2. Kuskovo, nicknamed the Moscow Versailles due to its formal French gardens, was the
summer country house and estate of the Sheremetev family. Built in the mid-18th
century, it was originally situated several miles to the east of Moscow but now is part of
the East District of the city. Today the estate is the home of the Russian State Museum
of Ceramics, and the park is a favourite place of recreation for Muscovites.
The Palace was constructed by Petr Borisovich Sheremetev (1713–1787). Construction
was carried out between the 1730s and the 1790s on a site of over three hundred
hectares. The earliest surviving structure is the Saviour church, on the site of the old
wooden church, built in 1737-39 in a Petrine baroque style and decorated with marble
statues. The neoclassical bell-tower was added later, in 1792.
The Palace was designed in the new neoclassical style, then becoming popular for state
buildings in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The exterior was made of wooden planks,
which were plastered and painted in soft pastel colors. The six-column portico at the
front of the house was designed with a ramp so that carriages with as many as eight
horses could come directly to the front door.
29. The Grotto
The Grotto was constructed between 1755 and 1761 by the architect F. Afgounov,
and was intended to represent the palace of the King of the Seas. It was placed next
to a large pond, which reflected its imposing facade and dome. Inside rows of niches
were filled with statues of Venus, Diana, Ceres, Flore, Juno and Jupiter.
30.
31.
32.
33. Dutch House
A traditional brick Dutch House
was constructed in the 1750s on
a small pond near the Palace.
The house has kitchen on the
ground floor decorated from
floor to ceiling with tiles from
Delft.
45. The Orangerie (1761–1764) was designed by F. Argounov. It was not used as
orangerie- the lemons, oranges and pineapples served the guests at Kuskovo
were actually grown in greenhouses outside the park. Rather, it was used as a
large banquet hall for guests. In the 1960s, it was turned into an exhibit hall
for the collections of porcelain. The museum in the Orangerie contains
collections of fine porcelain assembled by Russian merchants and Empress
Maria Fedorovna before the Russian Revolution.
53. The Park of Kuskovo was created between 1750 and 1780 as a formal Garden à
la française, with large ornamental parterres of flowers, carefully trimmed hedges,
and alleys which met at either right or diagonal angles, ornamented with statues,
and lined with either rows of trees trimmed into spheres, large vases, orange trees,
or myrtle trees trimmed into cones. Eight park alleys converge in a single point,
where the circular Hermitage pavilion (1764–77) now stands.
54.
55.
56. Images and text: Internet
Tchaikovsky “Serenade for Strings in C Op48” (Waltz)
Adriana
