Tarkhany Museum-Reserve

The Lermontov State Museum-Reserve "Tarkhany" is located in the village of Lermontovo, Belinsky district, Penza region, on the estate where the poet Mikhail Lermontov spent his childhood. It is a federal museum-reserve covering about 196 hectares that brings together the manor house, the family necropolis of the Lermontovs and Arsenyevs, and the surrounding park.

History

The village where the estate stands was originally called Dolgorukovo, after its founder and first owner, Yakov Dolgorukov. In 1794 the land was bought by Mikhail and Elizaveta Arsenyev, the future poet's grandmother and grandfather. Mikhail Lermontov lived here from 1815 to 1827, spending his childhood and youth on the estate. In 1842, at the request of the poet's grandmother, his remains were brought from Pyatigorsk to Tarkhany and reburied in the family chapel. In 1934 the estate was given the status of a national reserve, and in 1969 the Lermontov State Museum-Reserve was officially established.

What to see

The museum-reserve's territory is divided into three parts: the Arsenyev manor, the Arsenyev-Lermontov family necropolis, and the "Apalikha" park.

The manor preserves the main house, which holds original items and copies of paintings made by Lermontov himself, along with the family's everyday possessions. Nearby stand the Church of Mary of Egypt, the servants' house, which now shows video tours based on the poet's works, and the steward's house with an exhibition on the everyday life of the Tarkhany peasants.

At the family necropolis stands a chapel-tomb where the poet's ancestors and he himself are buried, the village Church of Michael the Archangel, and a gatehouse.

In the "Apalikha" park visitors can see the old Lermontov oak, the Humpback Bridge overlooking the Great Pond, and the Secret Gazebo. The estate has a working windmill, rebuilt in 2007, with a miller's house recreating a 19th-century noble kitchen. Horse-drawn tours, sleigh and carriage rides are offered on the grounds.

How to get there

By car, take the R208 highway from Penza to Tambov as far as the town of Kamenka, then follow the signs to the town of Belinsky and the village of Lermontovo. Regular buses run to the village of Lermontovo from both Penza and Tambov.