The estate of Abramtsevo is located about 60 km north of Moscow.
The first mention of усадьба Абрамцево (Abramtsevo Estate) dates back from the late 16th century and was then the property of landowner Volynsky. The estate was well situated, not too far from Moscow, picturesque, rich with games and fishes.
In the beginning of the 18th century, the estate became the property of Fyodor Golovin, who retired here after he had served 20 years in the Navy during the reign of Peter the Great. Golovin settled in his domain and spend the rest of his life making plans of the estate, that have little changed until now.
After the death of Golovin, the Estate was bought by Larion Molchanov, who made renovation in the manor itself and created a terrace in front of it, while a pond appeared next to the river.
Sergey Timofyevich Aksakov (1791-1839) was a Russian author born in Ufa. After finishing his stu in Kazan, he moved to St. Petersburg and took up government service. There he developed a real interest in theatre and classical Russian literature. He moved to Moscow in 1811 and published his first verses anonymously in 1812.
In 1832, he met Nikolai Gogol with whom he shared the same love of pure Russian literature. His house in Moscow became the centre of Russianism in the capital.
Sergey Aksakov bought Abramtsevo Estate in 1843. There he lived a simple life with his family and entertained writers such as Gogol, Tolstoy or Turgenev. He published different books describing the everyday life of the Russian nobility.
Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841-1918) was a Russian industrial, entrepreneur and patron of the arts.
As an industrial, Savva Mamontov was the founder and the builder of the largest railway in Russia. We own him almost half of the railroads of the European part of Russia. He is also the founder of the largest wagon-building factory outside of Moscow.
As his involvement in the arts, it is almost impossible to give full credit to what this man did for Russian culture.
Savva Mamontov's father came from a very old merchant family. He studied in St. Petersburg at the Institute of Civil Engineer Corps and then in the Moscow University.
His father sent him in Baku for a year in the family oil company where he started as a simple employee and learned all the aspects of business.
In 1864, Savva was to Italy for health reasons. There he renew with his love for arts, particularly opera. He made the acquaintance of many Russian artists with whom he kept great relationship for the rest of his life. He also met his wife Elizaveta Grigorya Sapozhnikova.
On his return to Moscow, the mansion of the young couple soon became the artistic centre of the capital. And in 1870, they bought the estate of Abramtsevo. The estate saw a succession of famous artists, all sharing the same respect and love for Russian art. There, they could work as they pleased, discuss with other artists, create.
During these years, new buildings went under construction and Mamontov, though he was not a big collector, received presents from many artists for his help and kindness.
If you want to know what has became of Abramtsevo Estate, read the second part of our article.