Friends, today I invite you to take a walk in Moscow's Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, located in the southeast of moscow.
How to Get There by Metro
The address of the museum-reserve is 39 Andropov Avenue. There are two nearby metro stations: "Kolomenskaya" and "Kashirskaya." If you plan to tour the Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich, it is more convenient to get off at the latter station. The park area is open from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and entry is free (as of summer 2022).
A Bit of History
Settlements on the territory of the modern museum-reserve appeared long before the emergence of Moscow. It is known that people lived here as far back as the 5th-3rd millennia BC. By the middle of the 1st millennium BC, the ancient Dyakovo settlement was located in these places. The first written mention of the village of Kolomenskoye dates back to 1336. According to legend, it was founded by residents of the city of Kolomna fleeing from Mongol troops.
By the second half of the 17th century, Kolomenskoye had become the favorite residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter I, who is highly revered in Russia. Interestingly, according to legend, the future founder of St. Petersburg was born here in Kolomenskoye.
After ascending the throne, the first Russian emperor rarely visited his father's estate. With the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, the ceremonial court life in Kolomenskoye began to decline. During the reigns following Peter, new imperial palaces appeared here, but they have not survived to this day.
Although we won't see the grand imperial buildings in Kolomenskoye (except for the restored Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich), this place will still interest lovers of ancient Russian architecture. The architectural centerpiece of the complex is the Church of the Ascension. Built by Italian masters between 1529 and 1532, it was the tallest structure of its time.
The Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve was founded in 1923. In the 20th century, wooden architecture monuments from various parts of Russia were transported to its territory: Peter I's cabin from Arkhangelsk, the Bratsk Stockade Tower, the gate tower of the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, the Moss Tower of the Sumy Fortress, and a meadery from the village of Preobrazhenskoye. In 2013, a copy of Peter I's cabin in Holland appeared in the northeastern part of the park.
Today, Kolomenskoye hosts numerous exhibitions, tours, and lectures for visitors. You can plan your visit and purchase tickets in advance on the complex's website.
Surely one of the main attractions that tourists visit Kolomenskoye for today is the Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich. Reconstruction work on the copy of the tsar's residence has been ongoing since 2007. In the next article, we will take a virtual tour of this palace complex and learn some facts about its history.
Have a nice trip!
