Grebnevo () is a

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

(a selo) in

Shchyolkovsky District Shchyolkovsky District () is an administrativeLaw #11/2013-OZ and municipalLaw #83/2005-OZ district (raion), one of the thirty-six in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administra ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located about east of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, on the outskirt of the town of

Fryazino Fryazino ( rus, Фрязино, p=ˈfrʲæzʲɪnə) is a naukograd, scientific types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Lyuboseyevka River, a tributary of the Vorya (Klyazma), Vorya, northeast of th ...

, on the bank of the

Lyuboseyevka River The Lyuboseyevka () is a river in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Vorya. It is 12 km in length.Galitzine Galitzine is an alternative romanization of Golitsyn, a surname chiefly associated with members of the House of Golitsyn of Lithuanian-Russian origin. Notable people with the surname include: House of Golitsyn * Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine ...

Trubetskoy The House of Trubetskoy, (; ; ; Ruthenian: ''Trubetsky''; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a Russian gentry family of Ruthenian stock and Lithuanian origin, like many other princely houses of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later prominent in Russian history, science, ...

, and Bibikov noble families. Among the early owners were Bogdan Belsky and

Dmitry Troubetskoy Prince Dmitry Timofeyevich Troubetzkoy (died: 24 May 1625) was a Russian military and political figure during the Time of Troubles, one of the leaders in a rebellion against the Polish occupation and the leader of the Zemsky Sobor's provisional ...

. The last Russian

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

, Ivan Trubetskoy, gave the property to his daughter

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

, the wife of Prince

Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...

, whose daughter Catherine further expanded the estate.

Mikhail Kheraskov Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov (; – ) was a Russian poet and playwright. A leading figure of the Russian Enlightenment, Kheraskov was regarded as the most important Russian poet by Catherine the Great and her contemporaries. Kheraskov's father ...

, the foremost poet of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

's time, was the next owner. It was in Grebnevo that he completed the '' Rossiad'', arguably the longest Russian poem. In the late 19th century, the estate was owned by a merchant family which built several small factories on the grounds. Fyodor Grinevsky, one of Moscow's most popular physicians, bought Grebnevo in 1913. He operated the property as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

until the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, after which the estate was nationalized for Bolshevik leaders. In 1960, the Grebnevo estate was declared to be a museum. In the 1990s and 2000s, the palace survived several fires. Apart from the churches, the manor is currently in a state of disrepair following decades of neglect during the Soviet era.

Architecture

The surviving Neoclassical buildings were constructed between the 1780s and 1830s by Major General Gavrila Bibikov and Prince Sergei Mikhailovich (1774–1859). These include the palatial house of three stories with the six-columned portico (1790s), the Doric entrance gate resembling a Roman

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

(1821), and two Neoclassical churches. An elaborate network of ponds also dates from that period. The blood-red church (1791) is the earlier of the two. It is dedicated to the ''

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

of Grebnevo'', an icon reportedly presented to

Dmitry Donskoy Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 until his death. He was the heir of Ivan II. He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol ...

after the

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo () was fought between the forces of Mamai, a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde, and Russian forces led by Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy, Dmitry of Moscow. The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at Ku ...

. "Its four arms finish in elegant

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

es with

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s under a domed

rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

over which a shining gilded angel holds the cross".Kathleen Berton Murrell. ''Discovering the Moscow Countryside''. . Page 195.

References

File:Grebnevo 19.jpg, Church of the Theotokos File:Vor big 002.jpg, Principal gate File:Grebnevo 05.jpg, The main house File:Grebnevo 02.jpg, One of the side wings {{Authority control Rural localities in Moscow Oblast Palaces in Russia Neoclassical architecture in Russia Buildings and structures in Moscow Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow Oblast