Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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Teachers and students of the Higher School of Design and Architecture of the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University's Civil Engineering Institute took part in a charity project to improve the territory of the educational and historical reserve "Prince A. G. Gagarin's Estate "Kholomki"" in the Pskov Region. The ICI team carried out landscaping work on the territory of the Ascension Church in the village of Belskoye Ustye, making their contribution to preserving the cultural heritage of the region.
The following took part in the project from the Civil Engineering Institute: Director of the Higher School of Design and Architecture Margarita Perkova, teachers and staff of the Higher School of Design and Architecture ISI – Olga Vul, Elena Ladik, Mekhti Mezentsev, Andrey Zaitsev, as well as undergraduate students Angelina Sladkevich, Valeria Shirkhanova and Fyodor Vasiliev.
During the trip, the students began the first stage of landscaping – they carefully prepared the flowerbeds at the main entrance to the church, planted the first flowers and plants, creating the basis for the future beautiful design of the territory. Decorative compositions of stones were installed, various varieties of hydrangeas, junipers, roses, hostas, decorative wormwood, thyme and even remontant strawberries with bright red flowers were planted. The project for the improvement of the church territory was developed by graduate students Vera Rogaleva and Valeria Solodovnikova under the supervision of Margarita Perkova as part of the summer practice.
The Kholomki estate, located 15 kilometers from the city of Porkhov in the Pskov region, was founded in the early 20th century by Prince Andrei Grigorievich Gagarin, an outstanding scientist and the first rector of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The main house of the estate was built according to the design of the famous architect Ivan Aleksandrovich Fomin in the neoclassical style. This mansion became a symbol of the "golden age" of Russian estates.
In 1914, during the First World War, a hospital for soldiers of the Siberian regiment was set up here. In 1918, the estate was transformed into the People's House named after V. I. Lenin, where theme nights and performances were held, gathering residents of the entire Porkhov district. Later, a House of Creativity was created in the estate, which became a place of attraction for Petrograd writers and artists. In the period from 1921 to 1922, famous writers and artists lived and worked here: M. V. Dobuzhinsky, M. M. Zoshchenko, E. I. Zamyatin, S. F. Khodasevich, K. I. Chukovsky, O. E. Mandelstam. After that, a sanatorium for pulmonary patients was opened in the estate. During the Great Patriotic War, the estate in Kholomki was located on captured territory and housed the headquarters of German pilots. By the middle of the 20th century, the estate had fallen into disrepair.
In 2000, the estate was transferred to the Polytechnic University for permanent ownership and received the status of a structural subdivision. Today, it is a unique educational and historical reserve that maintains a connection between the past and the present. Not far from the estate is the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, built in 1796 by Colonel Artemon Kozhin on his estate. Decades later, in the early 1860s, his son Pyotr Kozhin decided to build a new church in the style of early classicism with baroque elements according to the design of the St. Petersburg architect Shestakov.
Over its long history, the church has witnessed many significant events. In 1920, Prince A. G. Gagarin was buried here. Unfortunately, in the 1960s, the church was closed due to its emergency condition. Only in 2014 did large-scale restoration work begin.
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