The estate of the great Russian writer Turgenev Spasskoye-Lutovinovo is located near the city of Mtsensk in the Oryol region. This is his ancestral estate, which he owned until his death. Turgenev lived abroad for many years, but often came here.
The village where the estate was built was called Spasskoye, and it was built by Ivan Turgenev`s maternal grandfather, Ivan Lutovinov. After his death, the estate passed to Varvara Lutovinova, who in 1816 married the officer Sergei Turgenev. On October 28, 1818, their son Ivan was born – the future great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev.
Ivan Turgenev was born in Orel, but from birth he lived in the Spasskoye-Lutovinovo estate. Turgenev`s estate has not been preserved to this day. The first fire here occurred in 1839. After the death of his mother in 1850, Ivan Turgenev inherited the Spasskoye-Lutovinovo estate, although by that time he was already spending most of his time abroad.
Two years from 1852, which he spent in his ancestral estate in exile. After Gogol`s death, he published an obituary, which was perceived by the censors as a riot. After which he was obliged to live in the Spasskoe-Lutovinovo. Also, the censorship did not miss his works, where he spoke too positively about the peasants and considered it necessary to release them. After the publication of his book "Notes of the hunter", the censor who allowed its publication was even dismissed from the service.
The years of living on the estate were very productive. Here Ivan Turgenev wrote “Fathers and Children”, “The Noble Nest”, “The Day Before”, “Mumu”, “Notes of the hunter”. It is known that Turgenev was very fond of hunting, and festivals are still held in his estate.
From 1863, Turgenev settled in Baden-Baden, and also lived for a long time in Paris. He came to his estate Spasskoye-Lutovinovo only occasionally. The last time Turgenev was in Spasskoe-Lutovinovo was in 1881. He died in France in 1883. After his death, the estate fell into disrepair, and in 1906 the house burned down. During the years of Soviet power, a Museum was immediately organized in the Turgenev estate and the estate began to be restored. Now the Manor house, the Outhouse of the Exile, the stables, and the Church of the Saviour have been completely restored as they were during Turgenev`s lifetime.
The Park makes a special impression. It has preserved lime alleys that were planted by Turgenev. There are also huge oaks, one of which was planted by the writer. He wrote about it: "When you are in Spasskoe, bow down from me to the house, to the garden, to my young oak tree, to the Motherland, which I will probably never see again."
