About museum

"The Russians can feel charms of nature, they can even beautify it. Take for instance Arkhangelskoye country house, only 20 kilometers from Moscow, which can amaze a British lord by its taste and splendor of its gardens. The fortunate and uncommon location of the estate only raises its charm."

Karamsin N. M. “Tour around Moscow”.

The country estate "Arkhangelskoye" is a wonderful monument of Russian culture from the end of the XVIII to the beginning of the XIX century. It is famous for the magnificent beauty of its garden and park ensemble and its splendid collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and pieces of applied art and apart from it the superb collection of rare books.
Arkhangelskoye belonged to the prince Golitsinsky’s family until 1809 but in 1810 it was bought by the richest Russian noble the prince Yusupov, who was a collector and patron of art. It took Yusupov 50 years to build and decorate the ensemble. He invited such well- known architects as Gern, Trombaro, Pettondi, Gonzago, Bove and others. The first third of the XIX century was the period of golden age for Arkhangelskoye.

This wonderful ensemble consisted of the church of Michael Archangel built on the Moscow river bank, the central part – palace with a terraced park, where you could enjoy seeing one of the world’s largest collections of park sculptures, a landscape park, a theatre built in 1817-1818 on project of the Italian architect and painter Gonzago, a small palace "Caprice" and pavilion "Tchainy Domic" ("Small Tea House"). All this has made Arkhangelskoye one of the most charming places near Moscow. In the 19th century a number of distinguished Russian writers, poets and historians visited the estate. Among them were Karamsin, Pushkin, Vyasemsky, Gertsen and Ogaryov.