NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Museums · Heritage

In one of the family rooms at Khmelita hangs a portrait of Suvorov, a reminder of the part played in Suvorov's campaigns by Alexei Fyodorovich Griboyedov, owner of the estate from the late 18th century

NB! · Architecture · Books · Heritage · Mores

Khmelita is believed to be immortalised in "Woe from Wit" as the house of Famusov

Khmelita is believed to be immortalised in "Woe from Wit" as the house of Famusov. On this staircase the master of the house received his guests, conducting them into the halls. The ground floor, meanwhile, was not meant for the gentry

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Heritage

All the fireplaces and stoves had to be rebuilt and made anew from the old drawings

All the fireplaces and stoves had to be rebuilt and made anew from the old drawings. In winter the large rooms with their high ceilings were hard to heat, but here a temperature was maintained for the sake of preservation

NB! · Architecture · Museums · Mores

Today Khmelita Has Its Historic Interiors Restored, Furnished with Authentic Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Pieces

Today Khmelita has its historic interiors restored, furnished with authentic eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pieces. This is the lady's bedroom; in the corner, a door to the water closet

A half-open white multi-paned window in a manor interior, framed by pale curtains with tassels and a green houseplant leaf.

NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Mores

In the 18th and 19th centuries Khmelita Estate Served Mainly as a Summer Residence

In the 18th and 19th centuries Khmelita was chiefly a summer residence: in winter, both getting there and living in so large a house was harder.

NB! · Architecture · Heritage · Mores

Neither the French nor the Germans merely spared the splendid estate: both meant to keep it for their own use

Neither the French nor the Germans merely spared the splendid estate: both meant to keep it for their own use. Murat and some member of the Wehrmacht's upper echelons wished to retain Khmelita as their own hunting lodge

NB! · Architecture · Observations · Heritage

Khmelita's double-flight grand staircase was also destroyed: it beggars belief that anyone could have razed it to the ground!

Khmelita's double-flight grand staircase was also destroyed: it beggars belief that anyone could have razed it to the ground! But it really does say a great deal about our patriotism

Baroque palace with blue walls, white columns and a green roof under an overcast sky, with a lawn in front.

NB! · Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Reportage

A visit to Khmelita, the Griboyedovs' baroque palace in the Smolensk region

In September I had the good fortune to visit the Khmelita estate. I had long followed the fortunes of the Baroque palace of the Griboyedovs in the Smolensk region, yet I was surprised all the same by its beauty on making its personal acquaintance.

Close-up of a dark cracked surface with a white strip of paper showing printed text.

NB! · Books · Observations · Humour

Telescope made from an old scientific work with legible words colunt est

I have encountered all manner of uses for old books, but a telescope made from a scholarly treatise is a first. One can make out the words colunt est

An old telescope with a cracked dark tube and a brass guide rod in front of patterned wallpaper and a framed portrait with an inscription.

NB! · Museums · Observations · Science

Seventeenth-century telescope made of recycled paper with Latin text at the Jan Sobieski exhibition in Vienna

A seventeenth-century telescope is on display at the Jan Sobieski exhibition in Vienna. I do not know the story of its origin, but on closer inspection it is plain that the instrument is made of recycled paper with Latin text

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It Is Impossible to Tell You My Story, It Is Very Complicated

NB! · Art · Humour