Manor "cherished" - a small versailles in the Novgorod region. Hysterical local history. Secular life in the outback

Is it possible to build anything really worthwhile out of reinforced concrete?

I think there are few good examples, and the depressing majority are in front of everyone's eyes.

So, we, not far from the village of Maly Borok, have the remains of a stunning estate built in 1914 by process engineer Mikhail Antonovich Tokarsky.

A neat gate, a small chapel on a hill, but the most incredible thing is that it was built into the manor house itself. water tower. It's not scary, I wonder if it was like living with constant streams of water behind the wall?

In a short time were built manor house with a built-in water tower, an outbuilding, an original chapel and entrance gates made of artistic reinforced concrete, a dam on the Talets stream that formed a reservoir, a system of fountains, park stairs, a greenhouse, gazebos, a bathhouse, a bathhouse, a laundry room and other facilities.

Water supply, steam heating, and electric lighting were installed.

A summer theater for 100 seats was built, where even artists from St. Petersburg gave concerts. The estate was surrounded by a mesh fence with beautiful pillars.

At the estate there was a small handicraft industry, where they drove turpentine, tar, and in the first world war made high-explosive and shrapnel plugs.

The peasants bought the rest of the factory for 3,000 rubles and, turning to Tokarsky, set up the production of charcoal, wood alcohol, and acetic acid powder.

The production lasted until 1936, when it was finally liquidated, the machines were sent to Borovichi and Vladimir. The main manor house was transferred to the dacha trust of Novgorod, the furniture was sent to Krestsy. The destruction of the estate continued. During the Patriotic War, soldiers still lived in it, and then the house was dismantled.

Homestead immediately after construction

Now it’s not easy to get to the estate - around the windbreak, swampy meadows and a road that you can’t drive through

The "romantic" entrance gate, in imitation of medieval forms, has a tetrahedral tower with lancet windows and battlements along the top. Above the arch of the gate is an open gallery. Wrought iron gates have not been preserved.

Further on in the clearing rises the skeleton of a water tower, which also served as a belvedere of the main house. Nearby are the remains of a fountain in the form of a truncated pyramid with petal-shaped cuvettes. The fountain was formerly lined with marble and decorated with sculptures. The remains of another fountain are in the parterre in front of the former facade of the house. A wide staircase leads to it.

This is how this place looked almost 100 years ago:

Going down even lower, to the bank of an overgrown and swampy stream, you can hardly find the concrete steps of the bath. Higher up the stream is a reinforced concrete dam with a now lowered reservoir ...

The pearl of the estate is a miniature chapel made of thin-walled reinforced concrete, standing on an artificial peaked hill (hill). It was cast according to the drawings of M.A. Tokarsky, like the other buildings of the estate, by a craftsman from the Vologda province Andrei Nogtev and his son. Cast from concrete to the smallest detail in the molding of the interior and the rustication of the outer walls, the structure has not a single seam. This chapel should be considered as a variant of the park pavilion, “ knight's castle in miniature. It consists of two towers: round and square in plan. The square tower has four lancet windows and a parapet with slots in the form of loopholes (mashikuli) on top. It is completed by a small round semi-tower. The round tower adjoins the corner of the square tower and has an entrance to the chapel and the balustrade. The spiral staircase inside the round tower has 21 steps. There is a round window at the level of the second floor of the tower. are completing round tower machicols and a low tent with a cross and a crescent. Outside, the walls are rusticated, the windows are flat-framed, the plinth is processed to look like squares of gray granite. Above the entrance is the place of the family coat of arms.

Now it is rather difficult to distinguish it from afar among the dense spruce branches.

View from the cliff

Inside the chapel (chapel) is very good. The shading inside and the forest behind the lancet windows - with different lighting - create a special mood. There is a large square opening in the ceiling, into which blue glass was inserted, which also served as the floor of the balustrade.

Thin columns with Corinthian capitals along the walls, intertwining ribs and oak leaves form lancet niches - three on each wall. The lower part of the walls with elongated speaker bases is finished in gray marble. The floor is tiled in pink and black.

Text from L.E. Bricker. Guide to the Okulovsky district. Okulovka, 2007.

Photos by Arkady Syusyukin

It turned out that the "Treasured" was founded during the reign of Catherine.

In the middle of the 19th century, one settler owned the estate, and at the beginning of the 20th century, the estate passed to Nadezhda Dobrova. In 1914, she sold the estate to engineer Mikhail Antonovich Tokarsky.

He undertook the restructuring of the estate, inviting the Vologda master Andrey Nogtev and his son to work. 100 years ago, water supply, steam heating, and electric lighting were installed here. In a word, "the venerable castle was built as castles should be built: excellently durable and calm in the taste of clever antiquity."

The ensemble of the Zavetnoye estate included a house built in a romantic style, an extension to it, a pond, fountains, a water tower, steps descending to the water, a reinforced concrete dam, a gazebo on the island, a park, and alleys.

The pearl of the estate is a miniature chapel made of thin-walled reinforced concrete, standing on an artificial peaked hill. It was made, like the other buildings of the estate, according to the drawings of M.A. Tokarsky, by a master from the Vologda province Andrei Nogtev and his son. Cast from concrete to the smallest detail in the molding of the interior and the rustication of the outer walls, the structure has not a single seam.

This chapel should be considered as a variant of the park pavilion, a "knight's castle" in miniature. It consists of two towers: round and square in plan. The square tower has four lancet windows and a parapet on top with slots in the form of loopholes. It is completed by a small round semi-tower. The round tower adjoins the corner of the square tower and has an entrance to the chapel and the balustrade. The spiral staircase inside the round tower has 21 steps. There is a round window at the level of the second floor of the tower. The round tower is completed by loopholes and a low tent with a cross and a crescent. Outside, the walls are rusticated, the windows are flat-framed, the plinth is processed to look like squares of gray granite. Above the entrance is the place of the family coat of arms.

During the First World War, a small factory operated on the territory of the Zavetnoye estate, where high-explosive and shrapnel plugs were made. After October 1917, the factory was nationalized, and the Tokarsky estate was donated to the state.

In 1920, the Zavetnoye estate was surveyed by the Glavnauka society and proposed for joining the art fund of Petrodvorets. Created in imitation of Versailles or Peterhof, the estate was of great architectural, artistic and technical interest as one of the rare examples of reinforced concrete estate construction in Russia.

Manor Zavetnoe (Berezovikskoye settlement) is located half a kilometer from the village of Maly Borok on the 37th km highway Crosses-Okulovka. The Zavetnoye estate has been known since the reign of Catherine II, then it was just a small farm in the forest. In 1914 Zavetnoye was bought by Russian engineer and architect Mikhail Antonovich Tokarsky (1868–1941/42), who thoroughly rebuilt the estate, using thin-walled reinforced concrete for artistic purposes. Tokarsky M.A. went down in history as a designer of electric traction on the Nikolaev railway, with the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Msta River (1902). Also the author of the project railway Poddubie-Sherikhovichi, leading from Okulovka to the Lyubytinsky district (1918), etc.
After acquiring the Zavetnoye estate, Mikhail Antonovich built two two-story houses, two outbuildings, a dam with a reservoir on the Talets stream, a chapel, an entrance gate, a water tower, a greenhouse, gazebos, a bathhouse, a bathhouse, a laundry room, a dollhouse, and more. Later, a summer theater appeared, artists from St. Petersburg performed in it. The estate had electric lighting, steam heating, running water, and an electric generator.

Main wooden house standing in the middle landscape park with an area of 8.2 hectares, looked like royal palace. Inside it was a water tower. A reinforced concrete staircase led to the house, gazebos and fountains stood in the park. One of the fountains was a pyramid, it was made of marble and decorated with sculptures.

The entrance to Zavetnoye was decorated with a reinforced concrete arch with a proportional four-sided tower on two floors. Forged gates were executed in a romantic style. The openwork fence, which surrounded the entire estate, had tall pillars, decorated with ornaments and figurines, each of which was unique.

At some distance from the estate in the forest on a hill, there was a small chapel-tomb, which has survived to this day. Like other buildings, it was built according to the drawings of M. A. Tokarsky by a master from the Vologda province Andrey Nogtev. The chapel consisted of two towers: square and round, joined to each other.
In the square tower there were 4 windows below, and on top there was a parapet with slots in the form of embrasures and a small round half-tower. In the round tower was the entrance to the chapel. At the height of the second floor, where a spiral staircase consisting of 21 steps ascended, there was a round window. The round tower was completed by a machicol and a low tent with a cross and a crescent.

A small wood and resin processing factory operated at the Zavetnoye estate. Turpentine and tar were made here, and during the First World War, high-explosive and shrapnel corks were made. After the February Revolution, M.A. Tokarsky transferred his estate and factory to the peasants of the neighboring village of Borok. In addition to property worth half a million in gold rubles, he gave them another 300 thousand rubles in cash.
Tokarsky helped the peasants to set up the production of the factory for the production of the latest products - thread spools. The business operated intermittently until a fire in 1920, and was sold in 1925. All that was left of the factory was bought by workers dissatisfied with the sale for three thousand rubles, after which they began to produce the most important products - charcoal, wood alcohol and acetic acid powder.
In 1936, the small factory was closed for good. The equipment was transported to Borovichi and Vladimir. The main house of the Zavetnoye estate was transferred to the dacha trust of Novgorod. During the Great Patriotic War the house of M. A. Tokarsky was still standing - soldiers were stationed in it. After it was disassembled.
The chapel and the wrought iron entrance gate without wings and the reinforced concrete frame of the water tower, which once fed the fountain system, have survived to this day. Going down to the bank of an overgrown stream, it is already difficult to find the concrete steps of the bathhouse, and further up the stream - a dam with a reservoir that is now overgrown.
However, despite the visible destruction, the Zavetnoye estate is of great architectural, artistic and technical value, as one of the rare examples of reinforced concrete manor construction in Russia.

Is it possible to build anything really worthwhile out of reinforced concrete?
I think there are few good examples, and the depressing majority are in front of everyone's eyes.
So, we, not far from the village of Maly Borok, have the remains of a stunning estate built in 1914 by process engineer Mikhail Antonovich Tokarsky.
A neat gate, a small chapel on a hill, but the most incredible thing is that a water tower was built into the manor house itself. It's not scary, I wonder if it was like living with constant streams of water behind the wall?

In a short time, a manor house with a built-in water tower, outbuildings, an original chapel and entrance gates made of artistic reinforced concrete, a dam on the Talets stream that formed a reservoir, a system of fountains, park stairs, a greenhouse, gazebos, a bathhouse, a bathhouse, a laundry, and other structures were built .
Water supply, steam heating, and electric lighting were installed.
A summer theater for 100 seats was built, where even artists from St. Petersburg gave concerts. The estate was surrounded by a mesh fence with beautiful pillars.

At the estate there was a small handicraft industry, where they drove turpentine, tar, and in the First World War they made high-explosive and shrapnel plugs.

After the February Revolution, M.A. Tokarsky handed over the factory and the estate to local peasants. In addition to property worth half a million in gold rubles, he transferred another 300 thousand rubles in cash, but soon the estate was nationalized. Many times the factory, now producing thread spools, was subject to shutdowns, until in 1925. the sale has not started.
The peasants bought the rest of the factory for 3,000 rubles and, turning to Tokarsky, set up the production of charcoal, wood alcohol, and acetic acid powder.
The production lasted until 1936, when it was finally liquidated, the machines were sent to Borovichi and Vladimir. The main manor house was transferred to the dacha trust of Novgorod, the furniture was sent to Krestsy. The destruction of the estate continued. During the Patriotic War, soldiers still lived in it, and then the house was dismantled.

Homestead immediately after construction

View from the lake

Now it’s not easy to get to the estate - around the windbreak, swampy meadows and a road that you can’t drive through

This is how this place looked almost 100 years ago:

The fountain that is visible on old photo higher:

stairs closer

Going down even lower, to the bank of an overgrown and swampy stream, you can hardly find the concrete steps of the bath. Higher up the stream is a reinforced concrete dam with a reservoir now lowered ...
The pearl of the estate is a miniature chapel made of thin-walled reinforced concrete, standing on an artificial peaked hill (hill). It was cast according to the drawings of M.A. Tokarsky, like the other buildings of the estate, by a craftsman from the Vologda province Andrei Nogtev and his son. Cast from concrete to the smallest detail in the molding of the interior and the rustication of the outer walls, the structure has not a single seam. This chapel should be considered as a variant of the park pavilion, a "knight's castle" in miniature. It consists of two towers: round and square in plan. The square tower has four lancet windows and a parapet with slots in the form of loopholes (mashikuli) on top. It is completed by a small round semi-tower. The round tower adjoins the corner of the square tower and has an entrance to the chapel and the balustrade. The spiral staircase inside the round tower has 21 steps. There is a round window at the level of the second floor of the tower. The round tower is completed by a machicol and a low tent with a cross and a crescent. Outside, the walls are rusticated, the windows are flat-framed, the plinth is processed to look like squares of gray granite. Above the entrance is the place of the family coat of arms.
Now it is rather difficult to distinguish it from afar among the dense spruce branches.

View from the cliff

Inside the chapel (chapel) is very good. Shading inside and the forest behind the lancet windows - with different lighting - create a special mood. There is a large square opening in the ceiling, into which blue glass was inserted, which also served as the floor of the balustrade.
Thin columns with Corinthian capitals along the walls, intertwining ribs and oak leaves form lancet niches - three on each wall. The lower part of the walls with elongated speaker bases is finished in gray marble. The floor is tiled in pink and black.

Ladder

Window

Text in italics from L.E. Bricker. Guide to the Okulovsky district. Okulovka, 2007.

Manor Zavetnoye- one of the most beautiful abandoned mansions that have ever been seen. It was built by engineer Mikhail Tokarsky just before the revolution from a new material at that time - reinforced concrete. Reinforced concrete was then made of high quality, because they did not steal, all this beauty is hidden in the Novgorod forest and does not even collapse with time. Only the manor house did not survive, and the gates, the water pump, the stairs and the amazing beauty of the chapel are as good as new. We were in Zavetnoe for the second time and on a frosty sunny day we liked it here even more than in autumn.

The unlucky engineer Mikhail Tokarsky almost did not manage to live in the estate. As soon as it was finally built, a revolution happened and the estate was nationalized.

After the revolution, Mikhail Tokarsky continued to work as an engineer.
He proposed such original ideas as the conversion of former temples into crematoria.

Having hardly stuck the car on the side of the road, we went to the estate. Someone kindly trodden a path in deep snow through the whole estate and further through the forest to the chapel. It's good to go without failing)

The charm of the winter forest.

Entrance gate. They have been standing for more than a hundred years without any repair.

There used to be a fountain here in the clearing. A staircase has been preserved below, but it is not visible under the snow.

You don’t expect to see such beauty in the deep forest, it’s impressive.

If you are not one of those who are lucky enough to go on vacation and spend the summer days at work, we suggest that you make little trip. It will only take a few hours, but it will help you Not onlyenjoy the beauty of nature, but also take a fresh look at the seemingly familiar Novgorod region.

As part of the cycle of materials “Barefoot in the Outback”, we talk about little-known, but noteworthy sights of our land. This is not only a topical conversation today about the development of domestic tourism, it is a story about our past, about those places and objects that we can be proud of and that we must protect. Many of these places are in need of care, protection from vandals and the ravages of time. All of them deserve to become famous tourist sites.

Manor Zavetnoe - a lost fairy tale

When my friends suggested that I visit an abandoned estate in the Okulovsky district, I did not expect to see anything special. But having been there, pretty soon she came again, already with a photographer, in order not only to tell readers about this place, but also to show it in all its glory.

I was accompanied by photographer Svetlana Smirnova and her son, a young gentleman Alexander. As we saw during our visit to Zavetnoye, a trip here will be interesting not only for adults, but also for children. We set off on a car provided by the Sadko Hotel.

The estate is one of those places that intrigue is already on its way. Travelers are greeted by a gate - a reinforced concrete arch with a tetrahedral tower and an open gallery in the upper part. Forged sashes and mesh openwork fence have not been preserved.

Personally, for me, such gates are associated with plots of European fairy tales, evoke thoughts of jousting tournaments or medieval castles. Perhaps the owner of the estate also dreamed of the same fantasies. Before we go deeper into the estate, let me tell you about him and his "Little Versailles".

This place has been known since the reign of Catherine II - there was a small farm here. In the middle of the 19th century, a certain migrant from Estonia owned the estate. In 1914, the estate was bought by Nadezhda Dobrova, who resold it to Mikhail Tokarsky, and quite soon.

Mikhail Antonovich was an engineer and architect by profession, and therefore it is not too surprising that he rebuilt the entire estate to his liking. It is surprising how good this taste turned out to be, and even more so - artistic. Thus, two two-story houses, two outbuildings, a dam with a reservoir on the Talets stream, a greenhouse, a bathhouse, a bathhouse, a laundry, gazebos, a dollhouse and much more appeared in Zavetnoye. Then a summer theater was built, in which performances of St. Petersburg artists took place. It was then that the estate began to be called "little Versailles". Is it possible today to imagine such a rapidly boiling secular life in the Novgorod outback?

The technical genius of the engineer also found application: the estate was equipped with a water supply system, an electric generator, a hydraulic ram for raising water, steam heating, and electric lighting. Mikhail Tokarsky, by the way, went down in history as the author of the electric traction project on the Nikolaev railway. As part of the project, a hydroelectric power station was also developed on the Msta River. He also owns the authorship of the Poddubie-Sherikhovichi railway project, leading from Okulovka to the Lyubytinsky district.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the main building of the estate resembled a palace. A water tower was built into it, which also served as a gazebo.

A two-flight staircase led up to the house. The building can only be seen in old photographs, but the "skeleton" of the tower and the stairs, picturesquely covered with moss, have survived to this day.

The floor and walls of the tower are tiled, on which it is already difficult to make out half-erased letters and the year.

Nearby you can find a narrow concreted passage leading underground - possibly the remains of communications. We did not dare to check where it leads.

There were pavilions and fountains in the park. On the way from the gate to the tower you can see one of them - a truncated pyramid with petal-shaped cuvettes. Previously, it was lined with marble and decorated with sculptures. And behind the stairs, to the right of the path, a round reinforced concrete bowl is hidden in the grass - all that has been preserved from the second fountain.

On the path leading down from the stairs, you can turn left and go down to the gradually overgrown lake. They say that the steps of the bathhouse and the dam, also made of reinforced concrete, have been preserved here.

But back to the tower - we are waiting for the most interesting. A little behind it you will find another path. It leads to a wonderfully preserved chapel.

On the way, we cross a wooden bridge across a rather turbulent stream Talets with clear water. It flows away from the lake. Medium-sized logs are scattered along the shore, in my opinion, rather randomly, but Svetlana notices - it looks like a beaver dam.

It takes quite a long time to walk along a narrow path, overgrown on both sides with nettles and, in some places, raspberries, before the silhouette of the chapel appears through the foliage. It stands on a bulk hill and therefore rises above the forest paths. Needless to say, as soon as we saw her, fabulous associations finally took possession of our impressions.

Lancet windows, slots in the form of loopholes, two turrets, one of which is crowned with a cross, a guessing place for the family coat of arms above the entrance create an effect knight's castle in miniature - and this is only what is visible from the outside.

Going inside, you will see that the floor of the chapel, as in the tower, is tiled, and the walls are decorated with thin columns and niches with oak leaves.

By spiral staircase you can climb to the balcony of the square tower. Be careful - you can only walk along the edge here, the blue glass floor has not been preserved. Apparently, earlier it was possible to climb higher, but now the metal ladder has been dismantled.

Despite its height - more than 10 meters - the chapel seems miniature and like a toy. On the balcony, you can still see Rapunzel, who has loosened her braids. I have no doubt that this place will appeal to the beauties of Novgorod, who have a weakness for outfits and photo shoots. Some newlyweds also know about it. The walls of the chapel, in which the spirit of the time is felt, create a special mood for photographs that cannot be achieved with studio scenery.

It is noteworthy that here, as in the creation of many other objects of the estate, Mikhail Tokarsky used thin-walled reinforced concrete. The chapel is completely cast from it, down to the smallest details in the molding of the interior, and does not have a single seam. Like the rest of the buildings, it was made according to the drawings of the engineer himself by the master from the Vologda province Andrey Nogtev and his son.

However, time not only creates an amazing atmosphere of this place, but also gradually destroys the chapel - near it in the grass you can see small, two palms wide, fragments. And our contemporaries who have been here, unfortunately, could not resist the temptation to leave their autograph on the walls along the stairs. They say that some even looked for a secret passage here.

After the February Revolution, Mikhail Tokarsky handed over the estate and the adjacent factory for the chemical processing of wood and resin to the peasants. In subsequent years, he continued to create engineering and architectural projects. The date of his death is known only approximately - 1941/1942.

In 1920, the Zavetnoye estate was surveyed by the Glavnauka society and proposed for joining the art fund of Petrodvorets. The factory was finally closed in 1936, and main house The estate was transferred to the dacha trust of Novgorod. During the Great Patriotic War, soldiers lived in it, and after that the building was dismantled.

Today, the manor has a considerable architectural, artistic and technical value - it is called one of the rare examples of manor construction from reinforced concrete in Russia. However, the estate has been undeservedly forgotten, although it could become a venue for cultural events more often. For example, in 2013-2014, poetic meetings with theatrical excursions were held here. Fans who have placed a cache on the territory of the estate also know about the Treasured.

Finding a homestead is not difficult at all. Leaving Veliky Novgorod in the direction of Moscow, in the village of Kresttsy turn left to Okulovka. Passing the construction site toll road M-11, after about 500 meters turn onto the path leading into the forest on the right side. Half a kilometer after the turn there is a pointer to the village of Maly Borok. If you see country houses on the path, then you need to turn around right away - you missed the right turn.

By the way, thanks to the MegaFon network, you can be in touch at any, even the most lost point of the Novgorod region. Agree, it's nice not to wait for the return to civilization to send a selfie from such beautiful place, as the estate Zavetnoye.

In addition, it is useful to enter the coordinates of the estate into the navigator: N 58° 23.124’ E 32° 59.663’.

We invite you to visit this place. And after examining the estate, throw a coin into the fountain to return here someday, and who knows - to see it in action, and the Treasured One itself - come to life.

We would like to thank the MegaFon company for high-quality communication and the Sadko Hotel for the support provided.

Photo by Svetlana Smirnova, from open sources, frame from video by Vadimir Gusev