Museum of Tolstoy in Khamovniki: address, mode of work, reviews

In 1882 L. Tolstoy bought for his large family, where there were ten children, a wooden house with a garden on the outskirts of Moscow, in the working area of Khamovniki, in order to spend the winter months in the capital.

Sloboda Khamovniki

This area in the south-west received such a name, because here from the XVI century. Settled Tver weavers, which processed flax, turning it into a canvas. It was called "boor" and was delivered to the royal court. The center in the village was the church of St. Nicholas, which has survived to our days. And now, while driving along Komsomolsky Avenue, one can see this church. And behind it is the subject of our conversation - the Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki.

What influenced the choice of the house

When the future owners looked at the wooden house, which was not at all like a nobleman's estate, it had no electricity, no sewerage, no water supply, and the seller expressed doubts that his house would suit the Count's family, because there was practically nothing to show. But L. Tolstoy was interested in a large abandoned garden. Past the house with a garden, which was then a rarity, Tolstoy did not pass. A few days later he bought it for twenty-seven thousand rubles. Payment was paid in installments. Nobody, then, of course, did not think that this house would turn into a museum of Tolstoy. In Khamovniki, there was nothing like this before ...

Home repairs

Major repairs passed quickly and from the outside, and inside. It took only three months after the purchase of the estate (and it happened in July) so that the whole family moved in October from Yasnaya Polyana to the estate to spend the first winter in Moscow. On the first floor there were rooms of older sons, a children's room for younger children, a maiden's, a dining room, an anteroom. On the second floor there is the office of Lev Nikolayevich, a hall, a drawing room, a bedroom, rooms of two daughters and a housekeeper, a lackey. In the kitchen there was a cook cooking for the family, and a cook who served the servants. In this unchanged form the house has survived to our days, and it turned into a museum of Tolstoy in Khamovniki in 1921. At the gate stood a lodge. In it lived a coachman and janitors.

In addition, in the courtyard was a warehouse, which arranged Sofya Andreevna from the publications of Lev Nikolaevich, which she sold. In the same place, in the center, there was a room for coaches, and also housed horses and a cow.

Where first comes the visitor to the museum

First you have to go through the old park, which was very fond of Leo Nikolayevich. This is an integral part of the museum on the street. Lev Tolstoy. The park has a free English layout with winding paths. One of them leads to the apple and cherry trees, the other to the linden alley. Some of the old apple trees had to be replaced by young ones, but the garden is beautiful as before. In the spring, under the trees, crocuses and snowdrops are blossoming, which was planted by Sofya Andreevna. Under the lime trees, Leo Nikolayevich walked along the water, as there was a well by the wall. On the cart in a large barrel, which contained 10 buckets, the writer himself brought water for the kitchen and toilets. In the winter he used sleds. In the garden there is a wonderful gazebo in which we drank tea, and Lev Nikolaevich worked. In winter, the ice rink was flooded in front of the house. Leo Nikolayevich and his wife often took part in this fun.

We enter the house

Memorial Museum-Estate of L.N. Tolstoy "Khamovniki" is a historical and everyday monument where the efforts of Lev Nikolaevich's family members have preserved genuine things, which the writer himself and his family touched. They are arranged the way it was during the lifetime of the classic. The Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki reproduces with great accuracy the spirit that prevailed in the family. Lev Nikolaevich did not like pretentiousness, so everything in the house is simple and functional. In total there are 16 rooms in the museum.

First floor

Downstairs there were children with nannies and governesses. Here there are their bedrooms, children's rooms with drawings of children, with their toys, including those made by Sofya Andreevna. Very touchingly preserved horse and a doll of the youngest Vanya, who died at age 13. Here are the classrooms of the children, the girl's maid's room and the black staircase. On it, Tolstoy went up to his office in the morning, and in the evening descended on a night rest.

Canteen

Lunch was a mandatory ritual, at which the whole family gathered at 18:00. Sofya Andreevna was sitting at the head of the table. She poured soup on plates, and the servants carried them. Next to him sat Lev Nikolaevich, to his left - three daughters, on the contrary - sons. On one wall hang the cuckoo clock, and on the other - the portrait of Tolstoy's daughter Maria, who wrote her sister.

Corner Room

From the dining room you can immediately go to the corner room, in which the owners periodically changed. There were often heard the sounds of music, which the adults enjoyed, and the children played billiards.

Bedroom

A bed made of walnut wood was dressed with a blanket, which Sofya Andreevna tied and embroidered. It is closed by a screen, behind which there is a sofa and a table with armchairs, and also a bureau where in the evenings Sofya Andreyevna copied drafts and read proofs. At the window is a table for needlework.

The Cabinet of Lev Nikolayevich

The writer got up at six o'clock in the morning and climbed into the small, low-ceilinged office. Its walls are painted in light green color, the floor is covered with soldier's cloth.

On the second floor there is a famous carved table with balusters, to which the writer penciled his legs. It was for him that he wrote about a hundred works, including such as "Resurrection" and "Hadji Murat". Here Ilya Repin wrote a portrait of Tolstoy at his desk. It now has handles from the cherry branch, a device for writing from malachite, a folder. There is a desk behind which Tolstoy continued to work when he was tired of sitting. He worked for eight to nine hours a day. On a large sofa, Lev Nikolaevich was resting.

Room for work

Next to the office Tolstoy arranged a room for himself in shoemaking. Here are the boots, made by him, his shoemaking tools, a working blouse, a white sheepskin coat, a cap, and linen. There are also placed a bicycle and dumbbells, which were used by the writer.

Hall

The main staircase leads to the hall on the second floor. Sophia Andreevna was going to the color of the then intelligentsia: Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Chekhov, Repin, Vasnetsov and many other famous writers, musicians, actors, sculptors ... Almost everyone left memories of these evenings. From the hall you can get into the exotic "Oriental drawing room". In general, the house has no excesses and looks ascetic.

Tatiana's daughter's room

In a bright, cozy, tastefully furnished room, everything attracts attention: numerous photographs, paintings. The most vivid interest is the tablecloth on which all members of the Tolstoy family, as well as their guests, signed. Tatiana embroidered each signature with colorful threads. There are about seventy of them.

This concludes our virtual visit to the museum. There is much left unsaid, but it's easy to fix by visiting the museum.

Where to find the museum

Now it is located in the center of Moscow. Not far, ten minutes from the Culture Park, there is the Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki. Address remember is simple: st. Leo Tolstoy, 21.

The museum's working hours

It can be visited on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays - from noon to eight pm. This is how Tolstoy's museum in Khamovniki works. The schedule does not require agiotage. Excursion groups pass without interfering with each other.

Museum of Tolstoy in Khamovniki: reviews

Judging by the reviews, all visitors - adults and children - are very pleased that they visited this museum. A completely special, peaceful atmosphere reigns here, which brings the owners of the house closer together. Guides - literate specialists, enthrall listeners with stories about the life of the family L. Tolstoy.