Park Mon Repos description and photo - Russia - Leningrad region: Vyborg
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Mon Repos Park description and photos - Russia - Leningrad region: Vyborg. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects. Photo and descriptionThe Mon Repos Landscape Park was created from the 18th century. Now it is a picturesque park on several islands with numerous park pavilions, bridges, ponds and gazebos. The manor house of the 18th century houses a museum dedicated to the history of the estate. The first ownersOnce on this small island (in Swedish it was called Slotsholmen , in Finnish - Linnansaari , and in Russian it began to be called Tverdysh ) a stockyard was set up, which supplied meat to the garrison of the Vyborg castle. In 1760 When the castle had belonged to Russia for fifty years, these lands were granted to the commandant of the fortress, and then to the Vyborg governor, Pyotr Alekseevich Stupishin . He named the estate Lille Ladugord in memory of his first wife Charlotte - Charlottenthal . It was Pyotr Alekseevich who was the first to ennoble and equip the island: the lower meadows were drained, new soil was poured, alleys were broken. A wooden house was built, and a greenhouse became the main building. Stupishin's heirs sell the estate, and the next owner, the new commandant of Vyborg - Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Karl of Wurttemberg settles in it. This is the brother of the young German princess Sophia Dorothea Maria Augusta Louise, the wife of the heir to the throne Paul I, the future Empress Maria Feodorovna. The prince likes the place very much. It is with him that the name Mon Repos appears (from the French Mon Repos - "my rest" ). He built himself a new home and continued to develop the park. But relations with the ruling Empress Catherine II did not work out for him and in 1786 he left the Russian service. The von Nicolai familyIn 1788, Mon Repos becomes the estate of Baron Ludwig Heinrich von Nikolai . This is the personal secretary of Maria Feodorovna , one of the most educated people of his time and one of the closest people to the grand-ducal, and then the reigning, family. The new owner finishes and remodels the estate according to the latest fashion. Italian architect Giuseppe Antonio Martinelli renovates the main Palladian style manor house . Two new outbuildings appear, one of them houses the owner's personal account. There is a large hall for balls and gala dinners, a drawing room, billiard and smoking rooms, "Royal" room, decorated with portraits of royalty. With the next owner, a antique portico with columns appears from the front facade of the house. The park continues to expand and becomes one of the most graceful landscape parks in Europe - with narrow paths, garden pavilions and carefully thought out “naturalness”. The elderly owner himself writes a poem about his park in German, and it is read throughout Europe. There is the Prisoner's castle, the Amur rock, the wooden Hermit's Hut ... At the end of the 18th century, the Chinese theme in architecture was very popular - and colorful Chinese bridges appeared in the park through a specially dug canal and Chinese pavilions. In honor of the two reigning persons who favored the family of Nicholas, the owner erects a solemn marble column of two emperors - Paul I and Alexander I. A small pavilion for rest is arranged on a separate island - Turkish tent . Now the pavilion has not survived, but there are benches and an observation deck there, because this place offers the most picturesque view of the estate. The estate is inherited by his son Paul von Nicolai . By this time Paul was already a well-known diplomat, a close friend of the Vorontsov family. He spends most of his time on diplomatic trips to England and Denmark, but he comes to rest at his Finnish estate. Paul continues to decorate Mon Repos in the English spirit, if desired, here you can see parallels with the Crimean palace of his friend Mikhail Vorontsov , who was also an Anglomaniac. Under Paul von Nicolai, one of the most interesting places in the estate is being built here - Isle of the Dead . The castle pavilion on a small island not far from Mon Repos was built by his father. Baron Ludwig in his poem told a romantic legend that once upon a time the Swedish king Eric IV was imprisoned here, whom his evil brothers deposed from the throne (in fact, he was imprisoned in Turku, and then in Erbuchus castle). But in honor of him, the island was called Erichtein . And in 1822, after the death of his father, Paul von Nicolai arranged a neo-Gothic chapel-burial vault here. The place is renamed Ludwigstein . The island becomes a romantic family tomb designed to reflect on eternity. In addition to the chapel and burials, the cave of Medusa with the carved mask of Medusa the Gorgon reminds of death. Only coniferous trees are specially planted on the island so that the atmosphere itself evokes a feeling of solemn sorrow. The only way to get to the island was by a special ferry. In Soviet times, this place was abandoned, and the crypts were desecrated. Now the ferry crossing is not working and there is no official access to the island, but you can get there yourself by boat. The chapel and crypts have been conserved and are planned to be restored. Under Paul, a romantic pavilion over the source of Narcissus appears. Auguste Montferrand became the architect. Source, supplying the estate with water, the locals considered it curative for the eyes. Initially, it was called that - Silma, eye. Ludwig von Nicolai renamed it "The Spring of Silmia" and composed for his poem the legend about the nymph Silmia, in which the shepherd Lars was in love. She did not love him, but she pitied him, and turned to the Sun with a prayer for the healing of the young man. Then the Sun turned her into a healing spring. Lars washed himself with this water and was healed of his unhappy love. But this legend did not take root, and later they began to associate the source with the more famous story of Narcissus. In 1811, Paul married Alexandrina de Broglie (or Broglio, as it is in modern transcription). The marriage was happy, they had ten children, but Alexandrina did not live long and died in 1824. Her two brothers were killed in the battles with Napoleon: one at Austerlitz and the other at Kulm. On the site of the former Amur temple on the Levkadian rock, towering over the park, Paul makes an obelisk in honor of her brothers and in memory of his wife. Now it is from there that the best view of the park opens. Another interesting sculptor of the park is Vainamainen , the hero of Kalevala. The statue was installed in 1831 and renovated in 1873. The first edition of "Kalevala" in the form in which it is known to us now happened later, in 1834. But even before that, Finnish folk songs were studied in educated circles, and the owner of Mon Repos was keenly interested in the folklore of these places. In the 1830s, new gates to the park appeared, created in the neo-Gothic style with pointed turrets, carvings and the owner's coat of arms in the center. They were lost in the post-war years and recreated in the 1980s, albeit without the coat of arms. After Paul's death, the estate passes to his eldest son Nikolaus Armand Michel von Nicolai , and then to his grandson, Paul Ernst Georg von Nicolai . This man was one of the most famous Lutheran religious leaders. He took a vow of celibacy and became a pastor. Paul Ernest worked a lot with young people. He stands at the origins of the Russian student Christian movement, founded in 1899. At first, the movement was popular only among Protestants, but soon the Orthodox began to enter it. Young people studied the Bible and were engaged in active charity work. Paul Ernst is writing a gospel study guide for young people. With his participation, another society is being created - the spiritual and educational society "Mayak". He had no children. Mon Repos went to his sisters, whose descendants lived here until 1940, after which they left for Finland, taking the library and the main values. XX century In Soviet times, Mon Repos used as a holiday home , and then as a kindergarten . Ski competitions are held in the park. Many objects are destroyed, and the rest are being rebuilt, but already in the 1960s, restoration began. Under the leadership of I. Haustova the main manor house is being reconstructed, then the Narcissus pavilion above the spring is being restored. In 1985, the Gothic entrance gate was restored. Officially museum appears here in 1988. Restoration and conservation are in progress. The last renovation of the house took place in 2006. In 1989, the first museum expositions appeared. Now the museum has more than six thousand exhibits. Once in Mon Repos, one of the richest libraries in Europe and one of the most extensive collections of antique gems and cameos was collected, but by the time the museum was founded, there was nothing left here. However, now the museum contains everything that was found in the park. One of the main concerns of the museum workers is the preservation and restoration of the landscape park . Work on its arrangement is still in progress. Several trees have survived in the park, which are more than a hundred years old. They are trying to restore the old garden in the style of the early 19th century: with flowers, fragrant plants and a decorative linden alley. It is planned to restore an apple orchard. The museum plans to plant here classic varieties of apple trees: Antonovka, pear and white filling. Interesting factsIn 1999, the diplomat Count von der Pahlen from Finland, a direct descendant of the Nikolai family, came here. One of the main items of the museum collection is Swedish armor of the 18th century, accidentally caught in the bay while fishing in our time. Notes
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