Znamenskoye-Rayok is an

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

in Тver Oblast (, Тorzhoksky District), Russia, that was built in the second half of the 18th century by Fyodor Glebov.

History

The architect Nikolay Lvov, was commissioned by the Glebov-Stershenev to build the estate, which was constructed between 1787–1798 К. Butsi, А.Trofimov, V. Irwin, and F. Ruska worked on the design and construction of the estate. The

architectural ensemble The architectural ensemble (from the french: ensemble - integrity, connectedness, unity) is harmonious unity of the spatial composition of buildings, engineering structures (bridges, embankments, etc.), works of monumental painting, sculpture and ...

of the estate includes the manor's house and an oval-shaped colonnade connected to the side wings and a double dome above the central hall. the facade on the park side aligns with the river; the park includes a pond with an man-made island and pathways. Most of the pavilions and gazebos from the manor park have been lost. The heart of the estate is the Church of Our Lady of the Sign, built by . Before the revolution of 1917, the church housed the family icons of the which included a

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

icon and an Our Lady of the Sign icon, as well as several icons made by Vladimir Borovikovsky. At the moment, the church is open to the public. Since 2017, part of the manor buildings of the palace and park complex have been owned by "Ray Holding LLC," which has implemented a program to develop a rural settlement into a resort complex, which has historically been directly part of the estate. Currently, a one-story building is being renovated; this is the future business center of Ray Holding. Since 2022, the management of the estate has been carried out by the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture "All-Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Знаменское-Раек на современной карте и на двухверстной топографической межевой карте Тверской губернии 1853 г.
Classicist architecture Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance Cultural heritage monuments in Tver Oblast