Red Glade of the Tolstoy Lion. Museum-Estate L.N.

Yasnaya Polyana is an estate in the Shchekinsky district of the Tula region, founded in the 17th century and belonging first to the Kartsev family, then to the Volonsky and Tolstoy families. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born in it on August 28 (September 9), 1828, here he lived and worked (War and Peace, Anna Karenina, etc. were written in Yasnaya Polyana), and his grave is located here.

I went to Yasnaya Polyana on the last day of my stay in Tula. It takes about 15-20 minutes to drive from Tula itself, so it’s very close and it’s worth visiting such a remarkable place.

At the entrance to this place you can find souvenir rows with various trinkets for tourists, a couple of shops and many people who want to visit these historical places. I immediately order a tour service and, as part of a group, I go for a walk around the estate...

The museum itself suffered greatly during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. Documentary footage of the consequences of the looting of the estate by German troops is presented in the Soviet film “Destruction German troops near Moscow".

The commander of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, General Belov, whose troops participated in the liberation of those places in December 1941, recalls it this way: “With the assistance of our reconnaissance detachment, soldiers of the 217th Rifle Division of the 50th Army liberated Yasnaya Polyana. The scouts visited museum-estate of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy. When they returned, they spoke indignantly about how the Nazis had violated the memory of the great writer. They tore them from the walls rare photographs Tolstoy was taken away with them. Guderian came to the museum. One of his officers captured several valuable exhibits. The soldiers stationed in the estate heated the stoves with pieces of furniture, paintings, and books from Tolstoy’s library. The museum workers offered them firewood, but the soldiers laughed in response: “We don’t need firewood. We will burn everything that is left of your Tolstoy.” The Nazis desecrated Tolstoy's grave, which people came from all over the world to worship."

This main entrance to the territory of the estate, from here the entire inspection begins. At the entrance to the estate there are two round brick towers, simple and elegant. They were built by Tolstoy's grandfather, Prince N.S. Volkonsky. Once upon a time there were iron gates between the towers, but under Tolstoy they were no longer there. The inside of the towers is hollow; watchmen took shelter from the weather in them. To the left of the entrance is a small house called a “kamenka”. A gardener lived here. In the 90s, in Kamenka there was a school for peasant children, where Tolstoy’s eldest daughters, Tatyana Lvovna and Maria Lvovna, taught.

Prince Andrei “ordered his horse to be saddled and from the transition rode on horseback to his father’s village, in which he was born and spent his childhood... Prince Andrei rode up to the gatehouse. There was no one at the stone entrance gate and the door was unlocked.”
L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace.”

It is worth noting that although I was in this place in March, it was like winter, cool and snowy, but in my opinion this has its own beauty...

Next, Preshpekt opens before us. “Preshpekt” is the name given to the picturesque birch alley leading from the entrance towers to the writer’s house. In a letter to his wife (1897), Tolstoy said about “Preshpekt”: “ Extraordinary beauty spring of this year in the village will awaken the dead... In the morning again the play of light and shadows from the large, densely dressed birches of the prespekt on the tall, dark green grass, and forget-me-nots, and dull nettles, and that’s all - the main thing, the waving of the birches of the prespekt is the same as it was, when, 60 years ago, I first noticed and fell in love with this beauty.”

“Preshpekt” is mentioned more than once in Tolstoy’s works of art, including in the novel “War and Peace.” In 1903, Lev Nikolaevich’s wife Sofya Andreevna planted spruce trees here instead of old birches. In 1965, spruce trees were again replaced by birch trees.

“The extraordinary beauty of this year’s spring in the village will awaken the dead... In the morning again the play of light and shadows from the large, densely dressed birches of the preshpect on the tall, dark green grass, and forget-me-nots, and dull nettles, and that’s all - the main thing, the waving of the birches of the preshpect is the same as it was when, 60 years ago, I first noticed and fell in love with this beauty.”
L. N. Tolstoy. From a letter to S.A. Tolstoy, 1897.

There are also a small number of ponds on the estate. But now they are naturally all covered in ice.

What was disappointing about this estate is that people are not allowed into the house on their own, like into museums. You must pay for the excursion. And what’s more, strangely enough, it’s forbidden to take photographs in the buildings themselves; I don’t even know where they came up with such a rule, but this is clearly a minus of the estate complex. Therefore, all photos are only from the outside)

The oldest building in the estate is Volkonsky's house. It is assumed that the writer’s grandfather, Prince N. S. Volkonsky, lived there for some time. Under the prince, in the central part of the house there were workshops for the production of linen, carpets, and leather processing. Under Tolstoy, servants lived here, there was a laundry and a “black kitchen”. The eastern wing of the Volkonsky House housed the art workshop of Tolstoy’s daughter Tatyana Lvovna.

Polikey, as an insignificant and dirty person, and from another village, had no patronage either through the housekeeper, or through the barman, or through the clerk or maid, and his angle was the worst, even though he was alone with his wife and children . The corners were built by the late master like this: in a ten-arshine stone hut, in the middle, there was a Russian stove, all around there was a kolidor (as the servants were called), and in each corner there was a corner fenced off with boards. (This means there was not much space, especially in the Polykeev corner, the one furthest to the door. Marriage bed with a quilted blanket and chintz pillows, a cradle with a child, a table on three legs on which they cooked, washed, put everything home and Polikey himself worked (he was a farrier), tubs, dresses, chickens, a calf and the seven themselves filled the entire corner and not they could move if the common stove did not represent its fourth part, on which both things and people lay, and if it were still impossible to go out onto the porch).
L. N. Tolstoy. "Polikushka"

There are many old outbuildings on the estate. All of them, as I understand it, are still in use. For example, a stable is full of horses - this is already real tradition Tolstoy family - love of horses. As far as I remember from the guide’s stories, Lev Nikolaevich himself went horseback riding every day and adored horses.

From the very house in which Lev Nikolaevich was born, nothing remains except this memorial stone. The house did not burn down and was not destroyed, Tolstoy himself sold it during his lifetime and accordingly the house moved)

But even the horizontal bar has been preserved, on which great writer performed various exercises with ease. Anyone can come up and try themselves at pull-ups and more)\

Outbuilding of the Kuzminskys.

Initially, the outbuilding was (like the Tolstoy House) part of an architectural ensemble founded under Prince Volkonsky and consisting of big house, in which Tolstoy was born (this house has not survived), and two outbuildings. In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in the wing, which existed until 1862. Later guests stayed here. The writer's sister-in-law lived here more often than others, younger sister his wife, Tatyana Andreevna Kuzminskaya with her family. After her name, the outbuilding was called the Kuzminsky outbuilding.

In the 50s, a building was created in the outbuilding Literary Museum. In the 90s, there was a need to update the exhibition. It was decided to create rotating memorial exhibitions in the outbuilding telling about L.N. Tolstoy and his family. Thus, since 1994, the exhibitions “Faith, Hope, Love of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy”, “Tolstoy and Cinema”, “Living Tolstoy”, “Glimpses in the Darkness”, created with the participation of the State Museum of Transport, the Tolstoy Foundation and other organizations, were successfully held. .

“The next morning we went to inspect the outbuilding where the school was located. Upstairs there were bright, large, tall rooms with a balcony and a wonderful open view. “Could I have thought then that I would come for the summer almost every year, with my family, for 25 years to this very outbuilding.”
T. A. Kuzminskaya. “My life at home and in Yasnaya Polyana”

The most interesting place of my excursion - this is, of course, the House of L.N. Tolstoy.

This is what a porch with an extension looks like. Pay attention to the beautiful patterns carved on the wood, all this was done at the request of Lev Nikolaevich himself, he really liked this design idea.

As I already wrote above, you cannot take photographs in the house itself, which is a pity, since all the decoration has been preserved unchanged since the time when Tolstoy lived in the house. Probably the floors creaked in the same way in his time)

Tolstoy settled in this house (former outbuilding) in 1856. He brought his young wife here in 1862. Later, the small outbuilding was no longer enough for the growing family, and Tolstoy expanded it by adding several outbuildings.
Tolstoy lived in this house for more than 50 years. All things, books, paintings here are genuine: they belonged to Tolstoy, his family, and even the writer’s ancestors. The house still maintains the furnishings of 1910, the last year of Tolstoy’s life.

There are flower beds around the house. Sofya Andreevna, Tolstoy’s wife, loved flowers very much and took care of them herself.

Near the house there are outbuildings. Now is the time to remember the “find the cat” game, try to see the cat) And there are three of them in the photo)

For those who can’t find our smaller friends, I’ll post them in close-up)

And what's most interesting is the place angry dog, in the kennel sits the sweetest cat of the soul)

After inspecting the residential building, I went to the grave site of the great writer, which is located not far from the house. The path there is well trodden.

IN last years During his life, Tolstoy repeatedly expressed a request to be buried in the forest of Stary Zakaz, on the edge of a ravine, in the “place of the green stick.” Tolstoy heard the legend of the green stick as a child from his beloved brother Nikolai. When Nikolai was 12 years old, he announced to his family about great secret. Once it is revealed, no one will die anymore, there will be no wars or diseases, and people will be “ant brothers.” All that remains is to find the green stick buried on the edge of the ravine. The secret is written on it. The Tolstoy children played “ant brothers”, sitting under chairs covered with scarves; sitting all together in a cramped space, they felt that they felt good together “under one roof” because they loved each other. And they dreamed of a “brotherhood of ants” for all people. Already an old man, Tolstoy would write: “It was very, very good, and I thank God that I could play it. We called it a game, and yet everything in the world is a game, except this.” L.N. Tolstoy returned to the idea of universal happiness and love in artistic creativity, and in philosophical treatises, and in journalistic articles.

Tolstoy also recalls the story of the green stick in the first version of his will: “So that no rituals are performed when burying my body in the ground; a wooden coffin, and whoever wants, will take or carry Old Order into the forest, opposite the ravine, in place of the green stick.”

And this is how modestly the grave of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy looks.

But this was not the end of the study of the surrounding area. By chance, not far from Tolstoy’s estate, I also saw some interesting buildings and went to see what they were.

This is what the memorial plaques confirm. This place, as it turned out, is also connected with the name of Tolstoy.

With this I leave Yasnaya Polyana, leaving in my memory one of the most interesting excursions, from those that I have ever seen. And there was a clear desire to read a couple of books by Lev Nikolaevich, by the way, Sevastopol stories I have already read, and now I am reading War and Peace) A monumental work, like Tolstoy’s personality itself.

I would also like to note this point: on the road between Tula and Yasnaya Polyana you can see a grandiose urban landscape in the form of the oldest Tula enterprise - the Kosogorsk Metallurgical Plant.

The plant was opened in 1897, and what is noteworthy is that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy himself was present at the opening. Now this plant is seen as some kind of unreal industrial giant, creating something fantastic landscape- this is for people like me who are far from various working industries. Believe me, it looks much more majestic live)

This is where I finish my Tula sketches and there are many other stories ahead, no less interesting)

The Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula region is the family estate of Leo Tolstoy, where he was born in 1828 and lived most life, and here he is buried. The estate has been known since early XVII century, then it was owned by the aristocratic governor G.I. Kartsev. Part of Yasnaya Polyana was acquired in 1763 by Prince Sergei Fedorovich Volkonsky, L. N. Tolstoy’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side. In 1921, the estate was nationalized and turned into a museum; during the Great Patriotic War it survived the German occupation and was restored to its original form. Now the Yasnaya Polyana estate is a large museum complex with buildings, a stable, parks, ponds and the writer’s grave.
Photos are clickable, with geographical coordinates and linked to a Yandex map, 07.2014

1. Scheme of Leo Tolstoy’s estate “Yasnaya Polyana”

2. Towers of the central entrance/entrance to the estate

3. Right at the entrance to the estate there is a beautiful pond with water lilies

5. Birch Alley - "Prospect"

6. Bathhouse. According to legend, it was here that Lev Nikolaevich himself loved to swim.

11. White kitchen near Tolstoy’s house

13. Tolstoy’s house, 1810s, former outbuilding. Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky (1753-1821), Leo Tolstoy’s grandfather, began to build a new large house (about 40 rooms), but before his death he managed to build only the first floor and two outbuildings. The house was completed by his son-in-law Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), the father of Leo Tolstoy, but in the 1840s, after his death, it was sold and taken to the village of Dolgoye (Leo Tolstoy was then in military service), where in 1913 dismantled due to disrepair. As a result, Leo Tolstoy, who returned from military service, and his family began to live in one of the outbuildings

14. Entrance to the museum located in Tolstoy’s house. Unfortunately, at the time of our arrival, the museums on the estate were not working, as the electricity was cut off

16. Kuzminsky outbuilding. The large manor house of Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy was located between the wing of the Kuzminskys and modern house Lev Tolstoy. It's to the right of where this photo was taken.

19. Kuzminsky wing, view from the southeast

21. Stables, 18th century, built under N.S. Volkonsky

22. Volkonsky House, the oldest stone building of the estate, mid-18th century century. Named after the surname of Leo Tolstoy’s grandfather, Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky (1753-1821), who lived here.

24. View of the village of Yasnaya Polyana from the estate

25. Volkonsky's house, carriage house and stables

26. Someone's face looks at you from the tree

27. Path to the grave of Leo Tolstoy

28. This small hill is the grave of Leo Tolstoy. During times German occupation The Germans, as a form of mockery, surrounded Tolstoy’s grave with the graves of their soldiers who died in the hospital (there is a photo on the Internet). Why the mockery? - and here the soil is very unsuitable for burials (tree roots), although there are many suitable clearings around. Moreover, during the retreat, the Germans tried to burn down Tolstoy’s House (they managed to put it out), and during their stay, they lit the stoves with books from Tolstoy’s library and furniture from the museum. Some especially gifted people refer to the memoirs of Guderian (who lived here): “We didn’t burn a single piece of furniture, we didn’t touch a single book or manuscript.”

Immediately after the wedding, the Tolstoys settled in Yasnaya Polyana. Nikolai Ilyich completed the large house in which his family settled in 1824 and increased his land holdings. He bought out his family estate Nikolskoye-Vyazemskoye, taken into custody for debts, acquired rich estate Pirogovo and reliably provided for the future of his children. Maria Nikolaevna seemed to live in a slightly different world; she was more interested in spiritual life.

Extremely religious, she probably saw her family as a gift from God, since she was already thirty-one when she married and happily devoted herself entirely to her husband and children. Five children were born into the Tolstoy family: sons Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry and Lev and daughter Maria. Happy life family ended a few months after birth youngest daughter- Maria Nikolaevna died in 1830.

At this time, her youngest son Lev was not even two years old. Tolstoy did not remember his mother, only vague memories of her lived in his soul, but he idolized his mother. According to him, she always remained a “sacred ideal” for him. And years after her death, Tolstoy especially loved and carefully preserved those corners of the Yasnaya Polyana estate that reminded him of his mother - Nizhny (English) a park, a gazebo-tower in it, a greenhouse.

Lev Nikolaevich's childhood in the estate is a spacious and cozy father's house, a large patriarchal family, noisy games with his brothers. IN big house there was a children's room, a classroom, a waiter's room, a piano room, a sofa room, a large living room, a small living room - supposedly about forty rooms in total. The life of the family proceeded measuredly and slowly, in strict accordance with traditions.

When Tolstoy was nine years old, his father died, and the children’s aunt, Nikolai Ilyich’s sister Alexandra Ilyinichna Osten-Saken, who lived with them, became the children’s guardian, and after her death in 1841, another aunt, Pelageya Ilyinichna Yushkova, became their guardian. She took her nephews to Kazan, where she lived with her husband. Tolstoy would return to Yasnaya Polyana - as a master - only in 1847, leaving his studies at Kazan University.

But even the first enterprises cause disappointments. Everything turns out differently than he expected, and the peasants are distrustful of the young master’s endeavors. Disappointed in the desire to do good, he goes on a military service.

Until 1857, Tolstoy was not at the estate, but the farm was growing little by little, and his brother Dmitry Nikolaevich wrote to him about Yasnaya: “... going to Moscow in May, I... drove up to the outbuilding, and from there... walked around the garden and the exhibition, where then everything was in excellent condition. flowers, and this gave me such pleasure that I drove all the way to Moscow with a pleasant impression. On way back I also stopped by Yasnoye; ...ate pears, which you have in abundance today.”

In the absence of the owner, the appearance of the central part of the estate changed dramatically: a large Yasnaya Polyana house was sold for removal, and the majestic one designed by Prince Volkonsky architectural ensemble lost its integrity. At this time, Tolstoy urgently needed money to publish “Military List” - a magazine for soldiers, which he conceived with a group of officers who served with him in the Crimea. The publication was banned, the money was dispersed into little things, and the house, transported 40 miles from Yasnaya Polyana to the village of Dolgoye, stood there until 1913 and was dismantled due to its disrepair. At the site of the building, only a stone from its foundation remained, on which the inscription was subsequently carved: “Here stood the house in which L.N. Tolstoy was born.” In December 1897, Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “On the 4th I went to Dolgoye. A very touching impression of the collapsed house. A swarm of memories." The large Yasnaya Polyana house was resurrected by the writer in the pages of the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.

At the end of the 1850s, Tolstoy retired and returned to Yasnaya, although he did not live there permanently, spending a lot of time in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He settled in one of the outbuildings, which eventually became home for him and his family - he lived in it for more than 50 years. Together with him in new house Old furniture, books, great-grandfather's mirrors from the 18th century, and family portraits were moved. This house is today known as House-Museum of L. N. Tolstoy.

At this time Russia entered into new era- leisurely manor life was becoming a thing of the past. Tolstoy undertook two trips abroad, the impressions of which influenced the course of life in Yasnopolyansk, being translated into new ideas and projects of the owner of the estate, who had a creative approach to any business. Returning to Russia, he eagerly set about transforming Yasnaya. One of his most wonderful undertakings was a school for peasant children, opened in 1859 in an outbuilding (the Tolstoys called it “another house”, and later - Outbuilding of the Kuzminskys. It was absolutely new school, built on the principles of freedom and creativity.

On September 23, 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married the daughter of a Moscow medical doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers. The life of the young people mostly took place in Yasnaya Polyana, where at first it was not easy for the young countess to get comfortable. Gradually she managed to become the real mistress of the estate, and soon female hand began to be felt here in everything: the house became cozier and more comfortable, elegant flower beds appeared around it.

Every spring the Tolstoys admired the extraordinary beauty of the blooming gardens. “The apple trees bloom unusually,” Sofya Andreevna wrote in her diary. “There’s something magical and crazy about their blossoms.” I've never seen anything like it. You look out the window into the garden and every time you will be amazed by this airy, white cloud of flowers in the air, with pink tint sometimes with fresh green background in the distance."

The gardens provided a steady income to the estate. They were always rented out to tenants for a price of two to five thousand a year, and according to the terms of the agreement, part of the apples were kept for themselves.

Tolstoy's forest plantings turned out to be even more extensive. Before him, the Yasnaya Polyana forests were sections of old forestland. Their ancient names have been preserved to this day: Chepyzh, Old Order, Arkovsky Verkh. Tolstoy's forestry activities significantly expanded the forest areas of Yasnaya Polyana; the newly appeared forests not only decorated the estate, but also brought undoubted practical benefit: secured the spreading slopes of numerous ravines. In addition, the lands in the Yasnaya Polyana area were very poor, and it was more profitable to plant forests here. In total, forest plantings in Yasnaya Polyana occupy a huge area - 254 hectares.

Horses occupied a significant place in Tolstoy’s life. In Yasnaya Polyana, as in any estate, there were always horses, both working and traveling. In the early 70s, Tolstoy bought land near Samara and, as his eldest son Sergei Lvovich writes, wanted to breed “steppe horses and sheep” there. Tolstoy even wanted to develop his own breed by crossing purebred English riding horses with fleet-footed steppe horses. The plant grew to 4,000 heads, but during the hungry years the horses began to fall, and, according to S. L. Tolstoy, “in the 80s this business somehow melted away unnoticed.” And in Yasnaya Polyana there remained horses brought from Samara, whose descendants lived in Tolstoy’s last years. In 1897, Bashkirs came from Samara province to Yasnaya, milked mares and made kumiss here.

Since the 1860s, the Yasnaya Polyana house of the Tolstoys also began to change: from now on it grew together with the family. During the years of marriage, the Tolstoys had 13 children. Five of them died in early childhood, before mature age eight survived - sons Sergei, Ilya, Lev, Andrey, Mikhail and daughters Tatyana, Maria and Alexandra. To the central part of the house - several rooms located in an enfilade - in different years extensions were added.

By that time, the Yasnaya Polyana estate no longer belonged to Lev Nikolaevich. Back in 1892, in accordance with his views, he renounced his property and divided everything he owned among his heirs. Yasnaya Polyana was received by Sofya Andreevna and a very small younger son Vanechka, who later died of scarlet fever (in 1895, at the age of seven).

In the last years of Tolstoy's life, the atmosphere of the house changed; family discord marred the lives of its inhabitants. On October 28, 1910, Lev Nikolaevich left Yasnaya Polyana forever. On November 9, 1910 he was buried

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a writer, without whose work it is impossible to imagine the world fiction. Today any fan recognized genius can visit the place where he was born and lived most of his life. The Tolstoy family estate "Yasnaya Polyana" is located in the Tula region. The ancient estate has preserved its 1910 furnishings and is open memorial museum great writer.

History of Yasnaya Polyana

IN historical documents The first mention of the estate, located 14 km from the modern borders of the city of Tula, dates back to 1652. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the estate became the property of the Volkonsky family - ancestors famous writer on the maternal side. Several generations of bearers of the princely family were diligently engaged in the improvement of the estate. It was under the Volkonskys that gardens were laid out on the territory of Yasnaya Polyana, ponds were dug, and many architectural buildings were erected.

In 1828, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on the family estate. Local nature and measured provincial life with early years inspired the future writer. The Tolstoy estate Yasnaya Polyana is the place where Lev Nikolaevich lived for about 50 years of his life. He never hid his love for the estate and often mentioned native place in his works.

Life of L.N. Tolstoy on the family estate

The oldest building of modern Yasnaya Polyana is Volkonsky's house. During the time of Lev Nikolaevich, this building (formerly the main manor house) was used for economic purposes. Tolstoy’s family rebuilt one of the outbuildings for their own residence. Barsky is relatively small in area, but at the same time incredibly cozy. Inside, it has a simple finish, and main value it contains an extensive library of Lev Nikolaevich.

During his lifetime, Tolstoy became famous not only for his intelligence and talent, but also for his incredible love of humanity. A school for peasant children was opened at the estate. Tolstoy's estate "Yasnaya Polyana" is unique place where the owner was close to to the common people, like no one else. Leo Tolstoy died in 1910. In his will, the writer indicated that he should be buried without any honors in the forest on the edge of a ravine. Last will Lev Nikolaevich was performed.

Yasnaya Polyana during the Great Patriotic War

After the death of Lev Nikolaevich, the Tolstoy estate was not plundered, since the peasants from the surrounding villages respected the writer and his family. In 1921, a museum was opened in Yasnaya Polyana. This is largely the merit of Lev Nikolaevich’s daughter Alexandra Lvovna, who became the first director of the memorial and cultural center. Despite its state status, the museum has always been occupied directly by the descendants of the great writer.

At the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a significant part of the exhibits was evacuated to Tomsk. The ancient estate was occupied by enemy troops for 45 days. The Nazis caused significant damage to the museum, kidnapped and damaged many antiques. Restoration work began immediately after liberation. What is noteworthy is that the Tolstoy museum-estate was opened before the end of the war, already in 1942.

Modern history of the museum

In 1986, Yasnaya Polyana received the status of a State Memorial Museum Reserve. In the house of L.N. Tolstoy, the furnishings of 1910 have been preserved and many authentic personal belongings of the writer and his loved ones are on display. Museum collection included in the UNESCO Memory of the World register. Today Yasnaya Polyana is a place popular among tourists from all over the world.

During your visit museum complex You can walk around the landscaped grounds of the estate and visit Tolstoy’s house and Volkonsky’s house. Yasnaya Polyana regularly hosts various exhibitions, festivals, holidays festivities and other events. Many newlyweds from Tula and the region come here for a wedding photo shoot.

What Tolstoy's estate museum looks like: photo and description of the main house

The main and most interesting building of Yasnaya Polyana is the house-museum of L.N. Tolstoy. The interior furnishings fully correspond to the time when the writer and his family lived here. The estate is decorated atypically for its period; inside guests will find a minimal amount of luxury items. In most rooms, the walls are light, monochromatic, and the furniture has simple shapes. The pride of the museum (and once the owner of the house) is the writer’s luxurious library. In addition to working and reception rooms, museum visitors will see the living rooms of Lev Nikolaevich and members of his family.

and sights of the estate

L. Tolstoy's estate "Yasnaya Polyana" is a whole complex of historical buildings surrounded by a picturesque park. Volkonsky's house today is the main administrative building of the museum. In one part of it there are excursions for tourists. The Kuzminsky outbuilding was once a school building, and later turned into a guest house. Today it houses temporary exhibitions.

More than a century after the death of its famous owner, Yasnaya Polyana continues to live as usual. On the territory of the museum complex, greenhouses and ancient stables have been preserved and are functioning, next to which there is a coach house building. Other outbuildings look no less atmospheric: the coachman's, carpenter's, forge, granary, barn and garden house. Birch bridges, the writer's favorite bench, and a bathhouse complement the park landscapes favorably. Preserved in historical estate grave famous writer. For the convenience of tourists, the park has signs to all local attractions.

Museum opening hours and excursion prices

Excursions around the territory of Yasnaya Polyana with visits to museums are held daily (except Monday and Tuesday) from 10.00 to 15.30. The ticket price is 200-300 rubles, depending on the chosen program. For those who want to just take a walk around the territory of the historical park, entrance costs about 50 rubles. Tickets of all types are sold at the ticket office at the entrance. The walking time is unlimited, which is especially nice - you can take pictures in the manor park for free.

The situation is completely different when visiting indoor exhibitions. The Tolstoy Estate Museum, photos of which are presented in the article, stores many exhibits. Tourists should take photos inside writers' house and Volkonsky's house is not allowed. It is also prohibited to touch most of the exhibits with your hands. Despite these rules, the Tolstoy estate is a great place to visit. Visit this unique museum It will be interesting not only to fans of Lev Nikolaevich’s work, but also to everyone who loves picturesque natural places.

I honestly admit that the literary nests of Russian classics make me sad, but Yasnaya Polyana has changed my attitude towards “village” estates. We drove up to the main entrance of the L.N. Museum-Reserve. Tolstoy with the famous turrets already in the evening, they were looking for hundred-dollar bills for a long time in order to pay for the entrance to the territory through the terminal, because The ticket offices are already closed. When they found the two treasured banknotes, we were simply beside ourselves with happiness...

Operating mode: Tue-Fri 9:30–15:30; Sat, Sun 9:30–16:30

Entrance to the reserve territory is carried out daily by entrance tickets. We arrived at the estate after 17.00, when the ticket office was already closed. The only option left was to buy a ticket through an electronic terminal, which uses banknotes of ONLY 100 RUBLES (!) to pay. NO CHANGE (For the convenience of visitors). Having traveled such a long way from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana, it was a shame to turn around with nothing. Having searched all the pockets, backpacks, bags and glove compartment in the car, we still found two treasured hundreds; my daughter, a schoolgirl, got in for free. Just in case, when going to Yasnaya Polyana, take small money with you.

From November 1 to March 31, entrance is from 9.00 to 17.00, you can stay on the territory until 18.00

From April 1 to October 31, entrance is from 9.00 to 20.00, you can stay on the territory until 21.00

Visiting memorial buildings – from 10.00 to 15.30

From April 1 to October 31, on Saturday and Sunday, visiting memorial buildings from 10.00 to 16.30

Excursions - from 9.30 to 15.30

From May 8 to October 31, on Saturday and Sunday, excursions are held from 9.30 to 16.30

Please note that on days of increased demand for excursions (weekends, holidays), the sale of tickets for excursions may be completed before the deadline due to the increased flow of excursions.

How to get there?

By car

Through Tula (detour from the south side).
Drive along the M2 “Crimea” highway towards Belgorod. At the traffic light before the Kaluga-Tula fork, turn left and move towards Tula (the Metro shopping complex will be located on the right side). Take Kaluga Highway to Lenin Avenue and turn right towards Yasnaya Polyana and Shchekino. After the bridge over the Voronka River, you need to follow the Tula-Shchekino highway and at the sign “Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate” turn right and drive to the car parking lot.

Via Tula (via Oktyabrskaya street)
Drive along the M2 “Crimea” highway towards Belgorod. Ten kilometers from Tula, at the Tula-Belgorod fork (on the right is a non-working traffic police post), turn right and, without turning, move along the Moskovskoye Highway, which turns into Oktyabrskaya Street. From Oktyabrskaya, drive through the city in a southerly direction, following the Yasnaya Polyana signs.

On your own

By train
From Kursky station in Moscow to Tula by electric train. From the Moskovsky railway station in Tula to Yasnaya Polyana, trolleybus No. 5 to the stop. "Pedagogical Institute", then by buses No. 114, 117, 280 to the stop. "Yasnaya Polyana" or "School". Next 10 minutes walk to the entry towers.

By bus or minibus through Tula: From Moscow from the metro stations “Tsaritsyno”, “Domodedovskaya”, “Prazhskaya”, “Ul. Academician Yangel" to the stop "Ul. Mosin" in Tula. From Tula to Yasnaya Polyana you can get by buses No. 114, 117, 280 from the stop. "St. Mosin" to the stop. “Yasnaya Polyana” or “Shkolnaya”, then 10 minutes walk to the entrance towers.

Description of the estate L.N. Tolstoy

Immediately behind the security barrier, another world begins... or so it seemed to me... Perhaps I perceived everything so acutely because of the impending thunderstorm - I was both anxious and joyful, the desire to see the estate as quickly as possible before the rain covered us (we had prudently forgotten our umbrellas in the car), literally urged me on.

So, we rushed past the picturesque pond with yellow water lilies, along the light birch alley-enfilade deep into the territory (how elegant and solemn it probably is on a sunny, fine day). Having passed almost the entire alley, we turned left to the Volkonsky House and the stable building. Coming out into the open space, we were amazed by the “wide-open” landscape. The whitewashed, extended house with “outbuildings” at the ends and a raised central part under a triangular pediment completely dominated this panorama. The clouds were gathering, their powerful blue-black clouds kept us in constant suspense. Suddenly the sky “split”, and for a moment the sun came out from behind the clouds, illuminating old mansion and gilded the surroundings... It was a magnificent picture, a priceless gift for the photographer!

We hurried to capture not only the architectural components of Tolstoy’s estate, but also the writer’s grave. The signs did not quite clearly direct us to the last one, it was not clear how long to go, and given the current circumstances, we wanted to know for sure whether we would have time to get to the edge of the Old Order forest before the rain fell on us... It seemed that this journey took an incredibly long time. Walking through a gloomy forest, weaving its branches low above the road, it seems to be preparing for a meeting with the eternal, setting one in the right mood... The bends, turns, branches towards smaller paths and stitches are confusing... but soon a small shady clearing opened up, with neat velvet-cut grass and a green mound... And we, and everyone who walked parallel to us, including the noisy ones Chinese tourists- suddenly stopped rooted to the spot and became silent... only the wind continued to hum ominously, bending the crowns, pouring torn leaves and drizzle... It flashed in my head: “This is where this one found its refuge great person"How modest but beautiful he is last resort, although not even tombstone…»

I.E. Repin, L.N. Tolstoy and S.A. Tolstaya at the table, 1907-1911.
L.O. Pasternak, L.N. Tolstoy with his family, 1902-1903.
V.P. Baturin. House L.N. Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana, 1911
VC. Byalynitsky-Birulya. View of the village and Yasnaya Polyana estate, 1928

On the way back to the residential part of the estate, the wind died down a little and large raindrops began to fall through the green canopy of the forest. We almost ran to Tolstoy’s house, hoping to shelter from the bad weather... Every moment spent here was so piercing and memorable that even now, when I am writing these lines, I clearly see everything that happened and experience it again...

How mysterious and wonderful it is in Yasnaya Polyana during the rain, there is no feeling that you are in a museum... Here is the kingdom of nature, carefully preserved and replenished; it literally envelops you, enchants, captivates. A luxurious park, delicately complemented by magnificent creations of flora - now apparently my affection is on long years…

Here is the house of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, with a carved terrace, with a balcony, over which stretches a faded linen awning, wet from the rain. Around the house there are paths lined with shrubs and phloxes, in no way inferior to them in height, absolutely marvelous flower beds are laid out... The air is pleasantly fresh and cool, the chirping of birds was heard again, the mass of clouds gradually dispersed, acquiring an innocent fluffiness and whiteness... The park was illuminated by the evening light and began to plunge into darkness... There are almost no visitors. Wet, but happy, he returns to the front entrance... We haven’t left yet, and I already know that I will come back here again...

Plans of the Yasnaya Polyana estate

PLAN OF THE YASNAYA POLYANA ESTATE MUSEUM (CENTRAL PART)

Entrance gate;
Tower - gazebo;
Bath;
Greenhouse;
Stable;
Volkonsky House;
Kucherskaya hut;
Zhitnya;
Riga;
Kuzminsky outbuilding;
Blue Pavilion;
House L.N. Tolstoy;
Grave of L.N. Tolstoy;

PLAN OF THE YASNAYA POLYANA ESTATE MUSEUM (FULL, LARGE RESOLUTION 1200×1187)

Archive photos

Archival photos from the site https://russiainphoto.ru

Leo Tolstoy with his family. From left to right: Misha, Leo Tolstoy, Lev, Andrey, Tatyana, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, Maria. In the foreground are Vanechka and Alexandra. Photo 1892
Lev and Sofya Tolstoy in a group with relatives and Albert Shkarvan in Yasnaya Polyana park. From left to right: Albert Albertovich Shkarvan, Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy, Maria Lvovna Tolstaya, Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (son of Tolstoy’s niece Elizaveta Valeryanovna Obolenskaya, from June 2, 1897 - husband of Maria Lvovna Tolstoy), Dora Fedorovna Tolstaya (wife of Lev Lvovich Tolstoy), Lev Lvovich Tolstoy, Alexandra Lvovna Tolstoy, Sergei Lvovich Tolstoy, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy. Photo from 1896
Lev and Sophia Tolstoy on their 34th wedding anniversary. Photo September 23, 1896
Lev Tolstoy. Photo July 28—August 2, 1897
Leo Tolstoy with his family under the “tree of the poor.” Standing: Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (son of Tolstoy’s niece Elizaveta Valeryanovna Obolenskaya, from June 2, 1897 - husband of Maria Lvovna Tolstoy), Sofya Nikolaevna Tolstaya (daughter-in-law of Leo Tolstoy, since 1888 the wife of his son Ilya) and Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya. From left to right are sitting: grandchildren Anna and Mikhail Ilyich Tolstoy, Maria Lvovna Obolenskaya (daughter), Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy with her grandson Andrei Ilyich Tolstoy, Tatyana Lvovna Sukhotina with Volodya (Ilyich) in her arms, Varvara Valeryanovna Nagornova (niece of Leo Tolstoy, eldest daughter his sisters Maria Nikolaevna Tolstoy), Olga Konstantinovna Tolstoy (wife of Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy), Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy with Ilya Ilyich Tolstoy (grandson of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy). Photo September 23, 1899
Lev Nikolaevich and Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy, Vladimir Stasov and Ilya Ginzburg. Photo from 1900
Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky. Photo October 8, 1900
Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana upper balcony. Photo 1901
Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo August 28, 1903
Leo Tolstoy on the terrace of a Yasnaya Polyana house. Photo May 1903
Leo Tolstoy with his family on his 75th birthday. From left to right are: Ilya, Lev, Alexandra and Sergei Tolstoy; sitting: Mikhail, Tatyana, Sofya Andreevna and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Andrey. Photo 1903
Portrait of Leo Tolstoy. Photo 1905
Leo Tolstoy with his sister Maria Nikolaevna in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo July 1908
Leo Tolstoy with his grandchildren Vanya and Tanya Tolstoy near their house in Yasnaya Polyana. Almost every day, Lev Nikolayevich was waited under the “poor tree” or at the porch of the house by “beggars and unemployed passers-by to ask for alms or “books to read,” or peasant fire survivors from surrounding villages for financial help, or men and women suing for legal advice, or various kinds of city people from Tula, from Moscow, with similar goals, or, finally, people eager to talk with him about intangible, spiritual issues” (according to the recollections of secretary Valentin Fedorovich Bulgakov). Photo 1908
Leo Tolstoy and Yasnaya Polyana peasants. Photo 1908
Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov in the office of the Yasnaya Polyana house. Photo 1909
Lev and Sophia Tolstoy. Photo 1884
Interior of a room in the Leo Tolstoy museum-estate in Yasnaya Polyana. Photo from the 1960s.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Photo 1891

From scientific sources: “Yasnaya Polyana” - museum-estate of L.N. Tolstoy

Material from the official website of the museum Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate

In the very center of central Russia, with its discreet but surprisingly touching nature, the Yasnaya Polyana estate is located - just as modest, but beautiful and majestic in its simplicity. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born and lived most of his life in Yasnaya Polyana. This is where it began own world, here the world of his works and heroes was born. It was here that his only beloved home was, the nest of his family and clan.

Once upon a time these lands were borderlands. Northern forests gave way to forest-steppe - Wild Field; From there, waves of nomadic invasions rolled towards the Russian borders. In the 16th century, to protect Moscow lands, fences began to be built in the local forests. Settlements appeared near the gates, and one of them was the village of Yasnaya Polyana. It was first mentioned in documents of 1652.

The first owner of Yasnaya Polyana was the aristocratic governor Grigory Ivanovich Kartsev, mentioned in the boyar book for 1628. Subsequently, his numerous descendants owned various estates in the territory of Yasnaya Polyana and its environs.

Part of Yasnaya Polyana was acquired in 1763 by Prince Sergei Fedorovich Volkonsky, L. N. Tolstoy’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side. Subsequently, the estate was inherited by his son, Nikolai Sergeevich. It was he who played decisive role in the fate of the Yasnaya Polyana estate. Having become its main builder and having bought scattered parts of Yasnaya Polyana from the previous owners, he created a large estate here, to which we are accustomed to attribute the name “Yasnaya Polyana”.

Through the efforts of the prince, parks, gardens, picturesque alleys, ponds, a rich greenhouse appeared in the estate, and an architectural ensemble was created, which included a large manor house and two outbuildings. One of Volkonsky’s favorite places to walk was the Kliny park adjacent to the greenhouse, which appeared back in XVIII century, before his arrival in Yasnaya Polyana. During the time of Tolstoy’s grandfather, music was heard in Kliny - a small serf orchestra played for the prince.

There is an assumption that Kliny is only part of a larger old park that once covered the entire top of the hill, where Prince Volkonsky later built a large house with outbuildings. While construction was going on, the prince and his daughter lived in the house, which later received the name Volkonsky's houses. The exact time of its construction is unknown. But, probably, it was not erected by Prince Volkonsky, but appeared earlier. But be that as it may, Volkonsky House– the oldest stone building on the territory of Yasnaya Polyana.

Already under the prince, estate workshops were located in the Volkonsky House; a stone stable was built opposite the house (it is still preserved); The residential part of the estate, according to the prince’s plan, was to be located away from the economic services.

During the prince's lifetime, the construction of the new architectural ensemble was not completed. He managed to erect two elegant wings and the lower floor of a large manor house. In 1821 the prince died. His daughter Maria Nikolaevna remained the owner of a huge estate. A year after her father's death, she married Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy.

Immediately after the wedding, the Tolstoys settled in Yasnaya Polyana. Nikolai Ilyich completed the large house in which his family settled in 1824 and increased his land holdings. He bought out his family estate Nikolskoye-Vyazemskoye, taken into custody for debts, acquired the rich estate of Pirogovo and reliably secured the future of his children. Maria Nikolaevna seemed to live in a slightly different world; she was more interested in spiritual life.

Extremely religious, she probably saw her family as a gift from God, since she was already thirty-one when she married and happily devoted herself entirely to her husband and children. Five children were born into the Tolstoy family: sons Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry and Lev, daughter Maria. The family's happy life ended a few months after the birth of their youngest daughter - Maria Nikolaevna died in 1830.

At this time, her youngest son Lev was not even two years old. Tolstoy did not remember his mother, only vague memories of her lived in his soul, but he idolized his mother. According to him, she always remained a “sacred ideal” for him. And years after her death, Tolstoy especially loved and carefully preserved those corners of the Yasnaya Polyana estate that reminded him of his mother - Lower (English) park, gazebo-tower in it, greenhouse.

Lev Nikolaevich's childhood in the estate is a spacious and cozy father's house, a large patriarchal family, noisy games with his brothers. The large house had a children's room, a classroom, a waiter's room, a piano room, a sofa room, a large living room, a small living room - supposedly about forty rooms in total. The life of the family proceeded measuredly and slowly, in strict accordance with traditions.

In 1847, the parental estates were divided between the Tolstoy brothers. “According to custom, as the youngest in the family, they gave me the estate in which they lived - Yasnaya Polyana,” writes Lev Nikolaevich. He immediately decides to radically change his life and settle in his village. Like the hero of the story “The Morning of the Landowner” Dmitry Nekhlyudov, nineteen-year-old Tolstoy with all his soul strives to “devote himself to life in the village” because he feels that he was “born for it.”
But even the first enterprises cause disappointments. Everything turns out differently than he expected, and the peasants are distrustful of the young master’s endeavors. Disillusioned with his desire to do good, he enlists in military service.

Until 1857, Tolstoy was not at the estate, but the farm was growing little by little, and his brother Dmitry Nikolaevich wrote to him about Yasnaya: “... going to Moscow in May, I... drove up to the outbuilding, and from there... walked around the garden and the exhibition, where then everything was in excellent condition. flowers, and this gave me such pleasure that I drove all the way to Moscow with a pleasant impression. On the way back I also stopped at Yasnoye; ...ate pears, which you have in abundance today.”

In the absence of the owner, the appearance of the central part of the estate changed dramatically: the large Yasnaya Polyana house was sold for removal, and the majestic architectural ensemble planned by Prince Volkonsky lost its integrity. At this time, Tolstoy urgently needed money to publish “Military List” - a magazine for soldiers, which he conceived with a group of officers who served with him in the Crimea. The publication was banned, the money was dispersed into little things, and the house, transported 40 miles from Yasnaya Polyana to the village of Dolgoye, stood there until 1913 and was dismantled due to its disrepair. At the site of the building, only a stone from its foundation remained, on which the inscription was subsequently carved: “Here stood the house in which L.N. Tolstoy was born.” In December 1897, Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “On the 4th I went to Dolgoye. A very touching impression of the collapsed house. A swarm of memories." The large Yasnaya Polyana house was resurrected by the writer in the pages of the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.

At the end of the 1850s, Tolstoy retired and returned to Yasnaya, although he did not live there permanently, spending a lot of time in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He settled in one of the outbuildings, which eventually became home for him and his family - he lived in it for more than 50 years. Along with him, old furniture, books, great-grandfather's mirrors of the 18th century, and family portraits moved into the new house. It is this house that is today known as the House-Museum of L. N. Tolstoy.

At this time, Russia entered a new era - leisurely manor life was becoming a thing of the past. Tolstoy undertook two trips abroad, the impressions of which influenced the course of life in Yasnopolyansk, being translated into new ideas and projects of the owner of the estate, who had a creative approach to any business.

Returning to Russia, he eagerly set about transforming Yasnaya. One of his most wonderful undertakings was a school for peasant children, opened in 1859 in an outbuilding (the Tolstoys called it “another house”, and later - Outbuilding of the Kuzminskys. It was a completely new school, built on the principles of freedom and creativity.

On September 23, 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married the daughter of a Moscow medical doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers. The life of the young people mostly took place in Yasnaya Polyana, where at first it was not easy for the young countess to get comfortable. Gradually, she managed to become the real mistress of the estate, and soon a woman’s hand began to be felt here in everything: the house became cozier and more comfortable, elegant flower beds appeared around it.

Lev Nikolaevich also paid more and more attention to the economy. He expanded his grandfather's Apple orchard. Gradually, the area of the Yasnaya Polyana gardens increased 4 times and exceeded 40 hectares. In total, five gardens were planted in Yasnaya Polyana: Red, Young and Old, as well as gardens near the Volkonsky House and the Big Pond.

Every spring the Tolstoys admired the extraordinary beauty of the blooming gardens. “The apple trees are blooming unusually,” Sofya Andreevna wrote in her diary. “There’s something magical and crazy about their blossoms.” I've never seen anything like it. You look out the window into the garden and every time you are amazed by this airy, white cloud of flowers in the air, with a pink tint in places and with a fresh green background in the distance.”
The gardens provided a steady income to the estate. They were always rented out to tenants for a price of two to five thousand a year, and according to the terms of the agreement, part of the apples were kept for themselves.

Tolstoy's forest plantings turned out to be even more extensive. Before him, the Yasnaya Polyana forests were sections of old forestland. Their ancient names have been preserved to this day: Chepyzh, Old Order, Arkovsky Verkh. Tolstoy's forestry activities significantly expanded the forest areas of Yasnaya Polyana; the newly appeared forests not only decorated the estate, but also brought undoubted practical benefits: they secured the spreading slopes of numerous ravines. In addition, the lands in the Yasnaya Polyana area were very poor, and it was more profitable to plant forests here. In total, forest plantings in Yasnaya Polyana occupy a huge area - 254 hectares.

Since the 1860s, the Yasnaya Polyana house of the Tolstoys also began to change: from now on it grew together with the family. During the years of marriage, the Tolstoys had 13 children. Five of them died in early childhood, eight lived to adulthood - sons Sergei, Ilya, Lev, Andrei, Mikhail and daughters Tatyana, Maria and Alexandra. Over the years, extensions were added to the central part of the house - several rooms arranged in an enfilade.

In 1881, the Tolstoys bought a house in Moscow. The older children grew up, they needed to continue their education, the daughters needed to leave. Now the family spent winters in Moscow. However, the city weighed heavily on the writer; he needed a “bath of country life.” In the spring, he strived to quickly return to Yasnaya Polyana, where he could breathe and work so well. In recent years, Tolstoy no longer moved to Moscow for the winter, preferring peace and solitude to Yasnaya.
By that time, the Yasnaya Polyana estate no longer belonged to Lev Nikolaevich. Back in 1892, in accordance with his views, he renounced his property and divided everything he owned among his heirs. Yasnaya Polyana was given to Sofya Andreevna and her very young youngest son Vanechka, who later died of scarlet fever (in 1895, at the age of seven).