalier buildings and
some interesting bridges. A pond is bedecked by a fantastic fountain set to music. The
English-style wooded park stretches all the way south to the Upper T
alace, the working CChuurch o
ch of O
f Our L
ur Lady L
dy Liifegiiviing Sp
y Pond,
which has rowing boats available for hire in summer, and west to the Tsaritsyno Palace
complex.
Tsaritsyno is easy to find: just follow the signs from the eponymous metro station.
r Tsariitsynssky P
