←The Russian Versailles

The Russian Versailles

Photo of route “The Russian Versailles”
Photo of route “The Russian Versailles” — 2
Photo of route “The Russian Versailles” — 3
11 points4 km4 hours

Yaropolets is a small village of about a thousand people near Volokolamsk. Over the 888 years of its existence it has passed from princes to tsars, and from them to emperors and counts.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

  • 📜 Learn the city's history
  • 🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras
  • 🏞️ Enjoy the view

Route points (11)

  1. Monument to V. I. Lenin and N. K. Krupskaya — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Monument to V. I. Lenin and N. K. Krupskaya

    🗿 Monument

  2. Church of St. John the Baptist — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Church of St. John the Baptist

    🕍 Place of worship

  3. Monument to A. S. Pushkin — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Monument to A. S. Pushkin

    🗿 Monument

  4. Goncharov Estate — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Goncharov Estate

    🏟️ Architectural landmark · 🌿 Public garden or park · 📜 Historic site

  5. Abandoned Church of Our Lady of Kazan — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Abandoned Church of Our Lady of Kazan

    🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site · 🕍 Place of worship

  6. Chernyshev Estate — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Chernyshev Estate

    🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site

  7. Obelisk in Honor of Catherine II — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Obelisk in Honor of Catherine II

    🗿 Monument

  8. Red Pond — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Red Pond

    🌿 Public garden or park

  9. Yaropolets Dam — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Yaropolets Dam

    ⚙️ Industrial site

  10. The Station's First Turbine — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    The Station's First Turbine

    🗿 Sculptures

  11. Lenin Yaropolets Hydroelectric Station — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

    Lenin Yaropolets Hydroelectric Station

    ⚙️ Industrial site · 🌿 Public garden or park · 📜 Historic site · 🏟️ Architectural landmark

Church of St. John the Baptist in Volokolamsk

Point on route “The Russian Versailles”

Church of St. John the Baptist — point on route “The Russian Versailles”
Church of St. John the Baptist — point on route “The Russian Versailles”
Church of St. John the Baptist — point on route “The Russian Versailles”

Point 2

Church of St. John the Baptist

🕍 Place of worship

Historical Background

Until 1562 the village belonged to the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery. Then Ivan the Terrible acquired it in an exchange. From then on Yaropolets was a crown village, meaning its residents enjoyed a degree of personal freedom.

What Do the Goncharovs Have to Do with It?

How the village passed from Ivan the Terrible to the Goncharovs is a tangled story, so we'll give it to you as a chain of names and dates: Crown village → granted to Hetman P. D. Doroshenko (1684) → Doroshenko's granddaughter marries A. A. Zagryazhsky → owned by the Zagryazhskys (second half of the 18th century) → passes to the Goncharovs. Hooray! You've made it to the Goncharovs. Now for the history of the church.

Construction

The church was built in 1751–1755 to replace an old wooden one. At the time the village belonged to A. A. Zagryazhsky, whom we've already met — the great-grandfather of N. N. Goncharova (Pushkin's future wife).

Architectural Features

In 1808 the church was enlarged and rebuilt in the mature Classical style. It includes: a refectory a two-tier bell tower with a spire side chapels dedicated to the Great Martyr Catherine and to Sts. Boris and Gleb

Persecution of the Church

Services in the church stopped in 1936. As was typical, the church was converted for other uses: first a dormitory, then a club and a cinema. It only began operating as a church again in 1992.