Not far from Podolsk - the architectural pearl of the Moscow region. Perhaps you will not find such a structure anywhere else in Russia: the numerous sculptures and symbols that adorn the facade attract lovers of the unusual. The view of the church in Dubrovitsy is so strange that hundreds of tourists come to see this miracle every day. You can come from Moscow to Dubrovitsy on your own without spending a lot of money. I will try to tell you in detail about our independent trip to the Dubrovitsy and Ivanovskoye estate in my review.
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
Sometimes I really want to spend a day off in nature and at the same time look at something beautiful and unusual. In such cases, the Moscow region is an ideal option. For example, the Dubrovitsy estate. Let's try to figure out how to get to the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy
How to get to Dubrovitsy Church on your own
Address: Moscow region, Podolsk district, pos. Dubrovitsy, Church of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos.
If you have a car, then you should move along the Varshavskoe highway through Podolsk, up to the sign "Dubrovitsy Estate", then turn right and go without turning to the village of Dubrovitsy.
You can independently take a train in the Kursk direction, going to the station "Podolsk", and then by bus 65, stopping at the bus station next to the station, go to the stop "pos. Dubrovitsy "
For those who, in principle, do not travel by electric trains, you can also get by taking bus number 417 from the Yuzhnaya metro station to the stop "Village of Dubrovitsy".
Review of visiting the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy
Our journey began at the Kursk railway station. A ticket to Podolsk cost 102 rubles. Travel time is one hour. The timetable for bus 65 is best viewed in advance on the Internet. For some reason he is not at the bus stop. But we were lucky, we didn't have to wait long. Having paid for tickets at 43 rubles and spent about 20 minutes on the way, we were on the spot. It is difficult to make the mistake of stopping, because since there are no multi-storey buildings around, the main local attraction - the Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary - is clearly visible at the entrance to the estate, which makes it an excellent landmark.
Manor complex Dubrovitsy
The territory of the estate complex, or rather what is left of it, is located at the confluence of two rivers: Desna and Pakhra. The first mention of these places appears in documents in the first third of the 17th century. Then it was the patrimony of the boyar IV Morozov. The estate has repeatedly changed owners and appearance for various reasons, because each new owner tried to remake his property to his own taste.
Dubrovitsy
After the revolution, the manor house was turned into a Museum of Noble Life, but it existed for less than ten years and after the closure all material values, of which there were many, were taken out.
At the moment, the building houses the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Livestock Breeding of the Russian Agricultural Academy, as well as the Civil Registry Office and the Golitsyn restaurant. The Institute has restored the interior of one of the halls in its part of the building, making it a conference room, but outsiders are not allowed there.
Manor house
The farmstead is not fully a tourist attraction, but there are many people here. Everyone is attracted by the Church of the Sign.
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
The temple was founded and erected at the end of the 17th century under the second owner of the estate - Prince Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn. Both the external appearance and the interior of the church are so different from those accepted in Orthodoxy (in particular, instead of the usual dome, the church is crowned with a crown) that the priests refused to consecrate it even though the building itself was built strictly according to the canons. The corresponding ceremony was carried out only after the intervention of Peter I. The Emperor himself was present at the opening of the Temple.
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
Posted by Nina and Natasha, travelers (@shagauru) Nov 9 2016 at 11:06 PST
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
Subsequent owners of the estate did not pay due attention to the church and the building began to collapse. In the middle of the 19th century, it was restored, but during the 20th century, although they tried to carry out restoration work, they could not keep it in good condition. The bell tower, located next to the Temple, was completely demolished and at the moment the bells of the church are in the open air. At the end of the last century, the Temple was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church and now it is a functioning church. Over the years, the internal interior of the Temple has been restored, but the external decoration of the church requires global, expensive work, funding for which is currently lacking.
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
Taking pictures inside the Temple is prohibited (or as they say in such cases - "Not blessed"), but we were lucky. The church organizes excursions on its own and invites everyone to join the visiting groups. One such group arrived half an hour after us. The price of the tour is 150 rubles per person, but people give more, because after seeing this amazing Temple, everyone sincerely wants to take part in its early restoration. Tourists are allowed to take a few pictures inside the church, but still there is a feeling that the Ministers do not like it. So my friend and I quickly took only a couple of photos.
Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy
Leaving the church, we walked around the Temple, since you can take pictures outside of it as much as you want, went up to the observation deck, and then went down to the river bank. More precisely, to the banks of two rivers. And from everywhere there is a magnificent view of the church. It's a paradise for photographers.
view from the observation deck
view from the observation deck
While in the estate, be sure to look at the gates of the Horse Yard, which remained from the estate buildings of the middle of the 19th century, when the owner of these places was M.A. Dmitriev-Mamonov.
Horse yard
Horse yard
Restaurant "Golitsyn" in the estate Dubrovitsy
The next point of our walk was the Golitsyn restaurant, located in the basement of the manor house.
decor element in the restaurant
Apparently, the Estate is becoming not a tourist, but a wedding site. The newlyweds come to the registry office, then a photo session at the church, there is also a bridge for the now popular locks, and in the restaurant you can arrange a wedding banquet. I am sure that the wedding ceremony takes place very often in the church itself. But we went into a restaurant to warm up and have a coffee. I can’t judge whether this is an expensive restaurant, since we didn’t order a full lunch. A cup of coffee from 100 rubles.
Having refreshed and warmed up, we continued our walk.Estate Ivanovskoe
Back in Moscow, my companion found out that the Ivanovskoye estate is located a half-hour walk from Dubrovitsy. After checking the maps on our smartphones, we went on a short hike. Of course, it was possible to take bus 65, familiar to us, to get to the Podolsk Cadets Square stop and walk along Parkovaya Street directly to the manor house, but the bus had to wait about an hour, and daylight was already coming to an end.
After passing along Belyaevsky proezd, we turned onto Belyaevskaya Street and along it we reached the high bank of the Pakhra River. A beautiful view of the river and the Church of the Sign opens from here.
view from the opposite bank of the Pakhra river
It should be noted that you can only walk here in dry weather, because the road is clearly not suitable for pedestrians. In addition, using the tips of the locals, we turned off the street onto the "partisan paths" along the coast to the estate. Thus, we went to the restaurant "Rest", located at the beginning of the street. Governor-General Zakrevsky, and then our path went along a comfortable road.
In the form the remains of which have survived to this day, the estate was built at the very beginning of the 19th century under Count Fyodor Andreevich Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy's great-uncle. It is located in a very picturesque place, on the high bank of the Pakhra River and, if it had not been abandoned, it could have been one of the most beautiful estates in the Moscow region. But the state in which she is now does not cause delight.
Estate Ivanovskoe
At the moment, the estate houses the Federal Museum of Professional Education, which is a branch of the Moscow State Machine-Building University, a branch of the Podolsk Museum of Local Lore and the Civil Registry Office. Master classes, concerts, filming, etc. are constantly held here.
Estate Ivanovskoe
Since we were on a Sunday evening, it was not possible to get into any of the museums, because they were already closed. Only a few workers assembled the scenery for the next event.
local inhabitants
After examining the courtyard, we decided to go around the manor house, but this turned out to be problematic. The manor park has long been abandoned and it is rather difficult to walk through dead wood and weeds growing near the walls, and it does not make sense.
around the manor house
From the outside, the walls of the house and the outbuildings are painted in a poisonous yellow color, and the decorative elements are white, while from the side of the courtyard all buildings are completely white. It looks unusual.
around the manor house
The remains of the park are quite popular for walking. On the left side of the house there is a path leading down to the water. You can go down only when there is no rain because the descent is steep enough.
view of the manor house from the river
view of the manor house from the river
By the way, here, on the left side of the house, there is a Tea House - a park pavilion, which also belongs to the Podolsk Museum of Local Lore.
Tea house
Realizing that there was nothing special to see here, we returned to the bus stop located next to the pavilion and began to wait for the transport. There is only one route here - 4. A ticket to the station costs 43 rubles. We were lucky, the bus arrived in 5-7 minutes. Exactly on schedule. We also had a desire to walk around the city, but the daylight was already coming to an end and we decided to return home. But we did look at the city from the bus window, since it goes from the estate almost across the whole city.
But before leaving, we could not help but approach the monument to Catherine the Great, the founder of the city, erected in 2008 in the park that bears her name.
monument to Catherine the Great
This concludes our walk. We were lucky again: the train stood on the platform already "under steam" and set off in the direction of Moscow three minutes after we got into it.
This is how we spent one Sunday in October.
Dubrovitsy is a very good place for a weekend walk. You can come here more than once and it will still be interesting. If you combine Dubrovitsy with Ivanovsky, then first it is better to stop by Ivanovskoye to go to museums in the morning. It is not interesting to walk here.
ChurchSigns of the Most Holy Theotokos in the estate Dubovitsy can be called not only one of the most beautiful temples in the Moscow region, but also one of the most mysterious. The authorship of the creation is covered with a secret, and there is no exact information about the customer of the project, which is unusual for Russian church architecture.
It is assumed that the idea of creating a magnificent structure here belongs to Prince Boris Golitsyn. This version makes sense. Firstly, at that time he owned the estate. Secondly, he was a fan of everything European and architecture in particular. The prince often traveled abroad and admired the Baroque style, which was fashionable at that time. Therefore, he could well have conceived something similar in Russia.
Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn (1654-1714) was an educator and associate of Peter I, one of the most powerful nobles of the early period of Peter's rule. Having become close to the Naryshkins, he joined the initiators of the proclamation of young Peter as tsar in 1682. He traveled with the emperor to the White Sea in 1693 and 1694. During the Great Embassy of 1697-1698, he headed the government in Moscow together with Naryshkin and Prince P.N. Prozorovsky. Was one of three members of Peter's regency during his absence. Later - the governor in Astrakhan and ruled the Volga region.
According to one of the assumptions, the temple was founded in memory of the erection of Golitsyn into boyar dignity in early 1690, the ceremony took place in Moscow. However, a year before this, the nobleman was slandered and he fell into disgrace, after which he was forced to live in his estates near Moscow - Dubrovitsy, , Marfine. It is possible that the idea to build a church was born at that time. It is believed that the construction was conceived in honor of the reconciliation of Peter I and Boris Alekseevich.
In the brochure on the history of the temple, which is sold in the church shop, we read the following legend. Once, who visited his uncle, young Peter, standing on a hill, was so delighted with the nature of Dubrovitsy that he exclaimed: “Two rivers, Desna and Pakhra, merge over the hill, behind the meadow beneath it, at an acute angle, forming the bow of the ship. I wish a ship, but a worthy mast of these places! A church like that would be erected here so that the Germans would gasp. So that there would be no other so beautiful in the world ... ".
So it was Peter who could have ordered Golitsyn to build a church on this place. This conjecture is supported by the fact that the 18-year-old king himself was present at the foundation of the church on July 22, 1690. He told the prince: "Though you are a rich man, I will help the treasury as well." It is known that Peter did not spare money and often visited Dubrovitsy, giving his instructions on the decoration of the temple being built.
About a hundred foreign craftsmen were invited to build a large-scale church for a small estate. A large number of Russian masons were gathered to help them. As a result of the labors in Dubovitsy, a temple of extraordinary beauty arose. The masterpiece of architecture is completely built from blocks of white Myachkovsky limestone. Rusty walls, columns, pilasters are distinguished by special refinement. The building is decorated from top to bottom with floral ornaments.
Both the external appearance and the interior are not at all characteristic of Russian churches. The Church of the Sign did not fit into the generally accepted religious canons so much that the clergy did not want to consecrate it. Several years passed before the ceremony was performed.
Sf we couldn’t trace the interior decoration and , this is permissible only with the blessing of the priest. That's why description have to do no illustrations.
The first thing you notice upon entering the temple is a constellation of high reliefs on biblical subjects, installed along the walls to the dome part. In the small space of the church, such a composition makes a special impression. Sculptures close to believers seem to be drawn to them and are ready for sacred communication.
A massive, two-tiered wooden choir in the Baroque style, decorated with gilding, hangs over the entrance. True, the gilding is badly worn, but such antiquity breathes with history. It was in these choirs that Tsar Peter I prayed with his son Tsarevich Alexei at the consecration of the Church of the Sign in 1704.
The largest sculptural composition in the temple is the Crucifixion, the central plot of the Passion of the Lord. On the right is an inscription pointed to by two angels. Similar texts, located in cartouches decorated with a shell, acanthus leaves and garlands, are also found in other scenes. It is interesting that during the arrangement of the interior decoration, these inscriptions were in Latin. However, during the restoration of the 19th century, Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow demanded to replace them with Church Slavonic quotations from the Gospel. During the restoration in 2004, the texts were restored in their previous version.
It is believed that sculptures in the interior appeared several years later than external statues. And they were created by masters who arrived in St. Petersburg together with the architect and engineer Domenico Trezzini in 1703 to conduct construction work.
There is no bell tower at the Church of the Sign. They say that earlier it was, but for some reason it has not survived. A row of small bells hangs on the street next to the temple.
The church took 8 years to build. Most of the work was done in summer. During the cold period, the craftsmen were engaged in stone processing, carving various patterns on it, pounding alabaster and glass for lime. As a result, in the eyes of the parishioners, in the words of contemporaries, "a marvelous, unspeakable" appeared.
The height of the building is about 42.3 meters. The church is surrounded by a narrow gallery with a high parapet, arranged 10 steps above the ground. The basement of the building and the parapet are decorated with ornaments.
A reasonable question: who built this miracle? What were these masters invited from Italy?
It turned out to be difficult to find information about the construction of the church in the 1890s. The work of the secretary of the Austrian embassy Johann-Georg Korb, who published in Latin a description of his travel and stay in Russia, helped to slightly open the veil of secrecy. Diarium itineris in Moscoviam etc ... He lived in Moscow from April 1698 to July 1699, becoming an eyewitness to the accomplishments of Peter I after his return from his first trip abroad. In his diaries, Korb recorded everything he had seen and heard, including information about tsarist feasts, executions of archers, manners and customs of Russians.
About Golitsyn and Dubrovitsy we find the following:
"Prince B. A. Golitsyn built himself chambers worthy of the nobility of his surname, and keeps architects Italians. By the labor of the latter, beautiful temples, eternal monuments of his glory and prudence were erected in his villages Dubrovitsa and Vyazema. Prince Golitsyn is fluent in Latin and, realizing how useful knowledge of this language would be for his sons in their relations with foreigners, he assigned teachers from Poles to teach them Latin ... ".
"... Prince Golitsyn invited the envoy to his estate, which is called Dubrovitsy and is 30 versts from Moscow. The envoy arrived for dinner. the bell tower, from which everything could be seen. The church was built magnificently, at the expense of the prince. It has the appearance of a crown and is decorated on the outside with many stone figures of Italian work. After an expensive dinner, we engaged in pleasant conversations in the gazebo arranged in the most beautiful garden, and continued the conversation until evening, until they finally called for supper. "
How follows from the quote,in 1698 the bell tower was. She t whether it stood separately, or the bells hung in the very tower of the church. There is informationthat in Vyazemy the Italians also built or modernized something, but we did not notice anything of the kind there.
A unique feature of the building is that it is the only Russian temple topped with a gilded crown, not domes.
They say that a similar crown was erected on the church of Boris Golitsyn's other estate near Moscow, Bolshiye Vyazemy. However, it differed from the Dubrovitsky crown in shape and was made of white stone. Most likely, the crown symbolized a royal person - Peter or Golitsyn himself, who was always with the king.
In front of the main entrance, on the sides of the western staircase, there are two white stone sculptures. So it’s not immediately recognizable, but we read it in the same reference book: on the right - Gregory the Theologian with a book and a raised hand, and on our left side - John Chrysostom with a book and a miter at our feet.
Statues of four evangelists are installed in the entrance corners of the basement, at the base of the octahedral tower there are figures of eight apostles. In addition, the facade is decorated with many different images of angels.
In 1812, Dubrovitsy was occupied by soldiers of the Napoleonic army, however, oddly enough, the French destroying everything in their path did no harm to the Church of the Sign.
But the really serious damage to the temple was inflicted by the Soviet power. In 1930 the church was closed, the priests were evicted, their property and houses were transferred to the Dubovitsy state farm. The building was dilapidated, noticeable traces of which can be seen to this day. The Church of the Sign was returned to the parishioners in 1990. Restoration work seems to be continuing now, but the restorers themselves are somehow not visible.
Over the 300 years of its existence, Dubovitsky Church has undergone three major restorations. The most thorough and completed work was the work carried out in 1848-1850, when the estate was owned by Count Matvey Alexandrovich Dmitriev-Mamonov. About three hundred specialists were invited to restore the church.
ESTATE
For the first time the village of Dubovitsy was mentioned in 1627: “In Molotsky camp, behind the boyar Ivan Vasilyevich Morozov, the old patrimony of the village of Dubrovitsy on the Pakhra River, at the mouth of the Desna river.” Before his death, Morozov took monastic vows, and after his death the estate passed to his daughter Aksinya Ivanovna , who soon married Prince I. A. Golitsyn.In 1662, the couple built a large wooden house in the estate, and since that time Dubrovitsy has been in the possession of the Golitsyn family for more than 100 years.
The classic manor palace was built much later than the church, when the estate belonged to the governor of Moscow S.A. Golitsyn. The photo shows that the architecture of the Znamensky Cathedral and the rest of the buildings of the estate is stylistically not in harmony.
In 1781, Duke G.A.Potemkin-Tavrichesky acquired Dubovitsy, but already in 1787 Catherine the Great bought the estate from him and presented it to her favorite A.M.Dmitriev-Mamonov. The new owner builds a horse yard here and surrounds the estate with a stone wall with battlements. The gate, made in a pseudo-Gothic style, can be seen even now.
The palace with balconies, terraces and covered galleries is well preserved. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by white stone marble lions. Currently, the building houses a registry office, a society of veterans and a number of other local organizations. We arrived in Dubovitsy on a weekend and met here a lot of newlywed couples and their guests.
March 20th, 2015
It is difficult to surprise a person living in Moscow and interested in history and architecture with a church building. He had already seen everything. But sometimes it is still possible to amaze. Welcome to Dubrovitsy. To the Orthodox church, which is so similar to the Catholic one that after its construction they refused to consecrate it.
The Church of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos is located in the Dubrovitsy estate of the Podolsk district of the Moscow region. The Znamensky Church is a unique monument of Russian architecture of the late 17th - early 18th centuries, which has long been included in the treasury of world art. 
The pillar-shaped white-stone building, made in the Baroque style, is raised on a high base and surrounded by an open gallery decorated with white-stone lace made of flowers, fruits, tassels, and so on. The graceful octahedral tower of the church is topped with a gilded metal crown. The facades of the temple are richly decorated with sculptures of saints and angels, floral and plant ornaments, the walls of the four-petal tier are decorated with diamond rustication. 
Znamenskaya Church is one of the most extraordinary monuments of church architecture at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. No other temple near Moscow is as mysterious as this one. Neither the author of this masterpiece nor the masters who worked here are known for certain. We can only say with confidence that both foreign and Russian masters worked on the creation of the temple in Dubrovitsy. 
The construction of the Church of the Sign dates back to the time when the Dubrovitsy estate was owned by the educator of Peter I, Prince Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn. In 1689 he was slandered before the king and he ordered him to retire to his village. The sovereign's anger passed rather quickly, and already in 1690 Boris Alekseevich was summoned to Moscow and he was granted the boyar dignity. It is believed that it was as a sign of reconciliation with Peter I that the prince decided to erect a new white-stone church in Dubrovitsy. 
There is no doubt that the construction of the temple was completed by 1699, and maybe even earlier. However, another five years passed before its consecration. Probably, this was caused by the intention of Prince B. A. Golitsyn to invite Peter I to Dubrovitsy for the consecration of the Church of the Sign, which was impossible until 1704, since the Emperor hardly ever visited Moscow at that time. But, first of all, the prince had to get permission to consecrate such an unusual temple, built in the Baroque style and decorated in a European manner, from Patriarch Adrian - the enemy of everything Catholic-European. Only after the death of Hadrian and the church reform organized by Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century, the church was consecrated. It happened on February 24, 1704. The service on this day was attended by Tsar Peter I himself and his son Tsarevich Alexei. 
The interior of the Dubrovitsky temple also has a rich sculptural decoration. Relief compositions take up a significant part of the space. The plots of sculptures made using the stucco technique are very diverse, but they have one thing in common: they are all made according to biblical motives and are located in a certain system. Taking pictures inside is not blessed without the special permission of the abbot. Therefore, you just have to take my word for it: the inside is amazing. And it's very light. 
The church was built on the high bank of the cape formed by the confluence of the Desna and Pakhra rivers. This is Desna. 
In 1812 Dubrovitsy was occupied by the troops of Napoleon's army, but the French did no harm to the church. Not all temples were shown this attitude.
The Soviet period of our history turned out to be more cruel in relation to the Dubrovitsky monuments than the time of the Napoleonic invasion. In early March 1930, according to the newspaper "Podolsky Rabochy", permission was obtained to close the church in Dubrovitsy, and on March 8, the removal of the bells was planned there. A year earlier, by a resolution of the Volost Executive Committee, all clergy and clergymen were evicted from their homes on the territory of Dubrovitsy, their housing and land were transferred to the Dubrovitsy state farm. This was the opening of a tragic page in the history of this magnificent temple.
In 1929 the temple was closed for worship; in September 1931, the bell tower and the church of Adrian and Natalia located in it were blown up. In the place where the belfry used to be, there is now a stand with bells.
The estate is located to the west and southwest of the Znamensky temple. Here in the foreground is a large stone manor house, three stories high, with a belvedere, balconies, terraces along the southern and northern walls and covered galleries facing east and west. The front facade of the building faces south. In the corners of the palace square, in the past bounded by an elegant wrought-iron lattice, there are two one-storey outbuildings. Two more similar buildings are located to the north of the manor house (the northeastern wing has not survived and is now being restored). These four outbuildings were intended for the manager, servants, clergy and clergy. 
The first written mention of the ancient village of Dubrovitsy dates back to 1627. The owner of the estate was the boyar Ivan Vasilyevich Morozov, who at that time was the head of the Vladimirsky court order. Before his death, he took monastic vows under the name of Elder Joachim, and in 1656 he bequeathed the estate to his daughter Aksinya (Xenia), who was married to Prince I.A.Golitsyn. 
The Golitsyn family owned the estate until 1781. Then she was sold to Count Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin. Potemkin did not belong to the estate for long - until 1788. Empress Catherine in 1788 acquired the estate for her favorite Alexander Matveyevich Dmitriev-Mamonov. True, a few years later she caught him of treason, but the estate remained with the Dmitrev-Mamonov family. In 1864, the estate again passed into the hands of the Golitsyn family. Representatives of the House of Romanovs and ambassadors of foreign states have visited Dubrovitsy more than once. 
In 2004, the Znamenskaya Church celebrated the 300th anniversary of its Great Consecration. On the eve of this event, unique high reliefs of the late 17th - early 18th centuries were renovated, the Royal Doors of the iconostasis were restored, and work was completed in the basement of the church. To date, the restoration continues.
More than a hundred wells have been drilled along the perimeter of the church. A special solution is poured inside to fill the voids and cracks in the foundation, which was seriously damaged 80 years ago by the explosion of the nearby bell tower. The local state farm then needed building materials, and a warehouse was set up in the church. Nobody cared about the unique carvings and icons. 
Singing field. It hosts holiday - Tsvetaevsky bonfire in memory of the poetess Marina Tsvetaeva.
The observation deck is a bulk mound. Built under B.A. Golitsin. At the top of the mound, annually - until 1930 - there were memorial services for those who died in the Patriotic War of 1812. Previously, they climbed the mound along a spiral path. And now they made a ladder with a bridge (a place of attraction for newlyweds).
There is a niche on the eastern side of the temple above the stairs. Previously, a crucifix was located in a niche. And on either side of him is the Theotokos (left) and John the Theologian (right). Everything was lost during the Soviet era. 
View from the observation deck. 
Today the temple is in need of expensive and complex restoration. The World Monuments Fund, hoping to attract special attention, included it on the same list with the ancient Peruvian Machu Picchu and the Sagrada Familia by the architect Gaudí in Spain. 
Kiryusha on the observation deck. 
Ladders-ladders-ladders. 
Pakhra river. 
Choir festivals are held on the song field. 
Spring Desna. 
Kiryusha buried herself in last year's leaves :) 
Arrow of Desna and Pakhra. On the right is the training base of the Vityaz football club. 
Girl in the evening sun :) 
This is a memorial stone in honor of Tsvetaeva. I deliberately did not take photoshopping the surrounding trash: an excellent indicator of the culture of our society. And not the only one on the territory of the estate. The fact is that the registry office is now located in the building of the palace (in addition to other institutions). And everywhere you can see the traces of the newlyweds: confetti, plastic cups, coins and even bottles. Although, in general, Tsubrowice is pretty clean. 
Let's go directly to the main manor house.
The manor palace was most likely built in the first half of the 18th century. in the baroque style. In the next century, the house was overhauled in the spirit of classicism. The estate also underwent significant changes in the twentieth century: the superstructures of the second floor were made, and then the third (later dismantled). The enfilades of large rooms were partitioned off. The rooms on the north and south sides of the building were divided by a narrow corridor leading from west to east. The layout and architecture of the building suffered markedly. 
The furnishings of the palace were magnificent. In 1889, Prince S.M. Golitsyn enriched it with luxurious wooden Italian furniture of the 17th century, which he had taken from an old ancestral palace in Rome. All the decoration of the house completely disappeared from Dubrovitsy in the twentieth century. After the 1917 revolution, Dubrovitsy was first turned into a museum of noble life, which existed until 1927. Currently, the manor palace houses the All-Russian Research Institute of Animal Breeding of the Russian Agricultural Academy, the Podolsk Regional Department of the Civil Registry Office and the Council of Veterans of the Podolsk District.
I was unpleasantly surprised when I discovered that cars were quietly driving up to the house and parking right at the entrance. For me, such treatment of architectural monuments is barbaric. It's like opening a barbecue in Tsaritsyno near the palace. 
By the way, about the barbecue. There is a restaurant under the eastern gallery. "Golitsyn". What a mockery ... 
If you walk around the palace, a completely unsightly picture will open. 
Everything is dilapidated, dilapidated, repaired with scrap materials. Well, is it really impossible to find another premises for the animal husbandry institute ?! However, to the credit of the institute, it should be noted that it (for some reason ?!) has been engaged in restoration work on the estate for almost 40 years. 
View down to the Desna. Do you dare to go down the stairs? 
Some newlyweds take risks. And they leave behind a scattering of little things. For luck... 
I hope this is still a wedding attribute. And not a squeamishly gutted mug from a church porch. Little things lie there for more than a hundred rubles. 
The manor house made a dreary impression. And here is the temple opposite. One of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. And certainly the most amazing one. 
I hope that someday (and it will not be too late) the caring, careful hands of restorers will reach the palace. 
Chair rental - 100 rubles. Poor Golitsyn ... 
To the west of the house rises a century-old linden park, through the central alley of which in the 19th century. a bridge was thrown, now only the embankments for the supports, almost level with the ground, remind of it. According to legend, there are linden trees planted by Peter the Great himself ... Three more manor buildings have survived behind the park, two of them are currently residential buildings, and the third is used by Dubrovitsy JSC. 
Cars are completely out of place here :( 
Despite such contrasting sensations, I definitely recommend everyone to visit the Dubrovitsy estate. At least for the sake of an amazing temple that remembers the prayers of the first Russian emperor.
Let's talk today in more detail about the Dubrovitsy estate and its main treasure - the Church of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Dubrovitsy is almost 4 centuries old, the temple is almost 100 years younger than the estate itself. The estate is small, but quite traditional: a church (1690-1704), a palace (1750), a mound, a horse yard, three outbuildings (originally there were four), outbuildings, a lime tree regular park.
General view of the estate from above - photo from the website of the Church of the Sign (www.dubrovitsy-hram.ru).
The manor house is still impressive - large, beautiful, very harmonious.
But, of course, the main decoration of the estate is Church of the Sign- white stone, high, delicate, directed into the sky, as if soaring towards the clouds. It stands on a high hill - at the confluence of two rivers - Pakhra and Desna. And the surrounding nature, the meadows next to it, the mirrors of the rivers only undermine its greatness and become.
History estate Dubrovitsy dates back to 1627. In those years it was the patrimony of the boyar I. V. Morozov. Morozov's daughter Aksinya married Prince Golitsyn. Since that time, Dubrovitsy passed into the possession of the Golitsyn family for more than 100 years.
Dubrovitsy is closely related to the names of Peter I and Catherine II.
Attention to the estate of Peter I is due to the fact that the owner of Dobrovitsy in those years was Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn (1641-1714), an associate and educator of the young Peter I. The foundation stone of the Temple of the Sign took place in 1690. By 1699 the construction was completed. For several years the temple was waiting for its consecration. The owner wanted to consecrate it only in the presence of Peter I. And in those years he almost never visited Moscow.
We go to the territory of the temple.
Finally, on February 11, 1704, in the presence of Peter I and Tsarevich Alexei, the temple was consecrated. The celebrations in honor were very magnificent and solemn and lasted a whole week.
And here she is - the Dubrovitskaya beauty!
The main buildings of the estate - a manor house, a horse yard, four outbuildings, outbuildings were built in 1750-53. already under B. A. Golitsyn's grandson, Sergei Alekseevich.
In the 80s of the 19th century, the estate changed owners several times - Grigory Potemkin (1781), Catherine II (1787), A.M. Dmitriev-Mamonov (from 1788). It was from this time that the manor house was actively rebuilt in the fashionable style of classicism at that time.
The central part of the building on the south side was decorated with a six-column portico. A wide white-stone staircase was added to the main entrance, the railings of the stairs and loggias were decorated with an Empire-style lattice. Two marble lions were installed on high stone pedestals.
At the central entrance to the palace, a flower garden was laid out and a fountain was installed. On the side of the Desna River, they made a semi-rotunda terrace with ten columns of the Corinthian order.
For almost 80 years, the estate belonged to the Mamonovs, until in 1864 it passed into the possession of Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn. He also owned Dubrovitsy until the 1917 revolution.
On this, the best years of Dubrovitsy ended. Several years after the revolution, the estate housed a museum of noble life. Then all the valuables were taken out and the estate was handed over to the orphanage. In 1932, an agricultural technical school was housed here. In 1961, the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Animal Husbandry was transferred from Moscow to Dubrovitsy, which is still located here. However, this is not the only institution in this building.
Here is evidence from the Soviet era of the estate.
The temple was closed in 1930 and returned to believers in 1990. After heating was carried out, services began to be held here all year round.
The temple is undoubtedly magnificent even now, but, of course, it is in great need of restoration. The militant proletariat and time have done their job. The church is crumbling. The restoration began in 2003, but things are still there. The traces of the ongoing work are clearly visible, they cannot be hidden with anything.
Here is a monument to Catherine II, over which the proletarian vandals "did a good job". He stood near the ruined bell tower.
At the very bottom of the church, in the corners, on low pedestals, there are figures of the evangelists. Almost all without heads and symbols.
Only the Evangelist Matthew has a head and his symbol - an Angel. Lucky ...
It remains only to pray that this unique pearl will not be lost, that they will restore it and not spoil it at the same time.
Now let's talk in more detail about the Temple itself.
Temple of the Sign built in the Baroque style by Italian and Russian masters. The name of the architect of this masterpiece is hidden in history. The archives have not preserved either his name, or why such an unusual project for a church was chosen at all for Russia. The temple still makes an indelible impression, one can imagine how he shocked his contemporaries. The temple is richly decorated with sculptures, carvings, and moldings. He is unusual in everything for an Orthodox church. It is not even crowned with a dome, but with a crown. Both the cross and the crown are gilded.
The height of the temple with the crown is 42.3 m, with the cross - more than 46 m.
The photo below shows a view of the Znamensky temple from the east. There is a niche above the stairs. Previously, a crucifix was located in a niche. And to the sides of him the Mother of God (left) and John the Theologian (right).
I really like the words of the architect Sergei Makovsky, which he said about the Dubrovitsky temple in 1910: "... nothing like this will ever be found in great Russia; nothing more extravagant ... it is simply not more charming to invent!" Indeed, it is simply impossible to tear yourself away from the contemplation of the temple, it attracts and bewitches. He is so alone - that is why he is unique!
Well, now I offer you my photos from our family trip to Dubrovitsy in September. Just watch and enjoy!
The observation deck is a bulk mound. Built under B.A. Golitsin. On the top of the mound annually - until 1930 - there were panikods for those who died in the Patriotic War of 1812.
Previously, they climbed the mound along a spiral path. And now we have made a ladder. I must say the stairs are very comfortable, not dangerous. Well constructed.
Bridge, locked locks, lost keys - a modern wedding theme.
Photo with locks for our collection. Dad climbed over the fence on a high mound. My heart sank while he was photographing our beauty.
The nature in Dubrovitsy is good. The Desna River flows behind the trees.
The wind mercilessly tears the leaves of the trees. Still, it's autumn ...
In Dubrovitsy, we saw a holiday traditionally held here in September - the Tsvetaevsky bonfire. September 26, 1892 - Marina Tsvetaeva's birthday. We were in Dubrovitsy on Saturday 29 September. The 120th anniversary of the poetess was celebrated.
Tsvetaevsky bonfires are held at the Song Festival Grounds. The singing field is framed on both sides by Desna and Pakhra. The place is very poetic and inspiring.
In the background is the Pakhra river.
Walking around the church outside, we came to the main entrance.
The main entrance to the church is to the west. At the entrance there are two figures of saints - on the left is John Chrysostom with a book in his hands, on the right is Gregory the Theologian. The sculpture of the third saint - Basil the Great - stands on the roof of the building also on the west side.
At the base of the tower there are 8 sculptures of the apostles.
Despite the fact that in almost every city and village we have our own church, and often more than one, it is not easy to see a unique masterpiece in the Baroque style in Russia. If you want, then go to the Dubrovitsy estate in the Moscow region, not far from where the Church of the Sign is located.
The temple is inscribed in an old manor complex and was built in honor of the Novgorod icon "Sign" of the Most Holy Theotokos. Once the estate belonged to the Golitsyn and Dmitriev-Mamonov families.
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History
History has not preserved for posterity the names of the creators of this masterpiece - the architect is unknown, the masters who worked on the temple, too. It is only known that there were both Russians and foreigners among them.
It is known that the beginning of construction was laid on June 22, 1690 by Boris Golitsyn. He is also the founder of the estate in Dubrovitsy.
There is also information that a wooden church, erected here in about 1622, stood on this site. After the construction of the stone building began, the wooden structure was moved to the neighboring village of Lemeshevo.
The prince was the educator of the future emperor Peter the Great, but, for some unknown reason, in 1689 fell into disgrace and retired to his estate near Moscow. He immediately began construction work and even, according to one version, ordered Italian craftsmen for the construction of the temple. There is a version that the construction of the building began after Emperor Peter forgave Boris Alekseevich and elevated him to boyar dignity. This is a kind of symbol of the rise of the clan.
Not only noble clergy and statesmen were invited, but also the emperor himself. Perhaps precisely because Prince Boris Alekseevich wished for the presence of the emperor at the consecration, he was postponed for so long, after all, it is known that until 1704 Peter the Great almost never visited Moscow and the Moscow region.
There is another version of such a long period of non-consecration. For a very long time, Prince Boris Alekseevich could not get permission from Patriarch Adrian, who did not dare to consecrate such an unusual structure, made in the European manner by foreign masters. The building, already built, was repeatedly corrected, something was finalized, and some decorative elements were removed. The Dubrovitskaya Church was built in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Sign" in the style that was called "Golitsyn Baroque" - its difference from the Russian Baroque was that the Golitsyns, during construction, abandoned the traditional silhouette of a Russian temple, building the church in a Western manner, and crowned with a gilded crown instead of the canonical dome. The sculptural images of the apostles and holy evangelists that adorn the outside of the church were also not traditional for Russian church architecture. Convex images - high reliefs - adorn the church inside as well. It is noteworthy that the building has Gothic features - three Gothic gates were built (only one survived) and a wall in the Gothic style, which covered the estate along with the church. But if the Gothic Church in Europe was called to show a person his insignificance, then the Znamenskaya Church, inspired by the traditions of Orthodoxy, on the contrary, reminds of the closeness of God and the greatness of the immortal human soul.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the building was restored and re-consecrated. A little later, a parish school and a small almshouse were opened here.
After 1917 and until 1927 a museum worked here, and then all the exhibits were taken to other exhibition centers. Around this time, a ban was announced on official church services. In 1929, the closure took place, the bell tower was destroyed (the small chapel of St. Natalia and Adrian was also destroyed).
It's important to know: the temple is active, it belongs to the Podolsk Deanery District of the Moscow Diocese.
It remained closed until 1989, when the local Orthodox community began work to return the building to believers. A few months later, permission was obtained from the authorities, although the first service took place on the street.
Until 2000, restoration and restoration work was underway. After their completion, icons were brought here, preserved at the Institute of Animal Breeding.
Construction
As mentioned above, construction began in 1690, on a high bank, at the confluence of the Desna and Pakhra rivers. The place was chosen very picturesque.
The estate was built by Italian craftsmen (although there is information about Russian architects who were hired by Prince Golitsyn for the construction). That is why it has such an unusual appearance for that time, which differs from Russian architecture.
The building was erected from white local stone. The base of the structure is a cross, the ends of which are rounded. The building is placed on a high foundation. This made it possible to enclose the building in a circle with a parapet. It is decorated with carvings and stone stucco patterns. Also, there are multi-arch staircases in a circle.
note: the height of the building from the foundation to the dome is 42 meters.
In the years 1848-1850, the building was restored. The then owner of the estate in Dubrovitsy, Matvey Alexandrovich Dmitriev-Mamonov, insisted on this. He attracted to the work of a very famous architect at that time, academician Fyodor Richter (Matvey Alexandrovich was a hero of the war of 1812, he formed a regiment, which consisted of such famous people as Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky and others; although his life ended sadly, in a crazy house).
Academician Richter worked on the restoration of the building exactly when the owner of the estate was undergoing another course of compulsory "treatment", but the architect knew his job well and did not need guidance (he worked for a long time on the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral under the direction of O. Manferran).
Architectural features
Another difference between the structure and other similar structures of that time is the presence of stone sculpture. Two of them are located on the sides of the main entrance.
This is a sculpture of Gregory the Theologian and a sculpture of John the Theologian. The third sculpture is located above the entrance. The figure of Basil the Great is carved into the stone.
In addition to these sculptures, the temple is decorated with figures of four evangelists, eight apostles and many figurines of angels.
Interesting fact: this Russian temple is not crowned with a helmet, not a tent, not a dome, but a crown.
The interior decoration is impressive, where there are a lot of sculptures and sculptural compositions. All of them reflect one or another story from the Bible.
The most iconic are:
- "Crucifixion";
- The Passion of the Lord.
Each sculptural group was complemented by a bas-relief with an inscription in Latin. But during the restoration work of the mid-19th century, Latin was replaced with Old Church Slavonic texts (the then Patriarch Filaret insisted on this). But the inscriptions in Latin did not disappear; restorers who worked in 2004 managed to restore them.
Address and other useful information
The object is located in the village of Dubrovitsy, Podolsk district (you can get there via the Moscow Ring Road, go only sixteen kilometers or take a suburban bus that runs from Podolsk to the estate according to the schedule).
It is active, services are held on schedule (there is an official website of the Church of the Sign, which contains all the relevant information about opening hours and the possibility of visiting it). Open from 9 am to 5 pm.
Patronal feast - December 10. It is on this day that a solemn service takes place (you can look at all the relics stored in the temple).
Choirs in the form of bridges are still preserved in the Church of the Sign. It is known for certain that it was here that Emperor Peter stood at the consecration of the temple.
Modern experts have come to the conclusion that part of the iconostasis was made by the masters of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, but not entirely independently, but in the company of foreigners, as evidenced by European calligraphy on the icons.
On the territory of the estate there is an observation deck in the form of a mound, built during the reign of Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn. On it, until 1930, funeral services were served for those who died in the war of 1812.
There is another interesting fact from the history of the estate and the church. The Golitsyn family lost this wonderful place after Prince Sergei Golitsyn lost it at cards, and not just to some officer, but to the all-powerful Grigory Potemkin. Potemkin showed it to Empress Catherine II, who decided to buy the estate, but not for herself, but for her new favorite, Alexander Matveyevich Dmitriev-Mamonov.
So the estate left the Golitsyns and became part of the possessions of another, no less glorious family. By the way, Alexander Matveyevich is the only one of all Catherine's favorites who did not interfere in political affairs. It was enough for him to simply be in the literary circle under the empress (probably, that is why all sorts of favors were poured on him; he not only received titles, awards and estates, but also became the count of the Holy Roman Empire - the highest title in the state).
Alexander Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov
Alexander Mamonov completely rebuilt the estate in Dubrovitsy, laid out a beautiful lime park. It is known that the manor itself, the beautiful palace and the church were damaged during the war of 1812. In Dubrovitsy there was a detachment of Murat, who robbed and looted.
In 1864, the estate again passed into the hands of representatives of the Golitsyn family. Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn founded a large museum here based on the richest collection of his father. After that, the estate became the cultural center of the Moscow region.
Take note: Moscow also has the Church of the Sign, located near the metro station Rizhskaya. The temple, built in the 18th century, has never been closed and continues to operate.
The Church of the Sign is the most unusual masterpiece of church architecture of the early 18th century. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Watch an educational video about this church: