Kolomenskoe Park and Museum-Reserve

Let’s set out on a journey around legendary Kolomenskoe Park. Here’s what you can expect:

1. The Palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, which is considered the eighth wonder of the world,
2. the church where Ivan the Terrible was married,
3. The Church of the Ascension, which is a masterpiece of Russian architecture,
4. River cruise Moscow and loads more – join us on a tour of Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve!

Fun facts about Kolomenskoe

• Kolomenskaya manor is the oldest settlement on the territory of the Moscow region. Archaeologists have discovered the first ancient settlements appeared here in the Stone Age!
• Till the 3rd century B.C. the Dyakovo settlement in Kolomenskoye consisted of 2 or 3 long houses with a gable roof supported by pillars and walls made of hurdle. The house was divided into several small rooms, inside each one was an open fire place. In the 2nd century B.C., the culture of the settlement inhabitants changed. Long houses were replaced with isolated ones, almost square in form.
• The first written mention belongs to Ivan Kalita, 1336.
• Legend has it that the first inhabitants of the village were former inhabitants of the city of Kolomna, who fled from the Mongol-Tatar invaders. Kolomenskoye was part of Kievan Rus, and the village was directly affected by the events taking place there.
• Kolomenskoye is located on several hills. The water in the local ponds is + 4 C all year round.
• Kolomenskoye is shrouded in legends. They say that here the time is refracted – once you get in one of the ravines, you can get lost for a few years.
  

  Ravines of Kolomenskoe Park

• Church of the Ascension was built in honor of the heir of Vasiliy III – Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a landmark figure in the future Russia. The height of the tents of the cathedral reaches 62 meters, and the walls are 3 meter think. This church is a “pearl” of Russian culture.
• Ivan the Terrible married  in Church of Beheading of St. John the Forerunner in 1547.
• Ivan the Terrible had the custom of celebrating his name day (August 29) in Kolomenskoye.
• The ruling dynasty of the Romanovs was actively interested in sites associated with the family of Ivan the Terrible, because they wanted to emphasize their kinship with the rulers of the previous dynasty.
• In the XVII century the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty – Mikhail Fedorovich – declared Kolomenskoe the royal summer residence, where the ruler and his family used to spend a lot of time later.
• In 1667 Alexey Romanov laid the foundation stone of the famous Kolomna Palace. The best domestic carpenters, architects and other craftsmen took part in building the towers and chambers. The royal estate consisted of 270 rooms. The height of the chambers reached 30 meters! No wonder the palace was called the “eighth wonder of the world.” As a result, by the end of the 17th century, Kolomenskoye formed a Sovereign yard.

• Tsar’s court united Decrees chambers, the House and Guard colonel. All sovereign’s courtyard was surrounded by a fence with three gates: front, back, garden.
• The pride of tsar Alexey Romanov was six Kolomna gardens. The manor was covered with thousands of apples, pears and cherries. The tsar ordered to plant an oak grove, cedars, and even a couple of walnut trees.
• Peter I was born in one of terems (huts) of Kolomenskoe.
• On December 18, 1709 was born Elizabeth – the future Empress, daughter of Peter I. This day Peter I wanted to celebrate the victory over Charles XII, but noted the birth of his daughter.
  

  Peter the first’s daughter – Elizabeth

• In 1835 Nicholas I visited the estate of Kolomenskoye and got very much impressed by the incredible beauty of rooms and views from the windows.
• Nowadays Kolomenskoye is a Natural Landscape Museum-Reserve in the open air: Ethnographic art, historical and architectural complex with the existing facilities of the medieval farm, stables, a forge, an apiary, a watermill – all located on 390 hectares.
• After the restoration in 2011, Kolomenskoye holds the largest honey Russian Fair every year.

Highlights of Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve:

Highlights	Year	A bit of history
The Church of the Ascension	1528-1532	a UNESCO monument,a masterpiece of Russian and world architecture.
Church of Beheading of St. John the Forerunner	16th c	abundance of decoration elements that is typical for the Late Gothic architecture, typical for the Renaissance architecture, Ivan the Terrible chose this particular church for holiday worships and his birthday feasts.
Church of Our Lady of Kazan	17th c	served as a family temple for royalties, devoted to the Our Lady of Kazan icon, the most respected icon in Russia. According to beliefs of many Russian tsars from the Romanov dynasty, they managed to get into the throne thanks to the protection of this icon.
St. George the Victorious Church	1685	one of the multi-storeyed churches typical of the 17th and 18th centuries,it was a cold church with no Russian oven and services were held there only during warm seasons,in the 16th century, St. George the Victorious Bell Tower was erected that served as belfry for the Church of Ascension. According to legends, in the 14th century there was a wooden church standing on that very site that was built by order of Prince Dmitry Donskoy in memory of St. George the Victorious and the battle of Kulikovo in 1380.
Front Gate Complex in Kolomenskoye	1671-73	was the main entrance to the summer residence of the Tsar: distinguished guests always entered the residence through the Front Gate,Russian tsars used to welcome the distinguished guests showing them an ‘ingenious wonder’ – big mechanical lions with special mechanisms inside them that made them roll their eyes and roar from time to time.
Food Yard	17th c	the archaeological discoveries made on the site reached more than 400 items including a statue of Pallas Athena of the XIX century from Catherine the Great, which is exhibited nowadays at the Front Gate exposition.
The Streltsy Guard-houses	1680s	adjoined the Saviour Gate on the south, built in the 1680s and served to provide securityinside and outside the Tsar’s residence.
Walls of Tsar’s Courtyard	17th c	elements of the wall of the Tsar’s Courtyard built in the 17th century.
Moss Tower of Sumskoy Stockaded Fort	17th c	the walls and towers could stand fire military attacks,on the original logs of the tower you can see marks of Swedish case-shot that was used in attacks in the 16th and 17th centuries,here you can learn about everyday life of soldiers who defended the stockaded fort and see everyday household items of that time.
Palace of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich	17th c	built in 1667-1668 and consisted of as many as 270 rooms!was called the 8th wonder of the world.
House of Peter I in Kolomenskoye	18th c	the only Moscow memorial museum dedicated to the Russian tsar,consists of three warm living rooms with a lot of windows,the exposition in the house of Peter I represents the interior of the time when Peter I lived there.
Household structure (Mead Brewery)	18th c	used to be a household structure of the former St. Nicolas Monastery of Common Faith, served for cooking mead-based drinks,here you can learn about ancient national ceremonies, traditions and holidays,amazing monumental structure, a rare example of Moscow architecture of that period of history.
Palace Pavillion	1825	Palace Pavillion is the only remained building of the palace of Alexander I (the beginning of the 19th century),the Pavillion that served as a tea house or home theater, the main façade is decorated with Doric portico and two lioness sculptures on both sides of the stair.
The Memorial Pole	19th c	was erected presumably in 1881 by peasants in gratitude to the Emperor Alexander II for the abolition of serfdom in Russia. Water Tower in Kolomenskoye 2007 the original version of the Water tower was built in the 1670’s,the water tower served as a passage tower leading to the Ascension garden and the village of Dyakovo.
Holland hands replica of Peter the Great house	2013	built by Dutch engineers,was a present from the Netherlands to Russia as part of Russian and Dutch cooperation in 2013,the origina; Tsar Peter House is located in Zaandam, where Peter the Great lived during his stay in Holland in 1697.