June 2010 in Moscow : Kuskovo

Let's enjoy the month of June (although some thunderstorms) to continue to visit parks around Moscow.

But first a short story about something very specific to Russian Stalin's snow !

This is not a joke but I had never heard of it before living in Moscow. It happens every year : no, this is not a fest !. You should have an idea of what it can be ?  I'll help you to find : it is because of Stalin who dediced to plant  hundreds of thousands of "Populus alba" (Silver Poplar) in Russian cities. 

Every year in May / June, it snows on Moscow : it is the pollen from the silver poplars. Better not be allergic ! Cotton balls are flying everywhere, "Stalin's snow" by breathing when walking, running, and are swallowed whatever we do. It flies very high, falling even in apartments. 
I have finally understood why there were mosquitoes screens on windows !

   

To learn more, I recommend the video (in English !) below :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83n2h6K13K0&feature=player_embedded

Now, enjoy the June sun (before a violent storm ! Fortunately we were back in the bus ...) to visit the Kuskovo park which is located east of Moscow.

How to get there ?

There is the Perovo metro solution (yellow line 8) and then to walk half an hour (ask for direction but evaluate the answer ... the Russians are always helpful, even if we do go in the opposite direction ... so, happened to us !) or take bus 260 to the metro station (the best). We made one way trip through the Novokosino metro station but it is noisy with lot of traffic and a great bridge to cross.

Kuskovo domain, nicknamed the "Versailles" of Moscow because of its French gardens, is a perfect example of a country residence in Moscow of the 18th century. The domain's history dates back to 1715, when Tsar Peter the Great gave Kuskovo village as a gift to the Russian General Boris Sheremetiev, famous for the Battle of Poltava (as anybody knows ... in 1709, decisive victory of Peter the Great over Charles XII of Sweden in the Great Northern War). Boris Sheremetiev decided to build a summer home here. The Sheremetiev have been one of the wealthiest families and most powerful one of Russia (after the family of Tsar as the Romanovs - see the June news on Kolomenskoye for those who do not follow ...) and the domain was used by several generations of the family. FYI, Moscow's international airport is called Sheremetyevo : well, it must explain the origin of this name (not everyone has a Charles de Gaulle name known in the world !).

The current architecture is coming from the son of Boris, Pyotr (Peter), who devoted his life to manage the domain after inheriting his father about 200,000 serfs (in the Middle Ages, a serf is a person who works for a noble -  a concept that ... crossed the border at that time !). He married Varvara Cherkasskaya, whose dowry included also serfs with talented architects including Fyodor Argunov and Alexei Mironov who were the creators of these buildings. The domain is gradually fell into disrepair after the death of Pyotr, and his son Nicolas spent his summers at the Ostankino palace instead of Kuskovo family one (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Останкино_ (усадьба)). The area has been damaged by the French army during the Moscow campaign of 1812 but then was restored. He remained one of the summer residences of the Sheremetiev family and a site for private receptions, celebrations and festivities until the Bolsheviks nationalized it in 1918.

The domain includes a central palace and some other interesting buildings around the landscaped park that includes French gardens, ponds, lakes, and also Italian and Russians sculptures.

One of the main features of the main Palace is that it was entirely built of wood : it has been since fully restored. Outside, It is painted with pink salmon and white, and it was achieved between 1769 and 1777 by architects (the famous serfs) Argunov and Mironov, with the supervision of the architect Karl Blank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Blank).

 

Among the rooms to visit, see for example, a billiard room, a dining room, a living room with Flemish tapestries, a bedroom with a grand allegorical fresco, and an office entirely covered with oak paneling.

  

But the highlight of the palace is undoubtedly the magnificent ballroom, which is lavishly decorated with gold ornaments, crystal chandeliers and bas-reliefs depicting the exploits of the heroes of ancient Rome, as Mutius Scaevola, which plunged hand in the fire to prove his indifference to pain (everybody knows it !).

The hall also has a fresco of Apollo and his Muses, glorifying Sheremetiev, their fame, wealth and power (now it is rather the one with the largest four wheel car in Moscow !).
In addition see some pictures on the Russian Web site site http://kuskovo.ru/vistavki_v_muzee/

Behind the palace there is a garden with geometric shapes (French style).
Note the black obelisk that was built to commemorate a visit of the Empress Catherine II "The Great".

 

Now, let's go to the Grotto. 
The building includes a dome and iron gates and has an interior decorated by the famous architect of St. Petersburg Johannes Fokt, using shells, stones, stucco and porcelain.

 

Right next to the grotto make a stop at the Italian Pavilion. Beautiful oak flooring that we visit with slippers.
If you forget to buy tickets at the entrance for access to buildings (which happens often because we think it's an entry fee for all), do not worry : in every building there is a cashier, unless the cashier made his lunch break (... the experience ...), then you can buy extra tickets.

Continuing the tour with a stop at the aviary (without birds !) and then go to the Orangerie to see the museum of ceramics.

There is a dinner service of Sevres porcelain (Vivant Denon) which has been given by Napoleon Bonaparte to Tsar Alexander I in 1807, as well as vases commemorating the construction of the Moscow Metro.

 

Not far from the Orangery, there is the Hermitage in Baroque style, surmounted by a statue of a goddess (Flora, it seems, goddess of spring and birth). Closed to visitors.

 

A little further there is the Holland pavilion (closed for restoration) which is facing a small lake.

Nearby is a house created by Swiss designer Nicolas Benois from St. Petersburg (a French !). We can't visit it and it needs some restoration.

To conclude the visit, let's try to go to the church which is next to the main palace, but as often for churches ... it's closed (it must be to prevent theft of icons). We had the chance to hear the bell that is manually activated (you have to zoom in on the right picture to see the bell ringer).

 

Thus ended the visit of Kuskovo domain, well worth a visit !