Tarkhany estate is located 110 kilometers West of the city of Penza. This is the estate of Elizabeth Arsenieva, grandmother of Mikhail Lermontov. Here he spent his childhood and youth. Now Tarkhany is a Museum complex dedicated to the life and work of the great Russian poet.
After the wedding, Lermontov`s parents lived in Tarkhany, but Yuri Petrovich Lermontov took his wife to Moscow to give birth. There, in the house of General Tole at the Red Gate, on October 3, 1814, the future great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov was born. After that, the family returned to Tarkhany again.
Lermontov`s mother died of tuberculosis at the age of 21, when he was only 2 years old, and his father did not pay much attention to the upbringing of his son, so his grandmother took care of the future poet. Lermontov lived in Tarkhany until 1827, when he moved to Moscow to study. He spent the summer months at the Serednikovo Estate.After that, he spent several years in military service in the Caucasus. Grandmother bequeathed the Tarkhany estate to her beloved grandson, but he died earlier. On July 15, 1841, Lermontov was killed in Pyatigorsk in a duel with Martynov.
A large Museum Of Mikhail Lermontov has been created at the entrance to the Tarkhany estate. It contains many drawings and manuscripts of the writer. Here you can get acquainted all the stages of Lermontov`s life. Nearby is located a Miller`s house and a windmill where you can see how grain was ground in the 19th century.
From the mill, the road goes near the Barsky pond to the Park of the Tarkhany estate. On the left is located a Distant Garden. Here is the Green theater, where Lermontov readings are held. A right turn will lead you to the buildings of the Tarkhany estate. the Manor House, the People`s hut and the Church of Mary of Egypt have been preserved here. A Museum of peasant life is organized in the People`s hut. Several other outbuildings have been preserved nearby.
The Lermontov Museum in Tarkhany was established in 1939. Since 1971, on the first weekend of July, the all-Russian Lermontov holiday has been held here every year. Usually many artists take part in it. July 27 is the poet`s memorial day, and October 15 is Lermontov`s birthday.
