Shchelykov's stress in the word. A.N. Ostrovsky Museum-Reserve "Schelykovo", Kostroma region

In the old days, Shchelykovo was called the Shalykovo wasteland. Since the 17th century it belonged to the Kutuzov family. In the 18th century, Shchelykovo became famous thanks to the leader of the Kostroma nobility, retired general F.M. Kutuzov, who built a large stone house, services, greenhouses, and created a large landscape park here. By his order, in the neighboring village of Berezhki, the outstanding architect S. A. Vorotilov built the Church of St. Nicholas.

In the 1770s, the Kutuzov house burned down and was never rebuilt on this site. Its remains could be seen in the manor park at the end of the 19th century. On the site of the burnt house, a large park pavilion was built, which stood until the 1820s.

F. M. Kutuzov built a new manor house on the banks of the Kuekshi River, but the river unexpectedly changed its course, and the house ended up on an island. Due to the constant dampness, it turned out to be impossible to live in it.

F. M. Kutuzov died in 1801. In 1813, his extensive inheritance was divided between his three daughters. Shchelykovo went to P.F. Kutuzova, and after her death in 1825 the estate passed to another sister - V.F. Sipyagina, née Kutuzova. Her son, A.E. Sipyagin, squandered the estate, and in 1847 Shchelykovo was bought at auction by the writer’s father Nikolai Fedorovich Ostrovsky.

The estate at that time consisted of the main building (“Old House”) and three wings, which housed the courtyard people.

There were also all the necessary utility rooms: a large stone horse yard, a two-story barn, a feed barn, a chaff barn, three cellars, a bathhouse, a stone forge, etc.

Shchelykovo and A. N. Ostrovsky

“I didn’t like it the first time... This morning we went to inspect the game sites. The places are amazing. Game abyss. Shchelykovo did not appear to me yesterday, probably because I had previously built my own Shchelykovo in my imagination. Today I looked at it, and the real Shchelykovo is as much better than the imagined one as nature is better than the dream.<…>

What rivers, what mountains, what forests!.. If this district were near Moscow or St. Petersburg, it would have long ago turned into an endless park, it would have been compared with the best places in Switzerland and Italy.”

After the death of his father in 1853, the rights to the estate passed to his wife Emilia Andreevna, who was unable to maintain the estate at the proper level. From a profitable, growing estate, as it was under Nikolai Fedorovich, Shchelykovo gradually declined and turned into a neglected one; the serfs were disbanded.

In 1867, Alexander Nikolaevich, together with his brother Mikhail Nikolaevich, bought his father’s estate from his stepmother for 7357 rubles 50 kopecks in installments over three years and put it in order. From now on, the playwright spends 4-5 months here. Shchelykovo became the main place of inspiration for A. N. Ostrovsky, here he worked on the plays “Thunderstorm”, “Forest”, “Wolves and Sheep”, “Dowry”, “Snegurochka” (“The Snow Maiden” the playwright wrote in Moscow, but was thinking about his plan , while in Shchelykovo).

“The entire... most important preparatory process for the planned play usually took place with Alexander Nikolaevich during his summer holiday in his beloved Shchelykov. There, while Alexander Nikolayevich sat for hours on the river bank, with a fishing rod in his hand, the play was hatched, carefully thought out and its smallest details were rethought ... "

From the memoirs of the writer's brother P. N. Ostrovsky

For his brother, co-owner of the estate M. N. Ostrovsky, a house was built, which later received the name “guest”, since Mikhail Nikolaevich came to Shchelykovo infrequently, and guests were often accommodated in this house (not preserved).

In addition to the siblings M. N. Ostrovsky and S. N. Ostrovsky, half-brothers Andrei and Peter and sisters Nadezhda and Maria were also frequent guests. On the name days of the owner of the estate and his family members, theatrical performances were staged, and the house and park were decorated with illumination.

At first, in the first years of his stay in Shchelykovo, A. N. Ostrovsky enthusiastically plunged into the economic life of the estate. He ordered new seeds, breeding animals, and purchased agricultural equipment. All this was done in the hope that income from business activities would allow him to not depend so much on royalties for plays - the playwright did not have enough money.

But the reality turned out to be not so rosy: A. N. Ostrovsky, who knew little about agriculture, annually either found himself at a loss, or, in a more successful combination of circumstances, discovered that he managed to earn exactly as much as his own funds were invested. And A. N. Ostrovsky soon lost interest in farming, shifting most of the economic concerns to his wife, and later to the manager.

The philanthropic A. N. Ostrovsky lived in harmony with the local peasants (as the playwright himself imagined), but in September 1884, shortly before the Ostrovskys left for Moscow, someone set fire to the owner’s threshing floor in seven places, where by that time 30,000 sheaves had accumulated of bread. The arsonists hoped that the wind would spread the fire to the Ostrovskys’ house. The wind, fortunately, died down, the house survived, but A. N. Ostrovsky was so shocked by the news that the arson was deliberate that it affected his health. In a letter to his friend he later wrote:

“I was trembling all over for a long time, my hands and head were shaking, in addition, there was a complete lack of sleep and an aversion to food. Not only could I not write, but I couldn’t even connect two thoughts in my head. Even now I haven’t fully recovered and I can’t work for more than an hour or two a day.”

Subsequently, until his death, the playwright’s hands trembled and his head shook - he was never able to recover from the shock he experienced. And he didn’t live long after what happened.

In Shchelykovo, in his office, A. N. Ostrovsky died on June 2 (14), 1886 and was buried in the graveyard of the St. Nicholas Church in Berezhki.

Objects of the museum-reserve

• House-Museum of A. N. Ostrovsky (“Old House”)
• Memorial Park
• St. Nicholas Church in Berezhki and the Ostrovsky family necropolis
• Sobolev House
• Blue House
• Literary and Theater Museum

The central object of the museum-reserve is a well-preserved manor house built at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, in which the memorial museum of A. N. Ostrovsky is located. This is a wooden classical building of gray color with white-columned porticoes on two facades and two terraces, on the northern facade it has a mezzanine floor and two porches - the front and the service.

Even on his first visit to Shchelykovo, Ostrovsky noted that the house was “surprisingly good both on the outside with its original architecture and on the inside with the convenience of its premises.”

On the ground floor there is an exhibition, a significant part of which consists of personal belongings of A. N. Ostrovsky and members of his family, items from the original furnishings of the playwright’s house.

On the ground floor there is a memorial exhibition, a significant part of which consists of personal belongings of the playwright and members of his family, items from the original furnishings of the house. The suite of rooms opens with the dining room, which served as a gathering place for the playwright’s family members and guests. Further in the office, a spacious and bright room, there is a desk, on it are books, dictionaries, manuscripts of the playwright, photographs of relatives, friends, actors, writers... Adjacent to the office is the room of the playwright’s wife, Maria Vasilievna. The next room is the library of A. N. Ostrovsky, the contents of which reflect a wide range of his interests. On the mezzanine floor there is an exhibition dedicated to the famous actress of the Maly Theater - A. A. Yablochkina.

St. Nicholas Church and the Ostrovsky family necropolis in Berezhki

Construction of the Church of St. Nicholas in Berezhki will be associated with the vow made by Shchelykov’s first owner F.M. Kutuzov during a severe storm in the Aegean Sea, when he commanded a battalion as part of the Mediterranean squadron of Count A.G. Orlov-Chesmensky.

The two-story stone St. Nicholas Church was built on the site of a wooden one. The authorship of the project is usually attributed to the prominent Kostroma architect S. A. Vorotilov. The temple was built over 10 years and was consecrated in 1792.

The appearance of the church is very harmonious: it is successfully “fitted” into the surrounding nature and has slender and strict forms. The eclecticism of Baroque and Classicism styles is evident both in the exterior and in the interior decoration of the temple. The upper summer temple is distinguished by its splendor: a richly carved iconostasis, brightly painted walls and ceilings in Western European traditions with elements of Masonic and naval symbolism. The Winter Church is modest, there are no wall paintings, and the icons collected in the temple carry the tradition of Orthodox icon painting.

The church cemetery is surrounded by a brick fence with east and west gates. Here, on the southern side of the temple, in a common low wrought-iron fence, there is the Ostrovsky family necropolis. Buried next to the playwright’s grave are his father, Nikolai Fedorovich Ostrovsky, his wife, Maria Vasilievna Ostrovskaya, and his daughter, Maria Alexandrovna Chatelain.

Church of St. Nicholas is jointly owned by the Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve and the Kostroma Diocese; it is a monument of federal significance and is protected by the state. Currently under restoration.

In the summer of 2010, a story related to the protracted restoration work at the cemetery, during which the ashes of A. N. Ostrovsky and his relatives remained unburied for several months, received wide resonance.

Photo gallery

Helpful information

Shchelykovo
full name of the State Memorial and Natural Museum-Reserve of A. N. Ostrovsky “Schelykovo”

Cost of visit

A.N. Ostrovsky’s house and park (sightseeing tour, 2 academic hours)
adult: 80 rub., 120 rub. with excursion
schoolchildren, students: 50 rubles, 90 with excursion
Tickets for other venues must be purchased separately and their prices are lower.
Complex: A.N. Ostrovsky House and park, St. Nicholas Church, Ethnographic Museum Sobolev House, exposition “Ostrovsky Theater”, exhibition “Fairy-Tale World of the Snow Maiden”
adult: 350 rub.
schoolchild, student: 200 rub.

Opening hours

• Ostrovsky House, Literary and Theater Museum, Ethnographic Museum -
• daily: 9:30–17:45
• St. Nicholas Church - daily: 9:30–17:30, in the summer - summer church, in winter - winter church
• There are no excursions in the temple during the service.

Address and contacts

157925 Kostroma region,
Ostrovsky district, settlement Shchelykovo

Location

The estate is located near the village of Shchelykovo, 120 km east of Kostroma in the Ostrovsky district of the Kostroma region and 15 km north of the Volga River and the city of Kineshma, Ivanovo region.

How to get there

From Kostroma: by bus to Ostrovskoye, then by bus “Ostrovskoye – Kineshma”.

From Kineshma, Ivanovo region: by bus “Kineshma – Ostrovskoye” to the Shchelykovo stop.

It is better to get from Moscow not through Kostroma, but from the Kineshma railway station.

Do not miss

From December 15 to February 1, in the Blue House you can meet the Snow Maiden herself and play Berendey. You can take a photo in the Snow Maiden's outfit, but check the cost of photography.

Sanatorium

After the death of the writer, the Shchelykovo estate became a resting place for actors of the Moscow Maly Theater. Since 1928, Ostrovsky’s “Old House” began to be officially considered a rest house at the theater.

In 1970, the House of Creativity of the All-Russian Theater Society was founded in Shchelykovo. It is interesting that three residential buildings are named after the heroes of A. N. Ostrovsky’s works “The Snow Maiden”, “Berendey” and “Mizgir”. Currently there is a sanatorium, a children's health camp, and a local theater society.

On September 14, 2016, the Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve will celebrate its 93rd anniversary. In honor of this, I would really like to talk about our two-day trip to these amazingly beautiful places! The events discussed are dated June 2014.
So, it’s the middle of a rainy June, as often happens for us, a cloudy morning and the four of us (without children) hit the road.
The path to Shchelykovo is not close. The plan of action is this: drive through N.E.’s estate. Zhukovsky "Orekhovo", which is in the Vladimir region, spend the night in Kineshma and in the morning in Shchelykovo.

The road was not easy, the rain poured down like buckets. Approaching Orekhovo, we came across a woman who was leaving the estate. We were alone in the parking lot. Everything was somehow alarming... While we parked and looked around, the woman came back. We realized that she was a museum employee. Having contacted her with a question about visiting the estate, we received the answer that: “a strong wind knocked down a tree on the wires, the estate is without power.” But we begged her for an excursion. And she didn’t refuse! After all, she is the director!)
It's a shame that we didn't take pictures there. A couple of pictures were taken on the phone, which then disappeared.
But visiting Orekhovo left a vivid mark on my memory. As I now see these dark rooms, in which there are many flower arrangements, a rocking chair (you can sit), a piano on which you can play. And the beginning of the excursion with the words: “The lady just left, but she asked to receive you hospitably!” Interesting place, kind people.
In Kineshma we had rooms booked in a floating hotel. The view of the Volga is amazing! The beauty is sad-beautiful...
Having visited the square, where the city day was held in the rain and local youth were dancing, walking along the embankment and stopping by a cafe, we went to relax. In the morning we shared our impressions of the night with friends. And we agreed that we would never take rooms in the hold again! It’s just a nightmare when everything around you squishes all night, and upstairs they dance and laugh. Goodbye, Kineshma!
Hello, Shchelykovo!

Brief information: “The museum-reserve unites the house-museum of A.N. Ostrovsky (“Old House”), a memorial park, St. Nicholas Church in Berezhki and the Ostrovsky family necropolis, as well as the Literary and Theater Museum. The exhibition of the house-museum contains personal belongings playwright and members of his family, original furnishings of the house, manuscripts of the playwright and a rich library."
Pick up tickets for all exhibitions at the box office (box office in the Blue House)...
Brief information: "The Blue House is the house of the daughter of the playwright Maria Alexandrovna Ostrovskaya-Chatelain, built in 1903 according to her own design. After the revolution, famous figures of Russian culture lived in the house for many years, since it was one of the residential buildings of the Union House of Creativity theatrical figures. Currently, the Blue House houses a cultural and educational center, an integral part of which is the Children's Museum Center, scientific and public libraries, reading and lecture halls, and a literary and musical lounge."

..after waiting for the guide, we set off.
The beginning of the excursion was dedicated to the memorial park. Shchelykovo is located on the high left bank of the Kueksha River, indented by numerous picturesque ravines. According to tradition, the manor house is surrounded by a park with centuries-old pine trees, birch, spruce and linden alleys, along which the history of its development over more than two centuries is “read”.

The park smoothly flows into the forest.

We climbed up these stairs into the house itself.

"The house of A.N. Ostrovsky is the heart of the museum-reserve. It was in this house that A.N. Ostrovsky lived when he came to the estate for the summer. This is a wooden manor house built in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. On the ground floor there is a memorial exhibition, a significant part which consists of the personal belongings of A. N. Ostrovsky. The Memorial Museum gives the impression of a lived-in, cozy home. It seems that the house has preserved and carried through many years the atmosphere of hospitality that once reigned here, the beauty of the soul and the generosity of the heart of its owner." Don't subtract or add!

According to the information on the museum’s website, the museum gives the impression of a lived-in, cozy house: wallpaper recreated according to original samples from 1847, unpainted floors with homespun paths, white tiled stoves, indoor flowers... Special manor coziness, lovely interior details, the spirit of antiquity - the house is not for anyone leaves indifferent, allowing visitors to better understand Ostrovsky’s personality and his work. Everything is correct, I confirm!)

Then, after visiting another exhibition dedicated to the play “The Snow Maiden,” we went to Sobolev’s house in Nikolo-Berezhki. While visiting the Church of St. Nicholas.

“I.V. Sobolev, from former serfs, became a skilled craftsman, independently learning the carpentry craft. After 1861, he settled in Nikolo-Berezhki, setting up a hut at a distance from the houses of the church clergy.
Sobolev often visited the Ostrovskys, made furniture according to their orders, repaired it, and even taught Ostrovsky carpentry. Currently (as at the time of our visit) in the Sobolev house there is an ethnographic exhibition “The life and traditions of our ancestors”, which presents trades, crafts, life and traditions of peasants of the 19th century, characteristic of our area" - information taken from the estate website .
Well, my friends, we stayed there! The woman guide (unfortunately, I forgot her name) captivated us so much that the conversation flowed from the historical plane to the everyday plane...

Having discussed the eternal issues of fathers and children, family life, Russian traditions, we parted with sadness. We would talk and talk, but it was time to get ready to head back. As a keepsake, in addition to traditional magnets, cups and plates, two copies of paintings by Maria Alexandrovna were purchased. They still decorate our apartments to this day, giving pleasant memories.
By the way, there is a sanatorium on the territory of the museum-reserve, so you can combine business with pleasure!
The way back was more fun, we did not tirelessly remember the details of our trip, the weather improved.
We were home around midnight.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all the employees of the museum-reserve on the holiday and wish them creative success, development and personal happiness!!! And also say thank you for their work, which gives people unforgettable and vivid emotions!

The Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve in the Kostroma Region is a living monument to architecture. Its fate is inextricably linked with the life of the Russian writer Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky, who spent his last years here. Nowadays, the museum carefully preserves furniture, household items, archival documents and photographs of the writer. The building itself and the buildings around it are of great value.

Ticket and excursion prices

You can visit the Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve on your own or as part of an excursion group. Entrance tickets for each site are purchased separately.

Entry tickets:

• adult from 70 to 170 rubles;
• Children under 16 years old - free.

Tickets with excursions:

• adult from 100 to 800 rubles;
• children up to 16 years old from 70 to 280 rubles.

Walking tours “Shchelykovo - Nikolo-Berezhki” - 140 rubles.

Operating mode

The objects of the museum-reserve can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:45. Monday is not a working day.

History of the Ostrovsky estate

The first mention of this area appeared in the 17th century as the “Shalykovskaya wasteland”. During this period, the Shalyki estate of landowner Ivan Matveevich Kulomzin was built. After which it passes to the boyar family of the Kutuzovs, and belongs to them for a long time. The estate burned down and was rebuilt several times. Experienced ups and downs.

In 1847, the Shchelykovo estate was bought at an auction by Alexander Nikolaevich’s father. After which the new dynasty chose this place. Every summer the Ostrovsky family comes here on vacation. Here, for twenty years, the writer creates his great works. There are nineteen of his forty plays in total.

The fairy tale “The Snow Maiden” was written on the second tier of the two-story gazebo, which is why it is sometimes called in honor of the snowy beauty. In 1886, Alexander Nikolaevich dies. His grave is located next to the house, near the Church of St. Nicholas. Afterwards, the estate is inherited by the spouse and children. The “New Estate” and “Blue House” are under construction. After the revolution, an orphanage appeared on this site, and then the state farm of Kineshma Factory No. 2. Today, the Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve is under state protection.

Attractions

The complex includes: the Literary and Theater Museum, the Church of St. Nicholas in Berezhki, the Blue House cultural and educational center, the Sobolev House Museum of Folk Life and the Memorial Park. In the center of the reserve is the writer’s estate, surrounded by a garden. The playwright called this area “Russian Switzerland”.

All this splendor against the backdrop of green forest, gardens, gazebos. The Kueksha River became a natural barrier from the outside world, as if protecting the estate from outsiders.

Near Ostrovsky's house there was a small pond with a small island in the middle. It is possible to stay for a few days on the territory at the reserve's sanatorium. There is also a medical building “Chalet” with health programs. Visitors can expect a variety of excursions, master classes, quests, documentary film screenings, and festive events. Events are posted on the official website.

How to get there

The Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve is located in the Kostroma region, not far from the village of the same name. The nearest large settlements are the village of Ostrovskoye, the city of Kineshma, Ivanovo region, and Kostroma. From them you can get to the reserve by regular buses or car.

Buses

Buses stop at the turn to Shchelykovo. Then walk 1.5 kilometers to the Literary and Theater Museum.

The road from the village of Ostrovskoye, Kostroma region, to the museum-reserve takes 30 minutes. Buses depart from the bus station along the following routes:

• “Ostrovskoye - Kineshma” daily at 05:40;
• “Kostroma - Kineshma” daily at 9:30, 15:50;
• "Kostroma - Zavolzhsk" daily at 14:30.

The path from the city of Kineshma can be covered in 40 minutes. Buses depart from the local bus station to the following destinations:

• “Kineshma-Kostroma” daily at 14:50;
• “Kineshma - Ostrovskoye” daily at 18:10.

It's about two hours' drive from Kostroma. Buses depart from the bus station along the following routes:

• “Kostroma - Zavolzhsk” daily at 13:00;
• "Kostroma - Kineshma" daily at 07:40, 14:00.

Automobile

The distance from the village of Ostrovsky to Shchelykovo is 33 kilometers. By car you need to move south along the P101 highway.

The village of Shchelykovo is located north of Kineshma. The distance is about 30 kilometers along the P101 road.

From Kostroma - 114 kilometers to the east. Highway "P98".

The Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve is a famous place in Russia, which is inextricably linked with the estate of the same name, which previously belonged to the outstanding Russian playwright Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. It is located 120 kilometers from Kostroma in the Ostrovsky district of the Kostroma region, not far from the border with the Ivanovo region. The turn to the estate comes from the road between these regions, along the former Galichsky highway. Located on the picturesque left bank terrace of the Volga, in the floodplain part of the Kueksha River, Shchelykovo is remarkable as a corner of amazing Russian nature and as a place associated with the life and work of the great Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky. Its appeal lies in the unique combination of the ensemble of an ancient noble estate with an amazing natural landscape, in the harmony of Christian and folk cultures, as well as in a special theatrical environment.

Shchelykovo - estate of A.N. Ostrovsky

Story Shchelykovo estate Kineshma district of Kostroma province goes back centuries. It was not the Ostrovsky family estate. Its history for a century and a half has been connected with the boyar family of the Kutuzovs, which gave Russia famous statesmen and military figures. The Shchelykovo estate was first mentioned in 1719 in the possession of F.M. Kutuzov, captain of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

I.F. Kutuzov began to restore it, but managed to build only a temporary two-story wooden house across the ravine from the previous one, on the mountain. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kutuzov descendants rebuilt the main manor house: smaller, one-story, wooden, with mezzanines along the northern facade. It was this house that became the shelter of A.N. Ostrovsky and still exists.

The Shchelykovo estate, mortgaged by the descendants of the Kutuzov brothers in the Moscow Board of Guardians, was sold for debts at auction in 1847 and bought by the playwright’s father, N.F. Ostrovsky. By purchasing it, Nikolai Fedorovich thereby returned to live in his native land: a Kostroma by birth, he, living for many years in Moscow, did not lose contact with the Kostroma land. In the spring of 1848, with his family from his second marriage, his wife and four children, he moved to Shchelykovo from Moscow for permanent residence.

Together with them, the young playwright Alexander Nikolaevich visited the estate for the first time. It was that visit that left a deep imprint on his soul, marking the beginning of a long-term attachment to this place. Young A.N. Ostrovsky regularly kept a diary. From it we learn: “This morning we went to inspect places for game. The places are amazing. Game abyss. Shchelykovo did not appear to me yesterday, probably because I had previously built my own Shchelykovo in my imagination. Today I looked at it, the real Shchelykovo is as much better than the imaginary one as nature is better than the dream. The house stands on a high mountain, which to the right and left is dug with such delightful ravines, covered with curly pines and fir trees, that you can’t imagine anything like it...”

From the central alley the road turns to the manor house. Its front yard, the so-called red one, with a round fenced “island” in the middle, was lined with services around the perimeter. Currently they have not survived.

After the death of his father and the purchase of the estate, A.N. Ostrovsky wrote to his friend, actor F.A. Burdin: “My brother and I bought our magnificent Shchelykovo from our stepmother; here is a shelter for me, I will have the opportunity to take up modest farming and finally give up my exhausting dramatic labors, on which I fruitlessly spent the best years of my life ... "

Alexander Nikolaevich takes the farm seriously: he is concerned about both small household chores and large-scale plans for the construction and improvement of the estate.

The estate was served by 22 people: a manager, seven workers, a coachman, a groom, a gardener, two foresters, a cattleman, a cowwoman, and a laundress. There were also house servants: a cook, an assistant cook, a table maid, a footman. The labor of hired seasonal workers was also used, usually during the hottest threshing season.

Having become the owner of the Shchelykovo estate in 1868, A.N. Ostrovsky lived in the estate house for almost two decades in the summer.

Over time, the estate began to be managed only to the extent necessary to satisfy the own needs of its residents, and in fact, Shchelykovo from an agricultural estate turned into a wonderful, but expensive summer dacha, where numerous guests of the playwright came. They came for a day or two, stayed and lived for weeks.

The activities of the hosts and guests were traditional: hunting and fishing, trips to tea parties with a samovar, swimming, picking mushrooms and berries; most often they chose Kharin Meadow and the village of Sergeevo for this. Ostrovsky was an avid fisherman: just by looking at a body of water he could tell what kind of fish was in it. On Kueksha they caught fish with fishing rods, on Sendeg with a spear, on Mera with a seine. Fishing on Mera near the village of Vysokovo turned into a real party. It was good to relax at the estate: communication with pleasant and interesting people, a well-established way of life, and the possibility of privacy.

Willingly working on the terrace, in the park, in the gazebos, the playwright spent most of his working time in his office. In Shchelykovo he worked on nineteen plays. “Late Love” (1873) was created entirely here. “Simplicity is Enough for Every Wise Man” (1868), “There Was Not a Penny, But Suddenly Altyn” (1871), “The Last Sacrifice” (1877), “Dowry” (1878), “Heart” were written almost entirely. not a stone" (1879). The following were also started: “Warm Heart” (1868), “Forest” (1870), “Truth is good, but happiness is better” (1876), “Talents and Admirers” (1881), “Handsome Man” (1882), “Guilty Without Guilt” (1883). The estate also underwent many alterations and translations. A.N. Ostrovsky spoke five foreign languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, some of which he mastered in his mature years. Translated by C. Goldoni, T. Ciconi, P. Giacometti, W. Shakespeare, M. Cervantes. In Shchelykovo, the playwright was compiling a dictionary of the Russian folk language: he recorded rare words, sayings, and popular expressions in his notebook.

In the last years of his stay in Shchelykov, A.N. Ostrovsky worked a lot and intensely. He wrote: “I don’t travel from Moscow to the village and back, but from office to office and I see nature only as I pass.” The intense work caused by the need to prepare a new play for each season in order to provide for the family, and the assumption of the post of head of the repertory department of the Moscow Imperial Theaters in 1886 completely undermined the playwright’s health. On the last day of his life, June 2, 1886, A.N. Ostrovsky also worked: he looked through his prose translation of “Antony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare, read the magazine “Russian Thought”, received the day before from St. Petersburg. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Alexander Nikolaevich died in his Shchelykov office from an attack of “angina pectoris” (angina pectoris). He was buried near the estate church of St. Nicholas in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki. M.V. Ostrovskaya outlived her husband by twenty years. Preserving his memory all these years, she left his office intact. In 1897, an elementary school was opened on the estate, built by the playwright’s wife and eldest daughter. Later he was given the name of A.N. Ostrovsky. Children still study at this school.

The Snow Maiden's homeland

The Blue House of the Shchelykovo estate is the residence of the Snow Maiden.

To the west of the main manor house is the Upper Park, created on the basis of a natural forest. Under the Ostrovsky brothers, this corner of the forest, called “Ravines,” turned into a park: benches are installed in the most picturesque places, “turf sofas” are installed on steep slopes, and dirt paths are laid in such a way as not to damage the root system of trees.

On the edge of the slope, in the place where the old Kutuzov manor house used to be located, a two-story gazebo is now being built, which Alexander Nikolaevich’s children nicknamed “Snegurochkina”, since, according to them, it was here that the playwright thought about his “spring fairy tale.”

New traditions are born. The basis of one of them was the official recognition of Shchelykov in 2000 as the “Homeland of the Snow Maiden”, when the Snow Maiden left Shchelykov for the only time to light the main Christmas tree of the country - the Kremlin. The museum-reserve was actively involved in this project, trying to introduce a fairy-tale image into the modern cultural process. The Snow Maiden Mail program is working.

Monument to A.N. Ostrovsky. Sculptor A.P. Timchenko (1973).

Schools in the Ostrovsky district and the city of Zavolzhsk, Ivanovo region, also did not stand aside. The Snow Maiden Competition program has been developed for them. Holding competitions has become a tradition, and now they are held annually. Every year a new competition program is developed. By participating in competitions, children have the opportunity to show their creative abilities. Every year a final celebration is held where the results of the competition are summed up and its participants are awarded. The main participant in this competition is Snegurochka. With the “light hand” of the staff, the museum hosts programs for tourists “Visiting the Berendeys” or “Holiday in the Berendey Sloboda”.

At the same time, the Blue House turns into the “Snow Maiden’s Residence”, where guests are offered the “Meeting with the Snow Maiden” program. The fairy-tale heroine talks about letters and gifts that are sent to her from all over our country. Here she plays and dances together with the guests. The program takes place in a festive atmosphere, where every visitor is an accomplice of what is happening thanks to the game, direct communication with a fabulous New Year's character. The Snow Maiden herself is a great craftswoman and needlewoman. She will teach the guests how to do needlework, and her friend Craftswoman helps her with this. Visitors are happy to participate in these programs because they give the feeling of a holiday that people need so much.

Shchelykovo is perhaps the only cultural monument estate in Russia today, which, despite all the historical upheavals, has preserved its natural path of development as much as possible. After the death of A.N. Ostrovsky, the estate did not suffer desolation - the fate of most other “noble nests” of that time. The playwright’s children, during the period of decline of the nobility, when estates were destroyed, not only supported their father’s house and its traditions, but also rebuilt a new estate nearby.

Today, the Shchelykovo Museum-Reserve is an island of cultural traditions of many generations in natural harmony with the surrounding nature and the special atmosphere that hovers here. His visit will not leave indifferent anyone who comes here at least once - to these blessed places of Kostroma land, alluring with their beauty.

A village in the Kostroma region, 120 km from Kostroma and 15 km from the Volga River and the city of Kineshma.

Before the Ostrovskys, the owner of the estate was Major General F. M. Kutuzov, the Kostroma leader of the nobility (1788-1800). In the Shchelykovsky estate of Kutuzov there were 40 peasant households, 107 male revision souls, in the estate itself there were more than fifty (59) household servants.

There is reason to believe that the Kutuzovs built Shchelykovo, sparing no expense, as the central estate of a large estate, erecting stone buildings in it. Indirect evidence of this is the Church of St. Nicholas on Berezhki. This unusual and architecturally and picturesquely remarkable church could only have been built by a very rich landowner. Legend has it that since Kutuzov’s wife was a Catholic, the church has two floors and two aisles: the lower one is Orthodox, the upper one is Catholic. And in the architecture of the church, the styles of these two faiths intricately merge.

The version that there was a large stone house located elsewhere on the estate, but that it died from a fire has indirect confirmation. In the upper Shchelykov Park, next to the two-story gazebo, a scattering of ancient bricks and traces of the bases of large columns have been preserved. And it is unlikely that the “old” wooden Shchelykov house could satisfy the Kutuzovs as their main home during the heyday of their material well-being. After all, he is typical of the poor middle-class nobility. Perhaps it was built as temporary, but due to the radically changed circumstances of the Kutuzov family, it became permanent.

The Shchelykovo estate was bought by the father of the playwright N.F. Ostrovsky. Nikolai Fedorovich was born in Kostroma on May 6, 1796 in the family of a priest. He graduated from the Kostroma Theological Seminary and then from the Moscow Theological Academy. Having no calling to church activities, Nikolai Fedorovich entered the civilian class, began serving as an official in the judicial department and successfully combined his service in Moscow judicial institutions with private legal practice, which brought him sufficient funds. The popularity of the energetic, educated, talented lawyer gave him the opportunity in 1841 to leave public service and devote himself only to private studies.

In the 40s, N.F. Ostrovsky was the chairman of several large competitions - the lower courts of the Commercial Court, which heard the cases of insolvent debtors and bankrupt merchants. At the very beginning of the 40s, Nikolai Fedorovich owned seven houses in Moscow. Most likely, he would continue to invest his growing capital in apartment buildings. But his second wife, Baroness Emilia Andreevna von Tesin, whom he married in 1863 (his first wife died in 1831), did not like the life of a lawyer. She was disgusted by the constant crowding of her husband's clients - townspeople and merchants - in their house. And the onset of Nikolai Fedorovich’s ailments required a calmer lifestyle.

So N.F. Ostrovsky decided to leave the practice of law and take up agriculture. Since 1846, he began buying estates at auction. He bought four estates in the Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, which included 279 serfs. Among these estates, the largest is Shchelykovo. Valued by the police officer at 20,820 rubles 30 kopecks in silver and purchased by Nikolai Fedorovich on July 28, 1847 for 15,010 rubles, it was located in the Kineshma district of the Kostroma province. In all the villages of this estate there were 111 revision male souls.

In Shchelykovo, in addition to the main house, there were three outbuildings in which the courtyard people were housed. All the necessary ancillary premises were also in good condition: a large stone horse yard, a two-story barn, a feed barn, a chaff barn, three cellars, a bathhouse, a stone forge, etc. Not having the cash to pay for all the estates, Nikolai Fedorovich after purchasing each estate borrowed money against it in the safe treasury under an obligation for 37 years. In total, he borrowed 15,540 rubles for all the estates.

Returning in 1847 from the village of Shchelykov, which he had just acquired, Nikolai Fedorovich enthusiastically told his children about it. His stories captivated everyone, and especially his eldest son, Alexander Nikolaevich. Alexander Nikolaevich wanted to visit this very estate of his father as soon as possible. And when in April 1848 the whole family, except for brother Mikhail, was going to the estate, he filed a petition to the Commercial Court, where he then served, for a leave of absence for 28 days to travel “due to domestic circumstances to the Kostroma province.” Having received leave and a passport, the playwright set off on the road on April 23 with his father. They rode horses in three carriages.

Alexander Nikolaevich liked Shchelykovo so much that instead of the 28 days of vacation required there, he lived there until the fall and was forever fascinated by the beauty and freedom of the estate, the splendor of its surroundings. Ostrovsky first arrived in Shchelykovo on the afternoon of May 1, 1848. The evening of the next day he was already entering his immediate impressions into his diary. “From the first time,” wrote Alexander Nikolaevich, “I didn’t like it... This morning we went to inspect the places for game. The places are amazing. Game abyss. Shchelykovo did not appear to me yesterday, probably because I had previously built my own Shchelykovo in my imagination. Today I looked at it, and the real Shchelykovo is as much better than the imaginary one as nature is better than the dream.” The whole Ostrovsky family liked the new estate.

Very pleased with the purchased estate, Nikolai Fedorovich made it his temporary (summer), and then, apparently from 1851, his permanent residence. Having finally settled in Shchelykovo, the newly-minted landowner is registered as a Kostroma nobleman. Nikolai Fedorovich became a landowner, a serf owner, not only legally, but also in essence of his views on life. Having taken possession of Shchelykov, he energetically began to transform the estate into a profitable commercial enterprise.

Feeling the approach of death due to his illness, Nikolai Fedorovich wrote a testamentary disposition in December 1852, according to which Shchelykovo was transferred to his wife Emilia Andreevna Ostrovskaya with the children born from her marriage. The children from the first marriage - Alexander, Mikhail and Sergei - were given a small estate of 30 souls in the Soligalichsky district of the Kostroma province and two small wooden houses in Moscow. The playwright lived in one of these houses.

Emilia Andreevna Ostrovskaya was unable to maintain the estate's economy at the level achieved by her husband. From a profitable, growing estate, as it was under Nikolai Fedorovich, Shchelykovo gradually declined and turned into a neglected one. In 1858, there were only 15 servants left, and in 1859, the owner Shchelykova had only 9 servants. The estate was clearly in deep decline. Alexander Nikolaevich and his brother Mikhail Nikolaevich knew that Emilia Andreevna was burdened by the estate. Negotiations between the brothers and their stepmother ended with her agreement to sell the estate for 7,357 rubles 50 kopecks in installments over three years.

When buying the estate in 1867, Alexander Nikolaevich and Mikhail Nikolaevich Ostrovsky dreamed of a cultural transformation of its economy and, in connection with this, had high hopes of an economic nature. The initial year of management in Shchelykovo did not bring promising results. But these results did not weaken, but strengthened their economic energy. At first, Alexander Nikolaevich delved into all the details of the farm. On his initiative, old office buildings were repaired and new ones were built, the land was fertilized, the best varieties of wheat seeds and grass cereals were bought in Moscow, the breed of livestock was improved, new horses were purchased, a new garden was planted, an oil mill was built, etc. If field and livestock farms brought only grief to Alexander Nikolaevich, the flower and vegetable gardens delighted him, but they were never considered as possible sources of income.

Ostrovsky carried an enthusiastic love of nature throughout his life. Having lived in Shchelykovo in 1848 for only three days, Ostrovsky wrote in his diary on May 4: “I am beginning to feel the village. Our bird cherry tree has bloomed, of which there is a lot near the house, and its delightful smell somehow introduces me to nature in a shorter way - this is Russian fleur d'orange. I revel in the fragrant air of the garden for several hours. And then nature becomes clearer to me, all the smallest details , which would not have been noticed before or would have been considered superfluous, now come to life and ask to be reproduced..." Shchelykovo had a beneficial and healing effect on the playwright. The purest fragrant air, silence, virgin nature calmed the nerves, healed the body, dispelled anxieties and worries.

The daily routine in Shchelykovo was usually as follows: at eight or nine o'clock - morning tea; at one-half past two - lunch; at four and a half to five - afternoon tea; at eight o'clock - dinner. We went to bed early - no later than ten o'clock. However, sometimes this order was violated depending on the presence of guests, planned long walks, picnics, fishing trips to the Meru River, etc.

“In his estate, Alexander Nikolaevich wore a Russian costume: an untucked shirt, trousers, long boots, a gray short jacket and a wide-brimmed hat” (from the memoirs of K.V. Zagorsky).

Favorite entertainment on the estate was walking around the surrounding area, hunting, picking mushrooms and berries, and fishing, where Alexander Nikolaevich displayed extensive knowledge and skill. Ostrovsky was a passionate fisherman: he often sat with a fishing rod on the Kueksha River near the mill. And when he became old, he preferred to fish in a pond with an island, not far from his house. His favorite leisure activity, besides fishing, was wood carving. He worked on the mezzanine of the “new house”, where a lathe and a special table with a vice for sawing were installed. He generously gave photo frames and other items he cut to friends.

But even in Shchelykovo, Ostrovsky could not afford complete rest, creative inactivity: both due to the needs of his writing talent and for material reasons. Thanks to the care of the playwright and his brother Mikhail Nikolaevich, the Shchelykov library was very respectable. Its basis was the book collection of Nikolai Fedorovich. In 1868, Mikhail Nikolaevich sent the first parcel of books worth 11 pounds, and then these parcels became systematic. The library was also replenished by the playwright himself. On its shelves one could see books on history, Russian life, agriculture, gardening and horticulture, but the first place was occupied by Russian and foreign magazines, literary almanacs and collections. The Shchelykov Library clearly demonstrates the playwright’s versatile interests and the great culture of the owner of the estate.

Years passed, the writer’s health became worse, his strength diminished, but his work increased. The children were growing up and there was no other means of subsistence other than income from plays. Added to the desire to do as much as possible for Russian theatrical art was the constant need for money, which forced him to work without rest both in Moscow and in Shchelykovo.

After the difficult winter of 1875, the playwright wrote to A. A. Potekhin: “I now have only one dream: to somehow get to Kineshma, in order, if not to restore, then at least to support the declining strength with fresh spring air.” In 1880 - to N. Ya. Solovyov: “My health... is in an unenviable position. Our only hope is for Shchelykovo, if only we can somehow survive until spring.” Shchelykovo in most cases lived up to expectations. No matter how hard the work was, life in the village, walks, and fishing distracted from life’s hardships and restored strength. But the work did not decrease.

In material terms, Shchelykovo did not live up to the hopes that the Ostrovsky brothers had placed on it. Alexander Nikolaevich, who worked so diligently on the estate in the first years after purchasing it, lost interest in these activities and gradually transferred management of the farm to his wife Maria Vasilievna. Since the second half of the 70s, the affairs of the estate have been completely in the hands of his wife.

It is known that Alexander Nikolaevich really wanted to legitimize his children from his civil marriage with Maria Vasilievna, but at the same time he did not dare to formalize this marriage for a long time. Loving his children, the playwright did not hesitate to cast his lot with their mother. After the death of Agafya Ivanovna, the playwright's first wife, almost two years passed before he decided to take this act. Ostrovsky’s thoughts ended with him officially formalizing his civil marriage with Maria Vasilievna. But at the same time, even after many years, she did not achieve the complete, unconditional favor of either her relatives or her husband’s closest friends.

There were rarely days in Shchelykovo when only the playwright’s family lived there. Being a sociable person and in love with his estate, Ostrovsky persistently invited friends to visit, and they willingly responded to these invitations. Calling Shchelykovo “Kostroma Switzerland,” the playwright said that “you won’t find a better corner anywhere, and was surprised at people going abroad to look for the beauties of nature, when there are so many of them at home.” For his brother, co-owner of the estate of M. N. Ostrovsky, a house was built, which later received the name “guest”, since Mikhail Nikolaevich came to Shchelykovo infrequently, and guests were accommodated in this house. This house has not survived at present. In addition to the siblings M. N. Ostrovsky and S. N. Ostrovsky, the playwright’s half-brothers Andrei and Peter and half-sisters Nadezhda and Maria were also frequent guests.

On the name days of the owner of the estate and his family members, the park was decorated with colored lanterns. They placed light bowls near the house and lit rockets. The illuminated manor in the forest darkness seemed fabulous. Theatrical performances were adapted to these days, which attracted residents of nearby villages. Performances were staged in a hay barn in a meadow, behind a pond, or in a barn. Guests Shchelykova, Maria Vasilyevna, peasants and servants took part in them. Shchelykov's performances invariably enjoyed great success.