The Stepanovskoye-Volosovo estate is located in the Tver region, on the border with the Moscow region. The distance to Moscow is 180 km, and Tver is 110 km away. Russian businessman Sergey Vasiliev bought the ruins of the estate in 2007. Now it has been completely restored and has become a famous tourist attraction, where tourists come from all surrounding regions.
Until 1917, the estate belonged to the Kurakin princes, one of the richest noble families in Russia. The main house of the Stepanovskoye-Volosovo Estate was built by the famous architect Giacomo Quarenghi in the classical style. This architect began his career during the time of Empress Catherine II, when the Baroque style dominated, but he was one of the first to build palaces in the classical style.
One of his most remarkable creations is the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, which Empress Catherine commissioned for her grandson Alexander. The house in the Kurakins` estate is also a wonderful example of the classical style of a famous architect among Russian estates. Two rotundas were built on both sides of the central house, and adjacent to them are the wings in which the prince`s family lived.
However, after the estate was nationalized in 1917, all this could have been destroyed, like hundreds of other lesser-known estates. For 35 years, a psychiatric hospital was located here, but in the mid-1990s, it had to be closed due to the emergency of the building. In 2005, a fire broke out in the house, as a result only ruins remained of the estate.
In 2007, the Stepanovskoye-Volosovo estate was bought by Sergey Vasiliev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian Funds company. He restored the estate at his own expense, and managed to recreate not only the architecture, but also the noble aura of this place. This estate is now private property, however, the new owners did not enclose it with a fence. The manor`s landscape park is open to everyone at any time, and the museum in the main house can be visited with an excursion. Moreover, these excursions are often conducted by the owners of the estate themselves, Sergey and Margarita Vasilyev.
In the rotundas of the main house there are art galleries where you can get acquainted with the history of the Kurakin princely family, descendants of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The founder of the family in the 16th century was Andrei Kuraka. Some members of the family were related to the Russian tsars. The Kurakins reached their highest power under Emperor Paul I. The three Kurakin brothers: Alexander, Alexey and Stepan became very influential nobles of Russia.
Alexander Kurakin was the elder brother. His contemporaries called him "the diamond prince." Under Emperor Alexander I, he was the Russian ambassador to France, and Napoleon I even used his request for exit passports as a reason to launch an invasion of Russia in 1812.
Stepan Kurakin was a senator, privy councilor and one of the founders of the English Club. In Tver province, Stepan Kurakin founded a manor in the village of Volosovo. It was named Stepanovo-Volosovo after the owner. The construction of the estate was completed in 1805 after the death of Stepan Kurakin. By the 1830s, a small village and a Gothic castle had been built in front of the main house, which became a theater. These houses were built of wood and have not been preserved to this day.
Nowadays, all stone houses and a landscape park have been restored in the Stepanovskoye-Volosovo estate. However, the restoration continues, and perhaps we will see the Gothic castle again. After the main house, the farm buildings have been restored. One of them houses an tavern, which is more correctly called a restaurant. Nearby there is a greenhouse, stables, a summer gazebo on the shore of a small pond, an apothecary`s garden, a small hall where various exhibitions of paintings are held.
In front of the entrance to the main house of the estate is the obelisk of Alexander I, which Prince Kurakin installed after the expulsion of the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon I in 1812. The original obelisk has been preserved to this day, but, like everything else in the estate, it needed restoration.
In the landscape park, all the walking alleys have been restored, as well as the Lukshi pond, which was made by dams on the small Luksha River. The Venetian bridge and the Chinese pavilion have been restored on the pond. You can take a ride on the Venetian gondola along the pond. The grotto and rotunda have been restored in the park.
