The Khmelita memorial estate is 30 kilometers to the north from Vyazma. Since 1680 it was the family estate of the Griboyedovs, including a famous Russian diplomat and playwright Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov, the author of the play «The Mischief of Being Clever».
The total area of the Khmelita memorial museum is over 20 hectares. A big manorial house built in the style of Elizabethan baroque is in the village of the same name. Most of the Petersburg palaces designed by a famous architect F. Rastrelli look the same way.
Now the manorial house with restored interiors of 19 century is occupied by a museum. A separate museum exposition is devoted to the literary and diplomatic work of Alexander Griboyedov. He was born in Moscow on January 4, 1795 and all his childhood and youthhood were connected with the Khmelita estate where he came to his uncle, Alexei Fyodorovich Griboyedov, every summer. His uncle was a rich Moscow nobleman who spent summer in the Khmelita estate. In those years he gave there magnificent balls, which were attended by the noblemen from all the neighbourhood. Those noblemen became the prototypes of the characters of the play «The Mischief of Being Clever».
One can go from the house in the park by a huge baroque stair. The park is still in a good state. There are many century-old trees in the park. Small pavilions were built under the trees. A small out-house opposite the manorial house is occupied by the Museum of Admiral Nakhimov who was born in these parts.
