Historic Center of Ryazan

Photo of route “Historic Center of Ryazan” — 3

19 points5 km6 hours

Ryazan is an ancient city with a distinctive history. On this route you'll find out why Kolovrat's horse is rearing while Oleg of Ryazan's stands calmly; who keeps a close watch over the city; where the “Swan Princess” from Vrubel's painting lived; and how Hollywood is connected with an inconspicuous house. And you'll simply enjoy an unhurried stroll through the old streets of the historic center.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (19)

Main House of the Merchant Lebedev's Estate in Ryazan

Point on route “Historic Center of Ryazan”

Point 15

Main House of the Merchant Lebedev's Estate

📜 Historic site • 🏟️ Architectural landmark

Historical Background

In the early 20th century Polonskogo Street was called Dvoryanskaya (Noblemen's) Street. Here, in 1906, the local merchant Pyotr Lebedev built a house that was unusual by the standards of both then and now. He originally built it not for himself but for Alexander Wagner, an apothecary and the son of a “Hanoverian subject.” The pharmaceutical business in the governorate brought in serious income, and the spare money was to be invested in building a clinic. But by the time the work was finished, Wagner had unexpectedly gone bankrupt and sold the house to Lebedev. Although Lebedev put his initials on the house, he never made use of it.

Architecture

It's hard to pin down the house's style. The English word “fusion” comes to mind, or the style of “combining the incompatible.” Eclecticism, Gothic, and Art Nouveau are whimsically mixed here. Yet this explosive “cocktail” has not made the mansion lose its coherence; if anything, it has gained it. History is silent about whose creative imagination produced such an unusual idea. Some believe that an unknown architect borrowed the design of a Moscow mansion on Ostozhenka by the architect Lev Kekushev.

Medical Tales and Legends

The Lebedev House is closely tied to the city's medical history. It has housed private practices, a “general dispensary,” and an ambulance station. But its most famous resident lived here only on the pages of a novel. A local legend says that Boris Pasternak, who lived in Ryazan for a time, “settled” Lara Antipova, the heroine of “Doctor Zhivago,” in this very house. Today the Lebedev House is home to the physiology building of the Academician Pavlov Ryazan Medical University.