Tsaritsyno
Tsaritsyno is one of the first palace and park complexes in Moscow. The complex was built by order of Empress Catherine II on a hilly area of over 100 hectares.
During the reign of Boris Godunov, there was the village of Bogorodskoye, which was owned by his sister Irina. In the Troubles, everything was destroyed, and the territory was desolate. This wasteland was called the Black Dirt, which was given to the fighters Streshnev. The next owner was Alexei Golitsyn, but after the decline of the princess Sofya Alekseevna, the property of her favorite, Prince Vasily Golitsyn and the next of kin, was confiscated. In 1712, King Peter I gave the Black Mud and the nearest villages to Prince Dmitry Kantemir for help in the war with Turkey. Dmitry Kantemir took with him about a thousand Moldovan soldiers with families who were resettled in neighboring villages. In 1775, Empress Catherine II was struck by local beauties when she passed by. She immediately bought these lands from Sergey Dmitrievich Kantemir for 25 thousand rubles, although he requested a smaller amount.
The village was renamed Tsaritsyno and began the construction of the residence of the empress. In a short time, a small wooden palace was built for Catherine II and her favorite, Prince Potemkin. In the summer of the same year, she went to inspect her purchase in detail, and then Potemkin did everything possible to make the empress like it. On the ponds equipped colorful marinas, from which decorated boats sailed, a tent for the empress was built in the park, in which she was served food. The prince organized a "haybass festival": Moldovans for songs in folk clothes mowed grass, girls raked hay, round dance was led in the Poles, and young people were engaged in wrestling. In the evening, fireworks were arranged, Catherine II was very joyful this day.
By developing the residence project, the empress entrusted the architect Vasily Bazhenov, whom she greatly appreciated. In May 1776, Bazhenov began construction. They laid the foundation of the Small and Middle Palace, the Third Cavalier Corps, the construction of a figure bridge began. The architect planned to build everything in 3 years, but funding difficulties extended the construction for decades. In order not to slow down the pace of construction, the architect constantly wrote to officials and begged for funding, he also sold his Moscow house and took loans. By 1784, he had collected debts and loans for 15,000 rubles. In the same year, the empress wanted to come to Moscow and look at her residence in Tsaritsyno, learning about this, officials immediately allocated 100,000 for construction. However, this amount was not enough for Bazhenov to complete the construction, then he went to meet with secret adviser Bezborodko A. A. who conveyed his words to Catherine. The funding was doubled, but for this Bazhenov had to make a project of the palace in Bulatnikov.
In 1784-1785, two lines were controlled on the shoulders of Bazhenov. The construction of almost all the planned buildings was completed, when financing problems reappeared. After long correspondence with officials, money was allocated. In 1785, the queen visited the construction site and was extremely unhappy with her, and ordered to demolish everything. The bashenov was removed from office. According to researchers, such a decision of the empress was due to the rapprochement of Bazhenov and Tssaarevich Pavel I, whom the empress did not like. The construction began to lead Kazakov. In 1786, 2 buildings were dismantled and a new palace began to be erected. In 1794, the Grand Cavalier Corps was dismantled. In 1796, Catherine II died and the residence of Tsaritsyno was never completed, and she was desolate. Only in 1927 did the restoration of the palace and park complex begin, which lasted for decades.
