The Pushkin estate in the village of Bolshoe Boldino is located at a large distance from all major cities and highways, but anyhow it is very interesting to see this sight.
Boldino is located 200 kilometers to the South-East from Nizhny Novgorod, and 110 kilometers to the North-East from Saransk.
Bolshoe Boldino was in the possession of the Pushkin family for more than 4 centuries. In archival documents of 1585, there is mention that estate was belonged to voivode (chief of military detachment) Evstafy Mikhailovich Pushkin, who distinguished himself in the defense of Smolensk.
From 1741 to 1790, the estate was owned by the poet`s grandfather Lev Alexandrovich Pushkin, who divided it among his children. Half of the village of Bolshoe Boldino and the new estate went to Alexander`s father, Sergei Lvovich Pushkin.
The first visit to Boldino by the already very famous poet A. S. Pushkin took place in 1830. At this time he is asked in marriage to Natalia Goncharova, and it was approved. The wedding required a large amount of cash, so he decided to take ownership of the nearest village of Kistenevo and put it in a Bank. This required his personal presence.
After processing the papers, Pushkin planned to go back the next day, but at this point, a quarantine was declared due to the cholera epidemic. As a result, the poet stayed here for three autumn months, which were then called "Boldin autumn" - one of the most productive periods of his work. Here the work on the poem Eugene Onegin was completed, Belkin`s Stories and Small tragedies were written, as well as more than 30 poems.
After that, Pushkin came to Boldino two more times: in the autumn of 1833 and in the autumn of 1834. On his second visit, he wrote the Bronze Horseman, Angelo, the Tale of the dead Princess, the Tale of the fisherman and the fish, the Queen of Spades, the story of Pugachev, and several poems. In the last visit of 1834, Pushkin had to live in a small house of superintendent, because then there was a repair of the manor house. On his last visit, he wrote only a Story about the Golden Cockerel.
In addition to visiting the manor house, it is very interesting to walk around the vast Boldinsky Park, where a large number of buildings are scattered. In front of the manor house is located a Large pond and a Humpback bridge that leads to the regular estate Park and the superintendant’s house. In total, there are six ponds on different levels in the estate.
There is a large Apple orchard, and behind it begins a landscape Park with huge trees. Be sure to go up to the wooden chapel of the Archangel Michael on a high mountain, where you can see all Boldino village.
