The Arkhangelskoye Estate is a unique architectural ensemble created by the most famous Russian and European architects of the past. Magnificent palace buildings, fountains, ponds, parks, bridges, gazebos, churches embody the history of the old estate. Over the years, Arkhangelskoye was owned by representatives of noble Russian dynasties. The history of the sight is filled with interesting facts and legends.
The curse of the Yusupov family
The last owners of Arkhangelskoe were the ancient and noble family of the Yusupovs, whose origin was associated with the Crimean khans and the prophet Mohammed. The family name has an unusual history. She came from the name of the Nogai Khan Yusuf (great-grandson of Abdullah-Murza), who was a Muslim. The khan decided to change his religion and at baptism received the name Dmitry Yusupov, later becoming the founder of the princely family.
According to one of the legends of the family, a day after baptism, the prophet Mohammed appeared in a dream to Dmitry, who cursed the Yusupov family in the male line for the apostasy of the khan. The curse of the prophet was terrible: all the male heirs in the Yusupov family, except one, would die before the age of 26. The curse came true with incredible precision.
The last owners of Arkhangelsk had two sons named Nikolai and Felix. The elder Nikolai decided to marry a young girl of simple origin, but she refused him and married an officer. For a long time Nikolai sought a date with a married girl, which resulted in a duel between the young man and the girl's husband. During the duel, Nikolai was killed, before he reached the age of 26, only six months. Felix remained the only heir to the family, went to Paris with his wife, a princess from the Romanov family.
Holy gates
An interesting fact about the Holy Gates is associated with the curse of the Yusupov family in the male line. The building is located on the road to the white-stone church, built in 1667. The gate became an important architectural element of the estate and was erected in 1824.
When the youngest son of the Yusupovs, Nikolai, married Tatyana Alexandrovna, he told her about the curse of the clan. Tatyana, passing in the arch under the gate, mentally expressed her desire to save her husband's life. The woman sincerely believed that the desire would come true. As a result, Nikolai lived to be 80 years old, having died in Paris.
Since then, it is believed that the gate has a mysterious power and is able to fulfill the wishes of those who sincerely ask for it. There are rules, subject to which the desire will come true:
- it is necessary to clearly formulate the desired mentally;
- present the desired in the form of a certain image;
- repeat the wish three times.
The tradition still exists and tourists who come to Arkhangelskoye like to pass under the Holy Gates and make wishes.
The ghost of Derussi
Many strange things are happening at the manor, including the appearance of ghosts. One of them is considered a foreigner Derussi, who served as a manager on the Yusupov estate. He was distinguished by a harsh disposition and cruelty. Derussi forced the sculptor Andrei Kopylov to work day and night, creating details for the exterior of the Yusupov palaces.
The sculptor could not stand the inhuman treatment and threw Deroussi from the colonnade. The craftsmen were imprisoned for life. More than 100 years have passed since then, but the ghost of Derussi still appears to the guests of Arkhangelsk. Most often he is seen in the area of the colonnade, where he died. The ghost was seen by Leon Trotsky, which he mentioned in his memoirs. For Trotsky, an apartment was arranged in the chambers of the palace, where he observed the ghost several times.
Sad love story
A romantic story took place in Arkhangelskoye at the beginning of the 19th century. A dance teacher came to the estate to teach dance skills to the wife of a wealthy prince. A love affair arose between the young people, which the girl's husband learned about. He kicked the dance teacher out of the estate, and punished his wife by imprisonment in a room for several weeks.
Today, vacationers of the nearby Arkhangelskoye sanatorium meet the ghost of the teacher in a gazebo on a hill near the lake. The ghost has a good disposition and often dances. Ghost dances are associated with different signs. For example, if a teacher teaches you to waltz, then soon you will find financial profit, a polonaise foreshadows quick love, and a square dance means a frivolous relationship.
Monument to Princess Tatyana Yusupova
According to one version, the princess died of typhus, according to another, difficult childbirth became the cause of her death. After her death, Tatyana's father was in grief and anguish for several months, after which he ordered to create a monument of amazing beauty in the form of an angel, made of snow-white marble.
The sculptor M. M. Antokolsky, who within a few months created a masterpiece and called it "The Angel of Prayer." The monument was erected at the grave of the princess. At the beginning of the 20th century, the sculpture was moved to the Tea House in order to better preserve it. After that, near the grave of the princess, they began to see the ghost of a girl who threw up her hands in search of a sculpture. In 2016, it was decided to return the angel to its place, but the ghost continues to appear to this day.
