The Karaul estate was acquired in 1837 by the grandfather of Georgy Chicherin, Nikolay Chicherin. He immediately began to alter and improve it.
According to the plan and drawing of Nikolay Chicherin’s close friend, Sergey Boratynsky, the younger brother of poet Boratynsky, an extensive stone horse yard in the form of a crenellated fortress with large Gothic gates and a two-story outhouse for servants was built in Karaul. For several years, selected pine wood was brought from the city of Morshansk, since the owner did not want to build from stone, fearing cold and dampness.
For the project of the main house, Chicherin turned to the famous and talented architect of that time, Sergey Miller, a professor at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. By 1849, the new house in Karaul was ready. By the end of the year, the Chicherin family sold their home in Tambov and finally moved to Karaul.
The Chicherins’ estate was one of the oases of culture in the Tambov province; its greatest prosperity fell to the 70s-80s of the 19th century. In the large but cozy living room of the main house, readings of scientific books and articles were arranged at evenings.
After retirement, the son of Nikolay Chicherin, Boris Chicherin, left for Karaul and began to equip the manor house and park for a comfortable life. It is worth saying that Boris Chicherin tried to improve the economic side of life in the estate as well as possible, using modern technology. There, on November 12, 1872, his beloved nephew, Georgy Chicherin, was born.
After the death of Boris Chicherin in 1904, Karaul became the property of his wife Aleksandra for life. She carefully kept the antiquities collected by her late husband as well as magnificent collections of paintings, graphics, porcelain.
The estate was nationalized in 1918, its last owner Aleksandra Chicherina left and emissaries of the People’s Commissariat for Education from the college for the protection of ancient monuments arrived at the estate. By decree of the Presidium of the Tambov Provincial Executive Committee, the Karaul estate with all the buildings was transferred to the museum department of Glavnauka, then a museum was set up in it, which was closed in the fall of 1927.
In parallel with the museum, the orphanage “Zvezda” was located in the former master’s house; it was later renamed to the Karaul orphanage named after G.V. Chicherin who became the full-fledged owner of all manor buildings. In the early 1990s, children from the orphanage moved to a new building. Without guards, the empty buildings collapsed rapidly, and a fire in November 1996 destroyed the magnificent main house.
At the moment, of all the manor buildings in Karaul, a utility yard has been preserved, the same one designed by Boratynsky. The buildings of the greenhouse, the guest house and the priest’s house have been partially preserved.
As for the status of the estate, it is included in the register and is a monument of history and culture of the 19th century of federal significance.
According to the plan and drawing of Nikolay Chicherin’s close friend, Sergey Boratynsky, the younger brother of poet Boratynsky, an extensive stone horse yard in the form of a crenellated fortress with large Gothic gates and a two-story outhouse for servants was built in Karaul. For several years, selected pine wood was brought from the city of Morshansk, since the owner did not want to build from stone, fearing cold and dampness.
For the project of the main house, Chicherin turned to the famous and talented architect of that time, Sergey Miller, a professor at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. By 1849, the new house in Karaul was ready. By the end of the year, the Chicherin family sold their home in Tambov and finally moved to Karaul.
The Chicherins’ estate was one of the oases of culture in the Tambov province; its greatest prosperity fell to the 70s-80s of the 19th century. In the large but cozy living room of the main house, readings of scientific books and articles were arranged at evenings.
After retirement, the son of Nikolay Chicherin, Boris Chicherin, left for Karaul and began to equip the manor house and park for a comfortable life. It is worth saying that Boris Chicherin tried to improve the economic side of life in the estate as well as possible, using modern technology. There, on November 12, 1872, his beloved nephew, Georgy Chicherin, was born.
After the death of Boris Chicherin in 1904, Karaul became the property of his wife Aleksandra for life. She carefully kept the antiquities collected by her late husband as well as magnificent collections of paintings, graphics, porcelain.
The estate was nationalized in 1918, its last owner Aleksandra Chicherina left and emissaries of the People’s Commissariat for Education from the college for the protection of ancient monuments arrived at the estate. By decree of the Presidium of the Tambov Provincial Executive Committee, the Karaul estate with all the buildings was transferred to the museum department of Glavnauka, then a museum was set up in it, which was closed in the fall of 1927.
In parallel with the museum, the orphanage “Zvezda” was located in the former master’s house; it was later renamed to the Karaul orphanage named after G.V. Chicherin who became the full-fledged owner of all manor buildings. In the early 1990s, children from the orphanage moved to a new building. Without guards, the empty buildings collapsed rapidly, and a fire in November 1996 destroyed the magnificent main house.
At the moment, of all the manor buildings in Karaul, a utility yard has been preserved, the same one designed by Boratynsky. The buildings of the greenhouse, the guest house and the priest’s house have been partially preserved.
As for the status of the estate, it is included in the register and is a monument of history and culture of the 19th century of federal significance.
