Izmaylovo Estate

Izmaylovo Estate (Russian: Усадьба Измайлово) was a country residence of the House of Romanov built in the reign of Alexis I of Russia.

The heart of the estate, the Izmailovo Court of Tsar Alexis (Russian: Государев двор в Измайлово, 55°47′30″N 37°45′44″E / 55.79167°N 37.76222°E / 55.79167; 37.76222), was a wooden palace built on an artificial island - a hill surrounded by man-made ponds.

Izmaylovo vineyards, protected in winter by insulating mats, were sustained for decades; melons grew in soil brought from Astrakhan,[2] figs and coconuts in greenhouses, although slowly.

Overall layout of Izmaylovo estate, dictated by the rivers, was irregular, but each individual farm or workshop was designed in a highly symmetrical fashion.

The estate also featured a pure folly, the Babylon - Muscovy's first labyrinth, placed halfway between the Tsar's Court and the Wolf Farm.

[5] Wolf Farm, or Menagerie (Russian: Зверинец) housed beasts from sables to polar bears and is thus credited to be Russia's first zoo.

[7] Sophia, engaged in political rivalry with the Naryshkin clan, invested into palace security and rebuilt the church of Saint Joasaph but neglected the farms of Izmaylovo.

Peter used the remote ponds and islands of Izmaylovo to train his private mock army, but he did not care to restore the Ismaylovo economy.

[8] After the fall of Sophia Izmaylovo Court passed to Ivan V of Russia (Peter's half-brother) and after his death housed his widow and daughters, including future empress Anna.

Anna of Russia, who became an Empress in 1730, refitted the palace, restored the Menagerie and reverted the territory to its original function as a hunting reserve.

She connected the new country palace with Aleksey Razumovsky estate in Perovo with a new road that is currently known as the Main Alley (Russian: Главная Аллея) of Izmaylovo Park.

In 1837 Nicholas I of Russia identified former Izmaylovo Court as the site of future almshouse for the veterans of Napoleonic Wars and assigned Konstantin Thon to manage the rehabilitation project.

Thon initially planned to retain and repair the buildings of the old Court perimeter and add two-story residential wings to the cathedral.

Thon raised ground and floor levels to immobilize foundations, arranged proper water drainage and reinforced cathedral walls with iron braces.

The almshouse was designed to provide shelter to 432 veterans (some of them with spouses); fresh food was supplied by a new farm established on the site of former grape plantation.

The ponds in Izmaylovo, drained in the 1760s, were filled with water again in the 1930s; their present configuration is quite similar to the 17th century, except for a lesser number of dams.

In September 2008, historical buildings of the Tsar's Court were operated as a division of the Moscow United Museum, which also included Kolomenskoe, Lefortovo and Lyublino Estate.

Barbican tower and Cathedral of Intercession, built in the 1670s.
Map of Izmaylovo, 1664, prior to major redevelopment. Note that the "island" (green) with the Court (red) is still connected to the mainland. The circular structure below it is the Menagerie, here still without a circular moat. Small, faint circles indicate unused land suitable for farming or construction. In fact, there were far fewer trees than now.
Izmaylovo island in the 1720s. Left to right:
* Stone bridge (demolished in 1760) * Church of Saint Joasaph (demolished in 1937) * 1703 palace (demolished in 1760) * Tower above the gates of the Court (extant) * Barbican tower (extant) * Cathedral of Intercession (extant) * Mill on Izmaylovo dam (demolished)
Map of Izmailovo, 1848. The main island (green) is encircled by a proper pond, Izmailovo Park shown as a walled hunting reserve. Note that present-day ponds in the park are missing: they were recreated in the 1930s. A circular pond of the former brick kilns, independent of the main river system, is visible in top right.